MTV Star Rob Dyrdek's Amazing Safe Spot, Skate Spot Program

Dyrdek and the city of LA work together to keep kids safe:

Rob Dyrdek and the city of Los Angeles are 2-for-2 in giving skateboarders a place where they can ride challenging obstacles without getting chased away by the police.

Dyrdek, the pro skateboarder and MTV star, unveiled a $350,000 skate park Thursday that is the latest in his Safe Spot, Skate Spot program.

Dyrdek contributed $75,000 from his foundation and Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar came up with the rest of the funding for the 14,000-square-foot, tri-level skate plaza at Hollenbeck Park just east of downtown.

Tired of seeing street skateboarders treated as nuisances, the Midwestern-born Dyrdek started the Safe Spot, Skate Spot program to give them a legal place to ride handrails, ledges and stairs.

His first skate park, in Lafayette Park, was dedicated in February, when he and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa rode the world's largest skateboard, measuring 38 feet, 6 inches.

"They've bought into what I'm trying to do," Dyrdek said by phone. "I think conceptually, when you say, 'Hey, it's not that expensive. If you give me a little piece of it, I'll make a really cool, unique, skateable surface that enhances the park and looks gorgeous.' And even for all that, if skateboarding dies tomorrow, they still have this great plaza, and they can turn it into something else.

THIS is the future of skatepark design:

It's the idea of not putting just a fence around a bunch of bowls. It's designing and developing a really beautiful plaza that happens to be perfectly built for skateboarding. It's a necessity to the future of the sport that kids have a place to do it."

AP: Dyrdek unveils latest skate park

New Jersey: After Teens Testify, Linden City Council Votes to Open 2 Parks to Skateboarders

14 and 16 year-old teens testify at council meeting

LINDEN -- After years of debate over where to put a skate park in Linden, the city council voted to open two sites for boarders at a meeting this week.

First, the council decided to open James Dobson Park in the 3rd Ward to skateboarding on weekends. The park has a paved area and is located at East Blancke Street and Maple Avenue.

"It'll at least satisfy some of these kids and parents for a while," said council president Robert Bunk. “Let’s take care of these kids a little bit."

Councilman Robert Sadowski said the park would be opened "as a little early Christmas program."

But that didn't end the long-standing debate over the best location in town for kickflips, ollies and grinding.

"I don't think (a skate park) should be open in the 3rd Ward," said Councilman Derek Armstead. He said Wheeler Park, by West Stimpson Avenue and Route 1, would be a better choice.

Three teenage skateboarders who attended the meeting agreed with Armstead that Wheeler Park was the best spot. That site, which needs paving work, had county funding and approval a year ago, according to Armstead, but the park was never approved because of residents who didn’t want it in their neighborhood.

NJ.com: After long debate, Linden could have two parks for skating

Tony Hawk Foundation Helps Poor Kids in Watts Get Skatepark

Skateistan wins Peace and Sport Award in Monaco

Skateistan is the first skateboarding school in Afghanistan. It engages urban youth through skateboarding and focuses on education, cross-cultural interaction, public health, social development, and creating opportunities for girls.

Australian skateboarder Oliver Percovich started Skateistan with nothing more than some used skateboards and a dream. The program changed the lives of many poor children in Kabul by giving them opportunities to teach skateboarding for money, whereas many of them had been begging in the streets. The kids started out skating busted, empty fountains, but today, Skateistan has an indoor skatepark that's the largest indoor sports facility in Kabul.

This program is having a profound impact on young girls in Afghanistan — skateboarding is the only public sport available to girls. And, they don't just teach skateboarding:

They will develop skills in skateboarding, skateboarding instruction, healthy habits, civic responsibility, information technology, the arts, and languages. The students themselves decide what they want to learn; we connect them with teachers who will enable them to develop the skills that they consider important.

Having changed so many childrens' lives so quickly, Skateistan so much deserves this award for promoting peace through sport:

Skateistan has been given the award for best non-governmental organization of the year in Monaco by the Peace and Sport Forum. In the presence of H.S.H Prince Albert II, Skateistan Executive Director Oliver Percovich received the award from Peace and Sport Director and former world champion Joel Bouzou. The 3rd annual forum and award ceremony was organized by the "Organization for Peace through Sport."

Skateistan.org: Skateistan wins the Peace and Sport NGO of the Year Award in Monaco

Skateboarding Monk in China

Photographs of a monk skateboarding inside a historic temple have caused controversy in China.

They were taken by a visitor to the Emei Mountain Temple, in Sichuan province, and posted on the internet, reports Huaxi Metropolis News.

The monastery stands near the top of Mount Emei - the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China and the site of the country's first ever Buddhist temple.

Ananova: Skateboarding monk shocks China

More on the New Loudon County Skatepark

A skater's reaction to the new skatepark:

"This park is excellent," said skateboarder Steve Jefferson, 21, who has been involved with the project over the past year. "It's unlike any park I've ever been to. This park is definitely a modern-type skate park for this century. It has new features that are most likely not even in a street even, they are perfect for skateboarding."

On the collaboration between Loudon County and the South Riding Home Owner's Association:

"We had an agreement with the county where we would pay for it and then the county would take over maintenance and management of the park," said Jeff Salmon, president of the South Riding HOA. "It's effectively a gift from the HOA to Loudoun County."

Salmon on meeting the needs of older kids:

"We have a lot of resources for young children, but the older kids had little activities in the entire Dulles South area," he said. “"we determined this would be something the older kids would like and determined this was a need."

Involving skaters in the park's design:

Salmon said skateboarders and other members of the community were involved with the process all along.

"In July, we had a demo day for a skate park and let them vote on different designs and they actually selected the design we went with," he said. "We've received nothing but positive feedback."

Loudon Times: Skate Park opening in Dulles

Frederick, MD: Community Pitches in to Help Build Skatepark

Frederick County Commissioners amended the Middletown Park plan to allow a skate park to be built, and Pam Dietrik, a former skateboard mom, and skaters are helping to raise the funds to build the park.

From Paul Dial, director of the county's Parks and Recreation Department, and Drew Bowen, Middletown Town Manager:

"They want to go on the rails, they want to go on steps," Dial said. Skate parks can become a safe gathering place for young people.

"Times have changed and things have changed," Bowen said. Skate parks are not breeding grounds for disruptive youth doing nefarious activities.

Nearby properties are not harmed by the presence of skate parks, Dial said.

Injuries from skateboarding are far less than those from football and basketball, Bowen said, so insurance is not a problem.

FrederickNewsPost.com: Skateboarders seek new home in Middletown