The obligatory panoramic shot of the skatepark (with cut off bits of cubs!!)

 
Budding Tony Hawk's...

'I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle and a sport'. No I didn't say that... that was Tony Hawk, possibly one of the most famous skateboarders of recent times.

Jonny running through the basics

An art form, a lifestyle and a sport? If thats the case then the cubs surely grasped all three when they took part in a skateboarding session on Wednesday 23rd September at Projekts in Manchester! Being led through the basics by our instructor Jonny, the cubs soon managed to understand the basics of skateboarding including getting on and off the boards, setting off and turning whilst on the board. Even those amongst the cubs who were a litlle reticent about skateboarding soon got into the swing of things.

Time for the ramps!

Once these basics were mastered - it was time for some more serious skateboarding! Travelling from one end of the skatepark to another might not necessarily seem like the hardest thing to do... but when you are travelling on four wheels it adds an extra factor of danger! Some fell, some saw their boards shoot from one end to the other (without the cub on I must add!) but they all eventually managed it (more or less!!).

Even Carl was passing on his expert skateboarding knowledge!

Then it was time for the big stuff! The ramps (they probably have a more cool name than that - but I'm 45 and the last time i was on a skateboard was probably about 1978!!). The skatepark had a variety of ramps of differing sizes and steepness - all giving a varied degree of difficulty. With more expert tuition from Jonny, everybody had a go... with varying degrees of success. Some take to it - others need a bit more help and practice - thats the nature of life.

Matthew getting the low-down on going down a ramp

So with all the initial tuition done it was time for the cubs to crack on with coming up and down ramps and falling over! Whilst some were happy to just saunter along gently, maybe sat on the board rather than stood on it. Others took the more adventurous route of coming down the higher, steeper ramps. These ramps were sometimes that steep that they were a struggle to get up (I should know - dirt all down the front of my trousers where I fell trying to get up a ramp!!).

Think Oliver's 'thumbs up' sums up the evening!

But as is always the case, time was soon up. With Jonny's praise for how well they had done ringing in their ears - off the cubs went into the night with beads of sweat running down their faces and quite possibly the odd bruise or tow. But, most importantly of all, they left with massive smiles on their faces!!

Below is a small video of the skateboarding (including a cracking fall!)...

Finally, thanks to Jonny and the other people at Projekts (www.projektsmcr.com). Hopefully you will be seeing a lot more of some of these cubs!
 
Phil
Cub Leader