Skate Park Association
2023 was a great year for the MVSP as more new skaters and scooter riders enjoyed the park throughout all seasons. During the warmer months, the park is a meeting place for hundreds of tourists and summer skaters. The park is also home to the summer skate camp, which is well-loved and has been an effective training ground for young MV skaters. During the cold and short days of winter, the park becomes populated with skaters directly after school and it provides a much-needed outlet for energetic teens and local kids who only have a couple of hours of light to enjoy in the afternoon. This year, parents really took hold of the park, switching on the lights and staying well past dinner time to allow their kids ample time for enjoyment. Parents could be found almost every night, bundled up in their parkas chatting together under the lights. The changes made to the park via the MVYouth grant, as well as subsequent improvements, have made the park a much more dynamic and inviting space. Skateboarding provides a diverse palate of positive experiences, including self-discipline and grit as well as blissfulness and pure fun. The MV Skatepark Committee met regularly this year and the focus of topics was generally around outreach and fundraising, as well as maintenance and regular clean-up. In the near term, the committee is planning to add more lamps to the existing light poles so that after-dark skating is even safer and more robust. The committee is also discussing improvements to the existing seating areas. For the long term, plans are underway for adding and upgrading concrete obstacles and generally continuing to improve the park itself with details and features that will increase flow and lend added interest to the park. Join us at the MVSP fundraiser next fall!
Skate Park Association
MVYouth funded the construction of new concrete obstacles and polishing of the existing concrete, all of which are doing great. This year we received rave reviews from a few of the toughest critics - professional skateboarders. A pro-team visited MV for the weekend. Chocolate Skateboards put on a demo and meet and greet and had a blast. Another pro has been visiting for the past few summers. This year some of his professional friends came, one of whom was named by Thrasher Magazine as 2021 "Skater of the Year". Our skatepark is now officially SOTY approved. We look forward in 2023 to resuming our annual fundraising and community outreach programs including our summer instructional clinics.
Because we are a free public park, it is hard to be sure how many participants we served in 2022. Our estimates are in and around the hundreds across all ages when you include our summer visitors. With our amazing lights, our off-season use has extended into the dark fall and winter evenings. A common occurance is a child not wanting to leave as their parent repeatedly tells them "five more minutes." Thank you, MVYouth.
Skate Park Association
This year brought a number of exciting improvements to the Martha’s Vineyard Skate Park. Working closely with the town of Oak Bluffs and the Vineyard Transportation Authority, the MVSPA was able to improve the bus shelter located on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Rd entrance to the park, as well as add a new crosswalk from the high school. We also extended the sidewalk around the perimeter of the park, allowing for pedestrian traffic to walk safely around the park, and added safety lighting at the crosswalk. Additionally, we were able to install custom-built granite spectator benches around the perimeter, creating a more inviting environment for families, skaters and visitors to the park. We used the remainder of MVYouth grant funds to do maintenance on the park’s features, including polishing the concrete slab, drastically improving its surface and making the park a safer and more enjoyable place for kids to learn to skate. We are eager to reintroduce youth programming this summer with drop-in clinics and more Free Helmet Giveaways. We are very grateful to MVYouth for supporting Island skaters and helping us maintain and improve our park.
Skate Park Association
2020 was a year of surprises and challenges at the Martha’s Vineyard Skate Park. Despite (or perhaps in part because of) restrictions imposed by the pandemic, usage of the skate park has been at an all-time high! As an outdoor and safely distanced, individualized sport, families flocked to the park as an option for physical activity when most every other sports were canceled or postponed. This year, the MVSPA was able to put finishing touches on the renovation project generously funded by MVYouth in 2016. Low voltage security lights were installed around the perimeter of the park, ensuring safe afternoon and early evening skating as well as greater visibility and security after dark. A landscape project was completed, creating easier access and more comfortable seating, with new plantings and stonework featuring the MVYouth plaque. Next year we look forward to a return of summer clinics, skate demos and community celebrations at the park (starring a newly installed PA/Bluetooth sound system!) Until then, we are grateful for the incredible support provided by the MVYouth Expansion Grant, which enabled us to safely and effectively provide a source of joy and recreation to so many Island families this year.
