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Oshawa-Durham > Recreation > Sports >
Sports: Skateboarding
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Written by Steve Garcia
[ Background | Equipment | Where ]
Background
The skateboard has become a standard item of equipment for many young adults. With the growing popularity of skateboarding since it's invention, the skateboard can be associated with youthful energy and adventurousness. In essence, skateboarding may be a solo sport but boarders usually hang around in groups while performing stunts or runs.
It takes coordination to apply balance and grace to master the sport of skateboarding. The fitness benefits as a result of skateboarding are that the joints and the stability of ligaments around the knees and ankles are strengthened. This is in part to the running, boarding and stunt performance involved in skateboarding.
In the late 1950s, the skateboard was invented as a means of surfing outside of water. The idea stemming from surfing enthusiasts, frustration on relying on the weather conditions to surf. The first skateboards were basically the bases of roller skates nailed to the front and back ends of wooden planks.
Standard maneuvers for skateboarding include the 180, 360 and the "Ollie". The "Ollie" was invented by Alan Ollie Gelfand and the manoeuvre involved leaping into the air while having the board stay flush with your feet.
With skateboarding growing popularity, more and more specialized skateboarding parks are being built. Some in which formal competitions are being held such as the popular extreme sports competition, the X-Games.
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Equipment
When choosing the right equipment for skateboarding it is important to be selective. Skateboards vary depending on the styles of riding you wish to do. Things to pay attention to when choosing a board are the skateboard deck, the trucks (components, which the wheels are attached to), and the wheels, which is the most critical element of a skateboard as it provides functionality and safety. The prices can range from $20 - $200. Other equipment includes helmets that are designed specifically for skateboarding, and protective pads for your knees and elbows and wrist supports. Wearing comfortable, loose fitting clothing and investing in a good pair of skateboarding shoes adds to the skateboarding experience.
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Where
Contact your local parks & recreation department
Lake Ontario Communities |
McLean Community Centres,
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95 Magill Drive, Ajax
905-428-7711
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a mix of semi-permanent modular ramps and rails placed on a concrete base. The parks are open during daylight hours, weather permitting
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Ajax Community Centres
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75 Centennial Rd, Ajax
905-683-3740
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a mix of semi-permanent modular ramps and rails placed on a concrete base. The parks are open during daylight hours, weather permitting
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Whitby - Iroqouis Park
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500 Victoria St. W,
(905) 668-7765
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Nice sized park with large obstacles, with some flaws. Pyramid, quarters, flat bars, ledges, volcano and flat
banks.
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Oz Skatepark, Pickering
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830 Brock Road Unit 2
Pickering, L1R 2S7
905)837-0685
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Big indoor skatepark, several ramps and a 12 foot high wall ride, with lots of rails and quater pipes, and a food court.
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Rec Centre Skatepark, Pickering
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Brock Rd. north (of 401), west on Pickering Parkway to Valley Farm Rd. North to rec centre.
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Small park with good obstacles with a cramped & inefficient layout.
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Donevan Skatepark, Oshawa
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Donevan Rec. Center on Harmony Road ( between Olive and King)
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Good little outdoor park, big long quarterpipes, a nice double set, and funboxes
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Donegan Skatepark
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Cobourg
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Public park with 3 quarter pipes, 6-foot,4-foot and a 3-foot one 8-foot roll in, funbox pyramid, and grind rails.
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Bowmanville Skatepark
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Waverly and Hwy.2 behind rec centre.
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Similar to Pickering's Pickeringdesign, but fewer obstacles and harsher lines. |
Quinte West
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Couch Crescent off Bay, in Centennial Park, Trenton
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16,000 square feet, with everything one needs in a skatepark: pyramids, flatbars, banks, stairs, hubbas, gaps, mini step-ups, manual islands, and a bowl. |
Napanee Skatepark
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Springside Park at the Corner of Palace Rd and City Rd #2 near the Railway overpass
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A concrete park with a rough bowl, quarter pipe, flat bank, small ledges and small, partial pyramid.
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Kawarthas Communities |
Uxbridge Skatepark
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Main Street beside waterplant
Uxbridge L9P 1K5
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Small park with banks, roll-ins, metal-edged mini table, and large table with sub box, 6 foot quarter-pipes.
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The Sky is the Limit Skatepark
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Port Perry
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Smooth concrete pad with prefab obstacles made of steel: 5 ft. tall, eight-foot-wide quarter pipe, pyramid with flat bar, flat bank, and two curbs.
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Lindsay
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133 Adelaide St. South
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a modular park with rough asphalt and shabby obstacles
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Peterborough
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133 Adelaide St. South
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a modular park with rough asphalt and shabby obstacles
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Lakefield
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On the corner of Monoghan Rd. and McDonnel St
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6,127 square ft concrete park (to be expanded to around 8,000 sq.ft).
Built by the same company as the Oakville skatepark, with
quarters, ledges, rails, a launch ramp, a vert wall, a mini half pipe...
Pads and helmets are optional. Skate until dusk (no lights).
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Lakefield
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133 Adelaide St. South
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A small park beside the tennis courts, with a rough asphalt ground
and old wooden ramps.
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Minden
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Minden fairground
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Decent wooden park with banks, rails, funbox,1/4 pipes, and kickers.
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