Mantis Skate Park Kicks Off The Season With New Obstacles In Place
Mantis Skate Park Kicks Off The Season With New Obstacles In Place
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Mantis Skate Park Kicks Off The Season With New Obstacles In PlaceBanks, bowls, cradles, curbs, flat rails, half-pipes and ramps are a few of the obstacles and elements that can be found at skate parks to ride and perform tricks on.
Opening day for Mantis Skate Park in Warsaw was Saturday, and it brought out over two dozen skaters throughout the day to try out the several new obstacles that have been added.
Brendan Crisman, 31, has been riding his board at Mantis Skate Park since seventh grade.
“I do my best to come out here opening day every year just because I’ve been doing it basically my whole life. It’s always good to get out here, and especially meeting up with some of the old guys that used to skate together. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen them,” Crisman said.
He thought the new obstacles at the park were “pretty great.”
Mauricio Martinez was back at Mantis Saturday after about a 10-year absence. He said he used to come out to the park every day for years.
“We all have an old skate group chat and we just started chatting in it, and it kind of inspired all of us to get back on the board and hit the park. So here we are,” he said.
He called the new obstacles “awesome. The last time I was here, I think they had just installed that kink rail and that was fun. Seeing all these other rails is just awesome.”
Sebastian Urrutia, 25, started skating at Mantis when he was 8. He said what he likes about skateboarding is “the freedom to create something cool. Make new lines. Meet cool people. I met some of my best friends skateboarding.”
He also described the new obstacles as “awesome. They are so fun.”
Urrutia lives in Columbia City now but grew up in Warsaw. “They had somebody out here working and my parents liked that so they were cooling with dropping me off here. I’d hang out most of my days here,” he said.
Logan Maier was out at the park with his skateboard, while his brother, Luke, had his scooter.
“Luke and I have been coming to Mantis Skate Park since probably fifth or sixth grade, and I’m 17 now and he’s 19,” Logan said.
Logan said they got into skateboarding through friends. He said he didn’t think he was going to use it as much as he did, but he ended up falling in love with skateboarding.
“I’ve always rode my scooter. I never really skated. I tried it, but I never really got into it. Plus, when I first started I was way better at this than skating,” Luke said.
Logan said he started with scootering, too, but Luke got way better than him so he switched to skateboarding so they could each have their own thing. “It worked out,” Logan said.
Considering a lot of area towns don’t have a skate park at all, Luke said it was pretty nice that Warsaw has one, “especially as nice as this one is.”
“It’s pretty nice because the closest good skate park is about 45 minutes away, so having one right here is convenient. Really nice,” Logan said.
Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Recreation Director Stephanie Schaefer is familiar with many of the skaters who were out Saturday.
“I started out here at Mantis Skate Park 17 years ago myself, so most of the skaters out here today have been coming just as long as I’ve been here. So it’s kind of like a little reunion we’ve had here today,” she said.
Speaking on the new obstacles, she said they have two new rails and a cement feature.
“The skaters that have been coming out here for a long time are so excited for these new features. They’ve been over here most of the day just practicing and working on those,” Schaefer said.
The Gone Boarding class from Warsaw Area Career Center was on hand Saturday. They took group pictures with the skaters and made mini little decks that the skaters could decorate and take home with them.
Teacher Andrea Miller said the Gone Boarding class is part of Warsaw Community Schools’ Digital Design Pathway.
“There’s a principles class that focuses a lot on basic graphic design stuff and they do have one project where they get to design the graphics for a skateboard or a longboard deck. And then in the second and third year, they start to make their own skateboard/longboard. They do other types of board builds like surfboards and stand-up paddle boards and snowboards,” Miller said. “And then part of what we do throughout the year is get the kids out into the world a little bit and they get to try some stand-up paddleboarding, they get to try some snowboarding, and a few other types of activities that are related to what we build.
For Saturday’s event, Miller said students made some miniature skateboard decks, and the class provided some paint markers and stickers and other things the participants can use to make their own custom deck.
Also as part of Saturday’s opening day events, hundreds of dollars in prizes were given out through a raffle.
“We’ve given away probably about $400 or $500 worth of prizes so far, and there’s still about that much to be given out yet today,” Schaefer said before 3 p.m.
Linda Chastain, from State Farm Insurance, was the gold sponsor for opening day Saturday, but also sponsored three events in 2022 and is sponsoring other events at Mantis Skate Park later this year.
“I started skating when I was very young, I would say probably 5ish. And skated for a lot of years, just as a mode of transportation as a kid, and then as I got older, ironically, my son for Mother’s Day got me a custom-made longboard. Not all that long ago, about 15 years ago, and so I started skating again, kind of got back into it as an adult,” Chastain said.
She doesn’t really do the trick skating because it’s beyond her expertise, so she just rides her custom longboard.
“I just find it really relaxing, it gets me outside, it’s great exercise, it’s very family friendly and I highly recommend it to everybody,” Chastain said.
Helmets are required at all times at Mantis, which is something else she likes as an insurance agent.
“I think it’s a very nice park. It’s very family friendly. They’ve got some new elements this year, some new things that were installed, so I highly recommend people bring their kids out and enjoy the day,” she said.
Dates and times of operation for the skate park, during school hours, are May 20-29 and Aug. 14-Sept. 1, Mondays through Fridays, 4 to 8 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Summer hours are May 30-Aug. 12, Mondays through Fridays, noon to 8 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
BMX bike hours will begin today at Mantis. They are 4 to 6 p.m. Mondays and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays. When school is out, They will also be allowed from noon to 2 p.m. Fridays.
An annual waiver and emergency contact form must be on file to skate. Participants under the age of 18 must have a parent/guardian sign these forms. These forms are available on the park website or at the Mantis Skate Park during operating hours.
If you need assistance or have any questions, email parksevents@warsaw.in.gov or call 574-372-9554.
“Just come out and see us. It’s a great place to be. It’s very family friendly and we would love to see them out here,” Schaefer stated.
