Thrills and skills underneath a supermarket
Most shoppers heading for a mooch round Sainsbury’s will be blissfully unaware that a few feet below them youngsters are performing kickflips, ollies, and railslides. But that is the joy of the Zoo Skate Park – it is sport taken underground.
Situated below the supermarket car park, Zoo is where skateboarders, inline skaters, and BMXers aged 11 and over go to try out new thrills and skills – with the inevitable spills on the way. As all the youngsters must wear helmets, they survive the odd tumble with little more than a bruise or two, the medals of any serious skater.
Info
Address Foss Bank, York, YO31 7JB, +44 (0)1904 613385, Facebook: The Zoo Skate Park York, zoo.skatepark@gmail.com | Public Transport Foss Bank car park is adjacent to the skate park. Closest bus stops: Foss Bank and Peasholme Green | Hours Mon, Tue, and Thu 6pm–9pm, Fri 5pm–10pm, Sat noon–4pm| Tip Independent street sport specialists the Anti-Gravity Shop, on Colliergate, sell skateboards, scooters, skates, and assorted accessories.
Zoo Skate Park is open on Saturdays and most evenings too. Different sessions cater to boarders, scooters, and BMXers, and there are times reserved for girls only and the over-16s. And the emphasis is on affordability – sessions cost between £1.50 and £3.
The main park allows youngster to utilise a series of wooden ramps. There’s also an outdoor concrete mini ramp, as well as a chill-out building. The skaters’ best tricks can be enjoyed in a series of videos on the Facebook page and YouTube channel. Worth checking out is the Vale Skate (www.valeskatemag.co.uk): run by a York skater, it includes films about the scene across Yorkshire, with the Zoo featuring in a number of films.
Zoo Skate Park is owned by City of York Council and run by volunteers from Urban Revolution, part of the Rock Church. It is one of two York skate parks: the other, in Rowntree Park, is free and always crowded on warm weekends and school holidays.
You might well stumble across skateboarders in the city itself. Both King’s Square and the Coppergate Centre are popular skater spots in the early evening when shoppers have moved on. In July 2015, York hosted its first Go Skateboarding Day, with skateboarders showcasing their talents at various city locations – an event which necessitated only four trips to A&E …
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