Sisters skaters ready to shred

A longtime dream of skaters in the Sisters Country has come true. Skaters now have a new concrete bowl in which to work on their gravity-defying tricks and stunts.

Phase I of a three-phase skate park project on the grounds of the Sisters Park & Recreation District headquarters is complete, and skaters from all around the Central Oregon region were here by Friday to put wheels down.

The skate park - two-and-a-half years in the making - is a passion project for Sisters High School math teacher Dan O'Neill and a cadre of dedicated young skaters. The project, which has cost $30,000 so far, was funded through a Tony Hawk Foundation grant of $10,000, matched by an anonymous contributor and through other fundraising. And many, many people donated work. In particular, Robinson & Owen Construction donated the excavation, which was valued at $5,000, and Liquid Stone Design contributed extra work well above and beyond their contracted duty.

According to O'Neill, "It would probably cost about $120,000," without the donated labor.

That includes a lot of hands-on work by O'Neill himself. The advisor/mentor for the project designed the bowl, built the framing, rebarred it and guided students in working on the project.

O'Neill cited three in particular who displayed extraordinary commitment to seeing the project through - even though an awful lot of the work was anything but fun. Preston Ferris, Scott Everson and Davidson Small were critical to the success of the project. All are heading off to college, so they'll only be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor this summer and on visits back home.

That's OK with Small, who did the heavy lifting on securing the Tony Hawk Foundation grant.

"I learned a lot," he said. "Things I couldn't learn in the classroom. I just wanted to see a good skate park built in Sisters. I thought it would be cool to leave some kind of legacy."

He hopes the skate park helps a skating culture to flourish in Sisters.

O'Neill knows how important that culture can be to a kid.

Suffering from dyslexia, O'Neill had a tough time in school. His confidence suffered and it was hard to make friends. Then he found the skateboard. He worked hard to develop skill and in so doing he met like-minded kids who have become life-long friends.

"I started to feel confidence and success," he recalled.

That sense of confidence and ability percolated into other aspects of his life and gave him the tools he needed to overcome disability and develop a successful career.

"Skateboarding really set the foundation for my whole life," he said.

O'Neill is confident that the Sisters skate park will help produce the same effect for youth in Sisters Country.

"Skateboarding has given me so much in my life," he said. "I wanted to give young people the opportunity to skateboard and be shaped by skateboarding the way I was."

The bowl accommodates all skill levels, from beginner to advanced. For safety reasons, only one skater at a time can be in the bowl, which is one impetus for completing the next two phases. According to O'Neill, the next phases will be a "flow-style park" with obstacles, and the third phase a street course and swimming-pool style feature. Fundraising efforts continue.

SPRD will celebrate a grand opening of the park on August 25. For more information on contributing to the ongoing project, contact SPRD at 541-549-2091.