Published Monday
July 4, 2005
Omaha vert ramp not an extreme goal
BY JENNA JOHNSON
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Original article on Omaha.com

Out back, past the empty indoor pool, is where the hub of Midwest skateboarding could be.

The plan isn't elaborate: Build a "vert ramp" and two training ramps in a tall warehouselike addition on the Turning Point campus at 45th Street and Bedford Avenue - and wait.

"If we build it, they will come," said Mark Fountain, director of the Tommy Craft Memorial Fund, which will be paying for part of the project.

But first, they have to find the money.

"They" refers to the odd mix of supporters, including a missionary who has traveled the world, a group of bikers who raise money for inner-city youth programs and skaters.

If you want to know what a vert is, stop by Roberts Skate Park on 78th and Cass Streets, site of Omaha's only skate park, and ask one of the skaters - or bladers or bikers, although bicycles aren't formally allowed.

A vert is a large U-shaped ramp with walls about 12 feet high that completely straighten near the top, said John Graham, a 17-year-old on a BMX bike who recently moved to Council Bluffs from Toronto, where vert ramps are common.

On such a ramp you start at the top of one side of the U, drop in and slide all the way down and up the other side, shooting straight up in the air and turning around using a cool flip.

Tony Hawk, one of the biggest names in skateboarding, can do a 900 - two and a half complete spins in the air - before dropping back onto the ramp.

It might sound difficult, but once you drop in it all falls into place, Graham said.

Building the vert was Fountain's idea. The Omaha father of two young skateboarders has made many trips to Denver, where the closest vert is located.

With the booming popularity of extreme board sports, in-line skating and biking, Nebraska is lacking in all areas, he said.

"There is absolutely no facility in the Midwest where these kids can train," Fountain said. "We don't have the mountains. We don't have the ocean. This is something we can do."

Fountain is one of three directors of the Tommy Craft Memorial Fund, which raises money for programs that benefit inner-city youth and help prevent violence. The fund was created in memory of Tommy Craft, a young skateboarder who was killed during an argument near Miller Park in 1998.

Building a vert ramp sounded like the perfect project for a group that raises money by hosting motorcycle runs.

Late last fall, Fountain contacted Turning Point Youth Ministries near Benson and learned the group had the land and interest to build - it just needed help with the funding.

Meanwhile, though, some skaters say there is no need for the ramp - that skate ramps are out and street-style skating is in. Those skaters say they would rather see money spent entirely on a street-style park that is less intimidating and that more amateurs could use.

"The reason people don't build vert (in the Midwest) is because this is not where the interest is," said Mike Ryder, owner of Grinds Indoor Skatepark in Papillion.

Still, with coaching from experienced skaters and lots of practice, riding a vert isn't an unattainable goal for young skaters, said John Cleveland, executive director of Turning Point.

Over time, long-term relationships could be built with the local youth, many of which are from low-income families.

"The goal here is not to keep busy," he said. "It's to make a difference."

The 23-acre campus has an alternative high school for students who were "not successful" at other schools, a low-cost day care center, a residence-living facility, and after-school programs that include sports, art, music and home economics.

Cleveland hopes building a skateboard training facility in a 60-by-100-foot addition to an existing gym, along with a small street-style skate park outdoors, would bring even more youth to the campus.

"This ramp will open the door for a lot of kids here," he said. Cleveland said that if everything goes according to plan and funding comes through, Turning Point could break ground for the facility next spring.