Skiing to Skateparks: The Scotty Lapp Foundation is Aiming Big

In Tahoe, kids ski or ride throughout the winter, but come summer, Amy Lapp, mother of Scotty Lapp, recognized that there was a lack of affordable activities.

The Scotty Lapp Foundation , a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to making skiing, snowboarding, and skateboarding more accessible to underserved communities, has already built a pop-up skate park in the parking lot across the street from Commons Beach in Tahoe City, CA.

Due to uncertainty concerning the land use, the foundation is now in the process of building a permanent skate park to honor Scotty Lapp, and provide an accessible place for kids to train and be outside.

We spoke with Amy Lapp, the co-founder and CEO of the Scotty Lapp foundation, to learn more about the project.

Amy Lapp Q&A

Can you tell us a little bit more about the Scotty Lap Foundation , who Scotty was, and why you're building a skate park in North Lake Tahoe?

"Scotty was awesome. He was 16 years old and lived every single day to the fullest. He loved people, loved life, and was super creative, artistic, and kind.

In 2022, Scotty was skiing at Alpine Meadows and had a freeride comp. He skied for the Palisades Tahoe competitive freeride team. He was out skiing with friends in the afternoon. He and one other kid, I think they were going to the middle of the run for a hit, but they both went to the center at the same time, collided, and he died.

Scotty had come to me in the Fall of 2021 and asked me to help him and his friends get organized to get a skate park built in Tahoe City. He told me there was nothing to do after school except jump in the lake. He said, 'We love to skate, and I'm friends with the Sheriff.'

I said, 'Why are you friends with the Sheriff, Scotty?' He told me the sheriff shows up to kick him and his friends out of the bus station and the Safeway parking lot and all the different places, but there's nowhere for them to skate.

I told Scotty, 'Get through the ski season. I'll do some research over the winter and then we'll reorganize in the spring and go for it.' Literally minutes after Scotty passed away, I looked up to my husband Jason and my son Ryan. I don't know where it came from, but I said, 'We're building skate park for Scotty.'

A good family friend of ours started a GoFundMe and in like six weeks we had $220,000."

Wow. That's incredible.

"It was incredible. Now, we're a 501(c)(3) non-profit. We hit the ground running and we've been working with the Tony Hawk Foundation, it's now called the Skate Park Project, to learn how to do this.

For the construction, we're gonna work with California skate parks. They're a design build company and they build for the Olympics and the X Games. Our mission is to help make ski, snowboard, and skate more accessible to communities where it's not accessible.

We've created a community at our little popup park: we have kids who step up and own the place. [They] clean up, sweep, pick up trash and [participate in] build days and tear down. They lock up every night and take the trash out and it's really empowered quite a few kids.

We also want to help those athletes progress to the next level. If they need help with comps or getting to comps or with equipment or whatever, we want to help these athletes have what they need to get where they need to go.

This past year, we worked with the Palisades Tahoe Community Foundation. We sponsored four athletes for their team fees for freeride, which was $5,200 last year. We also partnered with Tahoe Freeride and gave [them] $10,000.

In combination between the Scotty Lapp Foundation and Tahoe Freeride, we helped to sponsor over 25 athletes."

Are there other people in the community that have come forward to help out with this project?

"Everyone. Literally, everyone. The local businesses donate. We usually do the Made In Tahoe Festival, which is here in Olympic Valley where Palisades is. Local businesses donate to our giveaways.

We've had Fireside Pizza choose us as their nonprofit beneficiary. They put out a little pizza cart and they donate pizza and beverages. Every single person was volunteering at our pizza cart, rain, snow, or shine.

We made $26,000 in one year selling pizza. Alpenglow Sports in Tahoe City chose us as their nonprofit beneficiary. We felt so humbled. I think there were 40 applicants, we were chosen and we got a check for close to $70,000 this year from Alpenglow Speaker Series. Literally everyone in this community steps up. They are just amazing."

It sounds like things are going well. Have there been any challenges?

"What has been hard is to try to find a piece of land in North Tahoe to build on. We've been searching high and low. Back on May 15th, the school board voted to let us proceed forward with a parcel of land that they own in Tahoe City.

They're putting together the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District and the Tahoe City PUD are coming up with a use agreement.

The Scotty Lapp Foundation is going to move forward and start planning a skate park to be put on that parcel, which will be huge. It's a perfect spot. It's right near a school. It's next to a baseball diamond. It's by the golf course, it's accessible by bus, by the bike path."

Is there anything people can do besides donate to the foundation?

"We have two projects going. We have a project going in Corte Madera down in Marin near where we used to live.

Scotty lived there for a long time and the local skate park is pretty beat up, hasn't really changed much over the last 10 years. It's metal, it's loud, it's small. We approached the Corte Madera Town Park and the Corte Madera mayor and town council about building a skate park there and we just got nothing but love, unanimous thumbs up.

We're trying to raise $500,000 for that. That's why we did the kickoff for the GoFundMe at $24 since Scotty would've graduated in 2024.

For Tahoe, we need to raise about $300,000 more for this project. It's expensive to build a skate park."

But also, just spread the love. The Ski For Scotty stickers are literally all over the world. We have some in Israel, China, Austria, Italy, France, you name it. They're all over the world and spreading the message and the love means so much to Jason and Ryan and I, because it helps keep Scotty's memory alive."

What is the timeline on the Tahoe project?

"It would be Scotty Lapp Foundation's best wish if we could break ground in the spring and we hope that can happen. I would like to get a permanent skate park built as soon as possible so the kids aren't left again in a lurch, with nowhere to go."

Yeah, that makes sense. That is a bummer too, because so many kids in Tahoe are probably winter-specific athletes.

"The thing that we love about skating is that it's accessible to anyone, no matter your financial background. It costs about a hundred bucks to get a skateboard and get out and be part of it.

Many people we know here work multiple jobs to be able to afford to send their kids to be on ski team or to mountain bike and do these sports. It costs a lot of money. But skateboarding is accessible.

That's what Scotty's park is all about. It's a safe place for people to go and practice their sport and not get hassled and not get the cops called on them. Skating is an Olympic sport, and it would make me so happy if we can get an Olympic athlete out of one of the Scotty's parks."

Related: Why Beartooth Basin's Owners Are Selling

Don't miss another headline from POWDER! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of skiing.

We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging ski-related videos to feature on our channels. Whether you're a professional or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on POWDER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality ski videos.