In 2019, the people behind Worthing’s South Coast Skate Club started working with charity West Tarring Young People’s Hub to provide a safe area where people could skate for as low a cost as possible.
After delays caused by the pandemic, a new mini-ramp has now been built – using wood donated by timber merchant Wenban-Smith – and the the project will soon become a reality.
It is all thanks to the hard work of volunteers Dale David Cracknell, Adam Hoskins and Ben Greco, and the support of the Sussex Community Foundation, Made by Sport and the Chalk Cliff Trust.
South Coast Skate Club founder Dale, 43, said: “We can’t wait to get South Coast Skate Club youth club up and running again, in a time where the fallout from the pandemic has left all ages, especially young people, struggling with mental-health issues.
“We want to give them a safe space where they can feel like it’s a home away from home. We are hoping that we can find some funding to go towards the rental fees and the insurance needed for the mini ramp, as well as using our own money that we make from our brother company, South Coast Skateboard Events, to help pay as much as we can to keep the prices for entry as low as possible just to cover costs.
“We want to make the space we have available to all no matter what your background or financial standing. Our activities are inspired by skateboard culture but you don’t have to skateboard to come along to our youth club, it’s more about being supportive of each other whoever you are, it’s all about community.
“We at South Coast Skate Club have been using skateboarding as a tool to bring about positive change since 2017 and to help young people develop and grow through overcoming challenges, supporting each other and to build resilience through learning that failure is not a negative thing but just another way to guide you on to the right path whether it’s in life or on a skateboard.
“We all need to push ourselves to grow and change otherwise what is life about if it’s not to grow?”
The club is hoping to open at the hub, off Tarring High Street, before Christmas for a couple of weeks, and then head into the New Year as had been the plan back in 2019.