'Band Jam/Skate Jam' Debuts at Brandon Skate Park Tonight (July 14)

Update: Coverage of the event is at

______________

Earlier:

Tonight marks the first major event at the Brandon Skate Park since its grand opening festivities in May. The Brandon Skate Park Band Jam/Skate Jam is set to run July 14 from 5 to 10 p.m., featuring live bands and skate competitions in three age categories.

That's according to Sam Haslet, program specialist at the 11,000- square-foot park operated by the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department at Providence Park East, just north of the Bloomingdale Avenue and Providence Road intersection.

"We'll have five to six skaters at time," Haslet said. "They'll have a five-minute time limit to perform their tricks, show their skills and abilities, and be judged by several judges from the skate community."

Prizes from local skate shops and businesses will be awarded in three age categories: 12 and under, 13 to 15, and 16 and up. Set to perform: Black Water, Academy of Rock, the Hanging Chads and Rick Furious, a dubstep deejay. 

Skaters can register for the event any time before 4 p.m., Haslet said.

"We're excited about it because this is our first main event, and we plan to do it annually," Haslet said. "We have a lot of skaters coming pretty much from all over, from Dunedin, New Port Richey, Clearwater and Sarasota. Pretty much from three or four counties."

The Brandon Skate Park opened April 21 and celebrated its formal grand opening May 12, at which time Haslet said the park topped 1,000 waivers. All skaters must wear helmets and complete a waiver, signed by a parent if they are under age 18.

In an interview today, July 14, Haslet said that she has received closer to 1,350 waivers. "It just keeps growing every day," she said. "I just entered a stack of 25 the other day."

The goal of tonight's event is to keep that momentum alive.

"The aim of this is to let people know we're open and that we hope to keep on putting great events like this with the suport of the county and the community," Haslet said. "To have bigger and better events in the future and to present the Brandon Skate Park as a place for contests, venues and running a good show."

At the park, music plays and the lights are on at night, which allows for skating in cooler temperatures. Summer hours for the Brandon Skate Park are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 8 p.m. 

To celebrate the park’s grand opening, skating is free throughout the summer. As to when a fee will be instituted, that has yet to be decided, Haslet said.

“Our oldest skater is 52 and I have two 4-year-olds who skate regularly,” Haslet said in an interview in June, about the Brandon Skate Park. “I’ve even had a 3-year-old. They don’t have the muscle capacity to do some of the tricks, but they are definitely grinding and Ollie-ing and cruising the course.”

The regular, more-advanced skaters, “are breaking in the course nicely,” Haslet added. “We have 30 to 50 people here every day and that means that there was an absolute need for this park and the county made a good decision putting it here.”

All skaters are required to wear helmets. Skaters under age ten must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Skaters under age 12 must skate with full pads. There are a limited number of helmets and knee and elbow pads available to borrow, Haslet said.

The Apollo Beach Skate Park is set to open this summer. A public information meeting for a park in Northwest Hillsborough County is scheduled for July 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Jackson Springs Recreation Center in Tampa, Haslet said.

Hillsborough County has a reciprocal agreement with the City of Tampa. Annual passes will be honored at all Hillsborough County and City of Tampa skate parks.

______________

From an earlier report:

The 11,000-square-foot Brandon Skate Park was funded with impact fees and general revenue dollars. Team Pain, a company owned and operated by skaters that for 30 years has been creating custom skate parks for communities and skateboarders worldwide, worked under Hennessy Construction Services Corp. as a member of the design, permitting and construction team.

The Brandon Skate Park is the first skate park built with taxpayers' dollars.

• .

According to county officials, the park cost $499,501 and is best described, according to a Brandon Patch interview with Team Pain foreman Chris Berry in January, as a "street course," featuring a bowl, "like a swimming pool, 9 feet, 6 inches deep."

The Brandon Skate Park is at 5720 Providence Road, in the Greater Brandon community of Riverview.

Included in the course are radius ramps, stairs, rails, ledges, banks and pool coping, which is the term used to identify the stone, or in this case, concrete material used to cap the bowl shell wall.

Team Pain has built skate parks throughout Florida, including in Tampa, New Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton and the soon-to-open park in Apollo Beach.

______________

Brandon Skate Park Features:

Bowl:

• An intermediate/professional bowl with rounded walls, two hips and two general depths. The shallow end is 6 feet deep and just under-vert; the deep end is more than 9 feet deep, with 1.5 feet of vert. The entire bowl has pool coping and tile.

Obstacle Street:

• Consists of two main levels that split the park into two sections.
• The lower section has a few street-plaza elements, including a granite bench set at an angle; curved ledges; a cone-pole jam; a manual pad; a small, but long, set of four stairs; a brick-stamped bank with a flat bar on top; and a handrail and flat rail. The area also sports a very wide quarter-pipe, with steel coping, including a 12-foot pool coping extension; a smaller pyramid with a bull-nose flat rail; and a steep bank and hip.
• The lower section is connected to the upper section with a series of banks, including a step-up that links to an escalating transition hip.

Transition Elements:

• Six-foot corner quarter-pipe leading to a long and low A-shaped quarter-pipe, ending at a series of moguls located throughout.
• A third level takes skaters to the bowl, an area also connected with quarter-pipes and more moguls, ranging in height from 2.5 to 5 feet.

______________

RELATED COVERAGE:

______________