‘Go Skateboarding Day' Celebration Boasts Great Success

Last Saturday more than 50 skaters and over 100 people of all ages came together on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to celebrate Go Skateboarding Day at the newly reopened Chatham Skate Park.  This was the first time Chatham Skate Park has hosted a celebration of Go Skateboarding Day, and the first time the skate park’s ramps were put to use by the professional skateboarding team from 5BORO in New York City, including hot shot skater Willy Akers.

A Best Trick contest was judged by 5BORO with prizes going to skaters in all age groups.  First place went to Dean Schlesinger, 21, of Madison, Second place to Josh Charow, 15, of Summit and Third place to Brian Thompson, 23, of Basking Ridge.  The winners walked away with brand new 5BORO skate decks and t-shirts, with additional prizes going to others in the competition and t-shirts tossed to lucky members of the public.  The 5BORO skate team went on to wow the crowd as it demoed its skills in a 20-minute skateboarding show.

            Chatham Township Mayor Nicole Hagner, Deputy Mayor Bob Gallop and Chatham Township Committee Member Kathy Abbott were all on hand to celebrate the day.  “The event was truly a skate park celebration as well as a fundraiser.  It successfully drew attention to the great skate park facility that we have that will soon get even better!” said Committee Member Abbott who has been involved in the process throughout.

            The event was the culmination of a campaign to renovate the park after it was shut down at the end of last summer. A newly-formed Chatham Skate Park Committee worked tirelessly to get the park re-opened.  Skate Park Committee member Frank Moran, an experiential marketer for ad agency McKinney, helped with the original campaign to build the park when he was growing up in Chatham and again with the recent campaign.  In planning Chatham’s Go Skateboarding Day, Moran reached out to his friend Tom Colabraro, also a Chatham native and Team Manager at 5BORO, who arranged bringing out the 5BORO team to put on the skate demo and host the best trick contest.  Moran is committed to the longevity of Chatham Skate Park stating, “skateboarding is an amazing sport and has done so much for me and many others. It keeps kids out of trouble, builds self esteem, discipline, sportsmanship and creates lifelong bonds.”

            For more information about Chatham Skate Park, visit the Chatham Skate Park Committee’s website at www.chathamskateparknj.org.