Getting Involved: Filling the recreational void
All of us have different outlets that keep our lives balanced. We talk to friends, enjoy a relaxing beer or wine, pray, meditate, go eat Memphis barbecue or go beat our bodies up in the gym.
If you just moved to Memphis from the West or either coast, your outlets may have included cycling in and around the city or just outside the city limits or surfing in the ocean or snowboarding in the mountains or going to your local park to swim, roller blade or skateboard. If these are some of the things that you enjoyed before moving to Memphis, then you may have experienced some withdrawal symptoms since moving here. Where there was a locale for your activities in your previous residence, there may be recreational void here.
Anyone else feel this way?
Don’t lose heart though you are not alone. There are many Memphians, transplants and natives, that want the same type of physical outlets that you cherish.
Skate Demo at Fairgrounds, 2008
Photo by Amie Vanderford
Cycling
Take cycling for example: the first Greening Greater Memphis meeting in February of 2007 drew a packed room of over 1000 people that were very interested in seeing more bike paths established through-out the city. If you are an avid cyclist and refuse to let your habit die an untimely death, get involved with organizations that are trying to get more cycling options available through-out the city. There are two websites that will immediately connect you with others in the cycling community. Check out Memphis Critical Mass and Revolutions . My neighbor and friend, Daniel Duckworth is the owner of the Midtown Bike Co so drop by his store and he’ll give you the full scoop. His shop recently re-located from Midtown to downtown Memphis.
Skate boarding and roller blading
The skate options are marginal but that situation will be changing for the better in the near future. Until recently Memphis had no immediate plans for building a skate park. In 2006, when we moved here, I was determined not to give up my skate park habit so I started an online skate park advocacy group called Skatelife Memphis .
In April of 2008, Parks and Recreation asked me to recruit skaters to a ramp demo hosted by the American Ramp Company. I was a bit concerned that perhaps I was the only voice in the wilderness calling for a skate park. Wrong. We had a solid 300+ skaters show up to the event! Based on the response of the demo, the Memphis Parks department requested city funding and funding was approved in July 2008 for a public skate park. The ground breaking ceremony will occur sometime this fall.
Skate Demo at Fairgrounds, 2008
Photos by Amie Vanderford
A major future game-changer- help us!
In the next few months Memphians have a pivotal opportunity to fill the recreational void by advocating for a major recreational magnet. The Riverfront Development Corporation is hosting a public meeting where it will partner with the public in developing a master plan for Mud Island. For the past year and a half Skateife Memphis has advocated for building a major competition skate park at the tip of the island- these meetings represent the next stage in moving the skate park project forward.
Skateboarding has reached an all time high among our youth and its participants have eclipsed the number of youth playing baseball- a park on Mud Island would be a huge draw for youth and families to the downtown area . Imagine with me, the X-games or the Mountain dew tour being hosted on the island with the city-lit skyline as the back drop on one side and the might Mississippi flowing past on the other.
Cities that were or are currently ranked #1 in the categories of the safest (San Jose, CA) , fittest (Colorado Springs, CO), and most family friendly cities (Louisville, KY) are also cities with the top three largest skate parks in the U.S. Clearly there is a lot for Memphis to gain by building for one of the new American pass times.
Please join with me in an effort to leapfrog our fitness and quality of life rankings closer to these other cities. You can join our cause by signing up on our Skatelife Memphis emailing list.
