Go Skateboarding Day...

Did you know that today is international Go Skateboarding Day. It's just a day to celebrate the magic rolling board and go for a wee or big skate session. I went for a wee roll around Scotland's oldest skatepark. I was originally gonna try and do this picture all by myself but the logistics of managing or timing it properly were insurmountable and had to employ a helper to push the button. To look at him, I'd say he was only about 10 or 12 years old but I think you'll agree, his timing was absolutely spot on.

I thought it'd be as good a date as any to do a second Skate Culture Article and what better subject than the terrain choice of the day, sooooo........



Skate Culture Article #2 - Livingston Skatepark

If you were to ask any seasoned Scottish skateboarder, possibly even British, where the home of Scottish Skateboarding is, I'd wager that near enough the only answer you'll get is Livingston and Livingston Skatepark or just Livi as it is known and shall be for the remainder of this text.

I'm not sure of the exact year it was built but it was around the early 80s. I saw 1982 quoted which sounds about right. Since then it has become a world renowned skatepark. You can put it in comparison with Hampden Park, MurrayField or St Andrews in their respective sports. It's not the biggest skatepark in the world by any means, not even the biggest in Scotland, but the way it has been designed has given it a timeless respect amongst the skate community. It's affection comes from the simple design which flows from one part to the other. In skateboarding, this is called 'lines'. Routes through and across the skatepark hitting various obstacles along the way. It has hundreds of them.

I've been skating Livi as long as I've been skateboarding. I visited it in my first year of skateboarding and still remember seeing it for the first time and being underwhelmed by the relatively small size of the place. It was not until I grew as a skateboarder that I fully understood and appreciated the magnitude of what can be done with so little. In that same year I also went on a council run double decker bus trip to Livi and met some of my longest known friends one which is my daughter's godfather so you could say that it has helped in shaping my life as it is now.

Any article about Livingston Skatepark would be incomplete without mentioning Kenny Omond. Kenny proposed, designed and helped build the skatepark back when Livingston was a young new town in the late 70s. If Livi is the home of Scottish skateboarding, Kenny is it's father. No one person has done more for the sport in this country and is still an active voice for the skateboarders of Scotland well into his retirement.

If you're interested in seeing Livi skated by some of the best skaters in the country, the best dates are the last weekend in June (next Saturday and Sunday). It used to be the date of the world famous Livi Pure Fun Skate Party. The skate party isn't run as an official event anymore but the dates remain so and generally people just turn up on that weekend to camp, party and have the mother of all skate sessions.

You can view the rest (only one other just now) of my Skate Culture Articles here.