S.F. Skate Club's Class Is In Session

It's a gloomy Saturday morning in San Francisco, and the streets are slick with drizzle as the San Francisco Skate Club, a program dedicated to providing children ages 8 to 13 with skateboarding lessons and mentoring, gears up and departs for the Novato Skate Park in Marin. The weather on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge is pleasant, perfect for skateboarding.

At the skate park, the club is surprised to find the place virtually empty, which is unusual considering its reputation for being crowded on the weekends. The kids waste no time slapping on their helmets and pads. Nine-year-old Stratus Elmore rolls down one of the park's banks and lofts an ollie out of a mellower section of the bowl. The kids are hyped. The session is on.

Full story at the SFGate.com

Shanghai’s Skate Showdown - From The New York Times

The world’s largest skatepark (as in skateboarding and in-line skating) is in Shanghai, or more precisely in New Jiangwan City, a planned community that includes an enormous park (think Central Park-size) as part of the city’s emerging “greenbelt.” To celebrate my son Edward’s 11th birthday, we spent Saturday October 27th at the 3rd annual Shanghai Showdown, a competition for the best “professional skaters, inline and BMXers from around the world.” For those of you who may not be regulars on this circuit, as none of us are, “BMXers” refers to trick bicycles, on which riders do amazing stunts in the half-pipe.

The complete article is here.