Our Mission
Skate Chesco’s mission is to promote and make accessible the positive, healthy experiences that come from skateboarding to all regardless of means. We aim to achieve this through advocacy and support for the building of public skateparks and multi-use skateboarding-friendly spaces throughout Chester County.
group art show
coaxial
gryphon coffee may & June
opening Fri May 8th 4-7pm
Skate the streets
On September 14th we partnered up once again with Sidebar to transform half a block of Gay St into a pop up skatepark. The weather was perfect and turn out was great with a mix of ages and abilities and some West Chester Legends including Mike Maldonado and Chris Aspite in the mix. Was awesome to see the new generation of skateboarders sharing the streets with pros and beginners.
There were ramps and skate features for all levels and abilities thanks to the help of Ben Feathers and Jake at West Chester Woodworks opening up their awesome facility to us. We even had a stone replica of the classic Hight St steps thanks to a donation from AAA Hellenic Marble . People were able to enjoy lunch at Sidebar and Oola bowls behind the safety of some awesome fence from Fence Authority they also donated a majority of the 2x4s used in construction of the skate features. Lorenzo and Sons Pizza had a pizza eating contest so we had a tie in with the pizza pole jam fabricated by Nathan David Fabrication and painted by local skater Matt Behm.
Parents/caregivers welcome and encouraged to participate!
Each pop up is a standalone event lasting only two hours, come to one or all three. Best part is they are free!
Helmets required, Some loaner helmets and safety gear available thanks to a donation from Protec.
April 19 - John O. Green Park 1pm-3pm
May 10 - Marshall Sq Park 1pm-3pm
May 18 - Bayard Rustin Park ** rescheduled from 4/16**
Registration is available through the WC Parks and Rec portal : Skate 101 Registration
A series of pop-ups to teach kids the basics of skateboarding. Which foot goes in front? How do you push these things? How do you turn and most important, how do you stop?? No board, no problem! Loaner boards will be available.
Skate 101
follow for updates
Skate 101 Marshall Sq PArk
Skate 101 John o green PArk
Donate
All of our events including Skate the Streets and Skate 101 are free thanks to volunteers and product donations from local businesses and industry sponsors. We have teamed up with The Community Network as our fiscal sponsor enabling us to accept 501c3 donations. Our goal is to expand with more events and to provide free skateboards and safety gear for youth in need.
Donations help cover the costs for materials, insurance (our biggest expense) storage unit for ramps, rental trucks for moving skate features, additional safety gear and other expenses. We are 100% volunteer based so all donations go directly towards skateboarding.
Donations accepted at: https://tcnetwork.org/skate-chesco/
Thank you!!
Rustin Park Skate Spot Proposal
West Chester has a long history in skateboarding, it’s hard to believe there is still no legal place to skate let alone a public skatespot in the Borough. We would like to help change that with a 5-6,000 square foot public skatespot at Rustin Park.
We know space is at a premium in the Borough that is why we are proposing a smaller footprint spot leaving more greenspace than we are requesting. Skateparks have been shown to be one of the most utilized facilities at public parks.
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We would like to see the construction of a 5-6,000 square foot public skatespot built at Rustin Park in the area next to the existing basketball courts. The plan is to have a mixture or ledges, rails, quartepipes and banks with an organic design meant to blend in with the park. Accessibility is paramount in the design making it easily used and enjoyed by all skill levels and physical ability.
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What’s a skatespot, don’t you mean skatepark? Skateparks are generally larger footprints in the 10-20,000+ square foot area many times with plazas and bowls. A skatespot would be more in the 3-6,000 SF range and be more for the local community rather than a destination park.
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First and foremost, accessibility. Rustin Park is skating distance from the heart of the Borough and accessible via public transportation. located at the south end of park on Rosedale Ave.
Additionally, Rustin Park is one of the more underutilized parks in the Borough and is relatively flat so minimal grading would be needed. We are parents as well as skaters so understand the importance of greenspace and there is limited amount in the Borough. This is why footprint spot and not a full blown skatepark. Our proposal would leave a majority of greenspace available for play. We feel we are adding to the park and community, not taking away.
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The goal of the spot is to be fun but simple. We have received input from skaters in the Borough and that’s where we came up with the idea of a skatespot not a large skatepark. We would also like to fave some features designed with accessibility in mind to include adaptive athletes.
Basic ledges preferably granite, much like the courthouse benches everyone has seen locals skate.
A simple, yet fun flat bar which is just what it sounds like, a long flat rail about a foot or so off the ground.
A quarterpipe wall that escalates down to ground level making it enjoyable by all skill levels and ability
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Whenever a new skatespot is brought up the number one response is “there’s already a skatepark next to WaWa.” There’s one key word in that statement, “a” as in single. So while yes it is true there is “A” skatepark, it’s in West Goshen and only accessible by car.
This park is also approaching 20 years old and was built by a company (skate wave) that is no longer in business. Additionally it is constructed out of metal and composite materials, two surfaces that are not normally used by skaters.
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West Chester native Bayard Rustin was one of the most influential and effective organizers of the civil rights movement. While the park is named in his honor we would like to do more. We would like to have the design include a quarterpipe wall which the backside could be used to incorporate a mural paying tribute to Bayard Rustin.
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Funding for skatespots and parks can be done through a combination of grants, donations and fundraising.
A great example of grants is the Delco Skatepark Coalition, they recently received a $250,000 grant for the Upper Darby Skatepark! We have been working with the Skatepark Project and have been encouraged to apply for a grant through them once the time comes.
Worrilow in Brookhaven, PA at approx 3,000 SF is a good example of a small footprint spot. Built by 5th Pocket skateparks with additional funding raised by the good people at Delco Skate Coalition
Here is an overlay showing Worrilow in the area we are proposing at Rustin. We would like to see something with a similar organic design and not a fenced in bunker like WaWa park.
““We, at The Skatepark Project, applaud any organization’s commitment to support and engage with the local action sports community. We feel the West Chester skatespot project is worth supporting, and look forward to seeing who in the area has stepped up to help create a space that changes lives and transforms a community.””
“We would walk”
We held a popup skatespot at the Rustin Park basketball courts, it was a great success and positive afternoon for the youth of West Chester. West Chester needs a permanent spot Damon Organt put this clip together highlighting the afternoon.