The latest battle for a Skate park

My Response to the stories that have been in the local paper about a new skate park.

I started the first Skate Rollerblade Shop in St.Kilda and Australia in 1989 called Apache Junction, I put a lot of work and time into the local community when St.Kilda was just becoming a place to live. .

I started a skate Team called Team Apache and not one of these kids got out of hand or in trouble with the law they were all St.Kilda Residents.

These Kids now adults travelled Australia and the world and represented Australia and our State at numerous competitions, our St.Kilda kids were the top 10 skaters in Australia for three years straight and 2, 3, 4 in the World.

Team Apache made appearances on all major Televisions show such as Hey Hey and Vizard, and opened the Australia music awards with the girlfriend group, worked on the Triple Thunders for 2 years, and one was even employed by the Sultan of Brunei to teach skating at Jerudong theme park, Brunei Darussalam.
Lewis Marnell the youngest is still one of the worlds top Skaters now a skateboard is still travelling the world, at 22 he has his own apartment in the city now and is a great Australian representative St.Kilda should be Proud.

Team Apache and Apache Junction has worked with many Councils and community groups such as Berry Street for kids, Association for the Blind to mention a couple.

I myself was a founding member of the Victoria inline hockey Association personal trainer for heartbreak high and consultant for the skate ramp and the end of pit lane in Albert Park, Organised the first 3 Australian inline skate championships and consulted for Education Victoria and I even took skates to St.Kilda Primary for the kids to learn skating.

The latest battle for a skate park has made my blood boil I haven’t said a word a about skating for about ten years but when a Joker yes a Joker a would be funny man from the not be to named sports show pipes up and wants to ban the building of a skate park with ill informed propaganda that was it.

So let’s have a look at football players and what they do when there minders are not around.

Do you need to be reminded about one play bonking his team mates wife, then there’s football players Violents against Women, drunken brawls out of and in side Pubs and the abandonment of a car on a west Australian highway and as I’m writing this letter another of the not to be mentioned sports show thinks assaulting women before sex is just foreplay, these voices need to removed from the debate until they reform themselves.

Then we have the St.Kilda Sport Club and the Elephant and Wheelbarrow both these places sell the Demon brew yes Alcohol the precursor of all Trouble and what is that, the break up of families and downfall and death of so many human beings it’s is the most Dangerous! Drug of all, without the precursor of Dutch courage many people young and old would never have started the downfall.

The Elephant and Wheelbarrow has been in our town for only a few short years as many of the businesses in Fitzroy Street that sell Alcohol, I believe their view is not valid they came here for the bright lights big city and the almighty dollar. Their view should be struck from the debate.

It’s almost 15 years since I ask the council for a skate park, boy time’s flies good to see they are still pursing it.