There’s no doubt that skateboarding is experiencing a resurgence in popularity, helped partly by the inclusion of the sport in the 2020 Olympic Games, which will be hosted in Tokyo.
According to the BBC, one community group in Manchester is now hoping to create a skateboarding national centre of excellence in the northern city.
Projekts MCR has put in a planning application to significantly expand its current skate park, with the aim to create a £350,000 centre where the sport can be taught as well as practiced.
Under its plans, there would be an extended skating area, as well as a separate space for teaching and a beginner’s area. A viewing deck and cafe are also proposed under the scheme, with the aim to introduce more people to the activity.
Chief executive of Projekts MCR John Haines told the news provider that the hope is that they can create the “first centre of excellence for skateboarding in the country”. He added that Skateboard England would need to approve the proposal as well.
It’s not just about getting more people to try skateboarding in skate parks where they can work on their tricks though, with Mr Haines noting that they’d like to encourage more people to use it as a form of transport as well.
“There are areas in the city where skateboards are banned but we do want to encourage people to use skateboarding as a form of transport,” he asserted. One suggestion is that they could use bus lanes to skate, rather than pavements.
Speaking to the Independent recently, the executive director of the International Association of Skateboard Companies Thomas Barker said that he expects there to be a boom in skate park creation following the sport’s inclusion in the Olympics.
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