St. Peter Skate Jam furthers skate park dreams

Though it’s the middle of July, the hockey rink at Veterans Memorial Park in St. Peter saw over 100 skaters flock to the facility over the weekend.

Of course, it wasn’t a flash freeze that brought athletes from Mankato, Jordan and other surrounding communities to the St. Peter hockey rink Friday. Rather, it was the handiwork of David KelseyBassett and his 12-year-old son Maceo, who brought in a litany of ramps and rails to transform the empty, concrete circle into a destination for skaters of all ages.

For one day only, the father and son duo offered local skateboarding and biking enthusiasts a dedicated place in town to enjoy their favorite sport through an event of their own making, the St. Peter Skate Jam. Featuring not only a pop-up skatepark, but live music from area musicians, a food truck and skateboarding-themed vendors, the Skate Jam was an all-around celebration of the extreme sport.

With a mix of low-to-the-ground ledges and flat trails to grind on, and ramps and a quarterpipe for more experienced riders to jump off of, the Skate Jam was inviting to novice and advanced skaters alike. Tykes as young as two-years-old rode their bikes in laps around the rink while skaters with 20 years of riding under their belts went soaring into the air.

The diverse crowd of skaters and cyclists was a welcome sight to Skate Jam organizer David KelseyBassett, who first set on building the pop-up installation to give his son Maceo and other passionate skaters in the area an opportunity to ride their boards without having to venture all the way out to Mankato.

But when the KelseyBassetts learned of ongoing efforts by the city of St. Peter and a community group of skateboard enthusiasts raising funds to build a permanent skate park to occupy the hockey rink during the summer months, they determined the Skate Jam should contribute to the efforts to bring the project to fruition.

“I didn’t know who was going to show up,” said David KelseyBassett. “I know there’s some people that like to skate, but it’s cool to see a lot of these guys that I skate with at Chesley and the pop up in Mankato gather round to support the park, that’s just great.”

For Sean Asplen, a Mankato skateboarder of 20 years, said contributing to the construction of the St. Peter Skate Park was an opportunity to give back to the skateboarding community he’s been a part of since he was building ramps for the Chelsey Skate Park at 11 years old.

After getting in on some of the action at the pop-up skate park, Asplen served as the judge for the Skate Jam’s series of skateboarding contests, awarding prizes to the competitors with the highest ollie, longest manual and best trick. He also performed a hip-hop set after completing his judging duties under his stage name Just Shine.

“Just having another community close by, being able to bring ramps in, it’s great just to see it grow and the next generation take part,” said Asplen.

Other attendees like Dylan Smyth of Mankato also saw a need for a skate park in St. Peter. Smyth noted that he learned how to skate 20 years prior in a public park, and that parks are just as crucial for growing the skateboarding scene as they are for other sports.

“A public skatepark is much needed because there’s a lot of open sports you can see right around it. There’s baseball, volleyball, tennis, but now for skateboarding, [for] that sport a public park is the best,” said Smyth.

During the event, skateboarders had the chance to weigh in on the proposed layout and rules for the future skate park. A preliminary design proposes the skate park come equipped with obstacles like a half-pipe and two quarter-pipes, a manual pad, spine ramp, half-pyramid as well as a designated zone for freestyling. The current suggested guidelines for the skate park propose that the rink remain open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. like other parks in town and that users be required to wear helmets at all times.