Sport’s Enthusiasts Foster a Welcoming and Helpful Attitude Toward Newcomers

OCEAN CITY — Skating is for everyone, devotees of the sport say. That’s why Willie Fannon, a local skater who runs the Ocean City Skate Park, says that the Cape May County skateboarding scene is having its second heyday.

Skate parks once littered the Cape, even in ritzy towns like Avalon and Stone Harbor. The 1990s and the early 2000s were full of cultural images of the X-Games, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and punk varmints that gave skateboarding an outsider-repellent reputation.

That’s still part of the scene, but scores of new skaters, especially women and girl skaters, are reshaping what it looks like to participate in the sport.

Zoe Herschen has been skating since she learned to walk, but she spent many of her early days learning to skate at North Jersey parks wondering ‘Where are all the girls?’ At just 17, she spends much of her time organizing all-girls skate clinics in Ocean City. The most popular all-girls skate event she hosts is “Chica de Mayo,” an annual event she dreamed up when she was just 8 years old.

“Well, my Mom was doing most of the logistics back then,” she said with a laugh. “But I’ve really fallen in love with hosting events and helping girls skate.” She hosts three skate clinics just for girls each summer in Ocean City, and many more for people of all genders. “Girls leave the events feeling like family. I don’t see that in the other skate clinics I host,” she said.

The Ocean City Skate Park is an anomaly in the county. It is always supervised, and it attracts skaters from all walks of life, and of all ages. The word “supervision” might sound parental, but the folks who run the park are lifelong skaters themselves who are just there to keep things drama-free.

That’s especially important when skaters of all skill levels – 5-year-olds just stepping on the board for the first time and veterans in their 30s – are sharing a relatively small space.

“With the culture bringing a mixing of ages it can be tough,” Fannon said. “Sometimes it can be tough managing such a huge age gap between all the participants, all bringing their own perspectives and attitudes to the park.”

But the result is an inclusive, beginner-friendly space that welcomes everybody. Visitors don’t even have to bring their own boards, pads or helmets; there’s a “skate shack” at the entrance to the park that has free rentals for anybody.

But skating is still bone-breaking stuff. Fannon said that he has sustained two major injuries in his life. Wearing a helmet and pads is essential to staying safe and can be the difference between an “oops” and a skull-breaking fall. Though some parks use Skatelite, a multilayer hard surface designed to dull falls, most are just concrete, wood and metal.

Rory Paredes, 16, showed up at the Ocean City Skate Park to be photographed for this story but rolled his ankle just moments before showtime. He’d just recovered from 10 stitches on his shin and is currently trying to master the 360 flip, which he can pull off — just not every time.

Paredes got his first board at 8 years old and wants to look “steezy and loose” while he skates, like his favorite skater, Louie Lopez. He rides an 8.5-inch-wide deck, which usually breaks every two months from practice.

He uploads videos of himself skating, a hobby staple, to his Instagram, @rordog_08. “I’m at the point where I think I could get sponsored,” he said as he held an ice pack to his ankle. Paredes hopes that a skate brand will endorse him, which means free merchandise and a chance to be featured in skate marketing.

Taj is an 8-year-old skater from Ocean City who is already sponsored. He has skated nearly his entire life. “I’m working really hard on tricks right now,” he said. He’s working on “rock to fakies,” a move where the skater beaches the board at the top of a ramp, killing the momentum, then launches back down the ramp.

Despite the sport’s popularity spike, there are far fewer parks in Cape May County than there were at the turn of the century. Parks once stood in places like Goshen, Villas, Avalon and Stone Harbor.

But Fannon said that those defunct parks were not as high-quality as the ones that stand today, especially the one in Ocean City. The old parks became run down, and many towns chose not to upgrade them, or to replace them when it was time to put them to rest.

“A lot of things are changing with the growing popularity of the sport,” Fannon said. “More municipalities across the state are choosing to put in new skate parks. And this time, they’re doing it right.”

There are plenty of folks who come to skate at one of Cape May County’s parks who will never get sponsorship and might never even pop an ollie. That’s OK. Mike Stadnicki, a local skater who works at the Ocean City Skate Park, stressed that the sport is fun for skaters of every level. There’s a thrill that comes simply with skating up and down the Cape as a means of transport.

Stadnicki does everything he can to help new skaters feel welcome. He gives beginners pointers as they gain their footing and is always looking for ways to give newcomers a good experience at the park. When there’s nobody at the park, he makes bracelets in the skate shack to give out as gifts to skaters.

“The skate culture overall is more accepting now than it was when I started,” he said. “When I was growing up we were always getting into trouble. Kids are lucky to have what they have now.

“I love helping these kids. It was more cliquey back when I started, way less accepting of outsiders. We get kids here who can barely stand up on their boards.

“But skating is for everybody — it’s a new challenge every time you get out there.”

Contact the author, Collin Hall, at chall@cmcherald.com or give him a call at 609-886-8600 ext. 156