Skate Park Association
2019 was a great year at the MV Skatepark. The new and improved obstacles continue to please Islanders and visitors alike. We had a great summer, running instructional clinics Monday through Friday. We have seen a steady increase in usage across all age groups, from preschool aged children on their first scooters to experienced twenty-somethings honing their skills. This year saw the addition of a 30-foot-long sidewalk element with a Vineyard purple curb. It is great for beginners as well as more advanced skateboarders. We are also in the final stages of installing seven low-level safety lights. Now the Skatepark is safely lit up after hours, extending usage hours into the evening as well as helping people getting to the bus stop. Now that lights are up we can focus on improving and maintaining some of the original obstacles in the Skatepark. We have plans to finish the landscaping this spring, including the addition of a granite boulder with the MVYouth plaque mounted on it, as part of a more welcoming entrance.
Skate Park Association
The MV Skate Park enjoyed an exciting year in its new and improved facility in 2018. Thanks to MVYouth, the park remodel was completed and we saw a significant increase in park usage. We expanded our programing to include after-school programs in the spring and fall, as well as two Free Helmet Day giveaways. We are at work on a complete landscape overhaul — including new plantings, benches, a border wall, and a cleaned-up spectator area, and we are in the process of working with the Town of Oak Bluffs to install seven security lights around the property. We’ve added to our merchandise selection and begun a collaboration with the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival by sponsoring skate-related films and events. We are so grateful to MVYouth for the opportunity to improve our park and expand our reach into the Island community.
Skate Park Association
2017 has been an exciting year for the Martha's Vineyard Skate Park Association! Thanks to the grant we received in 2016 from MVYouth, we were able to begin and complete construction on our park. The final result is a dynamic, safe and beautiful concrete park that, since reopening in June of this year, has been a hub of activity for veteran and novice Island skaters alike. Summer 2017 brought yet another great season of our Summer Skate Drop-In Program, and a 4-week pilot after-school program for elementary-aged skaters was a huge success. We look forward to continuing to develop after-school offerings in the spring, as well as the return of our popular "Free Helmet Days". We were also able to update and relaunch our logo and website. A complete landscape and lighting renovation project is currently underway. We are so very grateful to MVYouth donors for making all of this progress possible!
Skate Park Association
Thanks to generous support from MVYouth, the Martha’s Vineyard Skate Park Association (MVSPA) has taken a number of important first steps in an effort to expand and rebuild the Martha’s Vineyard Skate Park. In June of 2016 MVSPA hosted the first Annual Father’s Day Skate Jam/Free Helmet Day. Over thirty-five children received new, free helmets. The afternoon event included music, food and skate instruction by the staff of the MV Skate Camp. It is the goal of MSVPA to repeat this event each spring. After careful consideration MVSPA secured a builder for the new park, a professional skate park design and build firm out of California called Spohn Ranch. A design principal visited our park in November and we now have a completed final design for the project. We are on schedule to break ground in March of 2017. MVSPA is hard at work on additional updates to the park, including the installation of security lights and a webcam. We have hired an electrician and work is underway, with the goal of being completed in advance of the park rebuild this spring. MVSPA has also hired a web designer to design a new website for the park. The new site and logo will be live at mvskatepark.org soon. The Martha’s Vineyard Skate Summer Drop-In Program looks forward to expanding by offering an after-school program starting in the fall of 2017. MVSPA hopes to collaborate with neighboring organizations like the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club to develop these offerings.
Skate Park Association
PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT: Martha’s Vineyard Skate Park Association was awarded $252,172 to support their Park Completion and Expansion Project. Funding will complete the original design the Skate Park Association created for the park in 2002. The final phase of the project will replace temporary wooden structures removed in 2015 with permanent concrete structures that will complete the “flow” imagined in the original concept plan and improve the safety of the park. Other aspects of the project include installing lighting and webcam technology, as well as landscaping and signage.
Construction is planned to begin in October 2016 and take 4-6 weeks. The proposal additionally includes funding for an expanded website and free safety gear (helmets & pads) to be distributed twice a year to the public. Located in the middle of “youth town”, the Skate Park is accessible by public transportation, abuts the Y, Ice Arena, Community Services and the high school. The Skate Park estimates 300-400 children and teens participate in the summer camp offered at the park. The park was built on land owned by the high school. An arrangement with the MVRHS Land Use Committee and the Town of Oak Bluffs was contracted. The Town of Oak Buffs provides insurance for the Skate Park and manages the property similarly to other town parks (Niantic, Ocean, Viera, East Chop Lighthouse). In all cases, the parks are always open, the town provides trash removal services and regular police patrol.