Skateboarders looking forward to better and more skate parks

Nokomis in mix for 20-year Skate Park Activity Plan; MPRB will take public comments during hearing on Nov. 29

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
Ask a Minneapolis skater what he or she thinks of the city’s skate parks, and you’ll likely get a list of problems.
The six existing parks were built 15 years ago with modular obstacles and features that were designed by playground manufactures versus skateboard professionals. The park at Morris has a soft, asphalt surface and the ramps and features have sunk into it. All the existing skate parks are small and undersized. The elements are short, and not exciting to use. And they’re all falling apart.
These issues and more are outlined in the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation’s new Skate Park Activity Plan, which was initiated in 2012.
“Minneapolis skateboarders have been asking for quality skateboard parks for years. It has been a long five years in the making, but I am looking forward to the Minneapolis skateboard community finally getting the world-class skate parks they deserve,” stated City of Skate President Paul Forsline, who served on the MPRB’s steering committee for the new skate park plan.
Public comment on the plan was accepted online until Nov. 5, and will be taken in person during a public hearing on Wed., Nov. 29, 6pm, at the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation (MPRB) Headquarters, 2117 W. River Rd.
20-year roadmap
The 66-page Skate Park Activity Plan is a 20-year roadmap for providing quality support to the local skate park community and encouraging skating among new generations of park users.
The draft Minneapolis Skate Park Activity Plan has three goals:
1) Increase the number, variety, and distribution of skate parks in Minneapolis;
2) Address policy barriers to high-quality skate park experiences; and
3) Improve the overall skate park experience through design, operations, partnerships and safety measures.
It also provides context and analysis to help inform future decision-making regarding skate park opportunities within Minneapolis and the Minneapolis park system.
Photo right: In this design conception, a skate park is shown at Nokomis as part of the Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park Master Plan. But, it is currently unfunded. It would be located west of the recreation center, and the initial design integrates natural elements. Skate bowls flow within the landscape. The skate plaza replicates nature with granite, bark textures, and shade trees. Plus, there’s a high priority on integrating water management features. (Image provided)
The plan recommends having one regional skate park, ten neighborhood skate parks (including expansion of the existing six), and six skate spots for a total of 17 public skate parks.
“If the skate park plan is funded moving forward, it will give our award-winning Minneapolis Park system a skate park infrastructure second to none,” observed Forsline.
He pointed out that Minneapolis has developed some of the best skateboarders in the world, despite little public support. “We saw Alec Majerus take silver in July at the 2017 X Games at US Bank Stadium. Minneapolis skateboarding is known and respected worldwide,” said Forsline. “It is time for our own public entities to recognize this and support our local skate scene.”
What the parks could be
Currently, 5,000-square-foot skate parks exist at Morris, Armatage, Brackett, Elliot, Bottineau and Creekview parks.
“These six parks never inspired skateboards, yet some of the skate parks are the busiest features in their respective parks,” remarked Forsline.
Photo left: The skate park at Morris Park. “Morris has limited space, so it would be important to prioritize a skate park for beginner and younger skaters, but have some creative and unusual features to still challenge more advanced skates,” remarked Paul Forsline of City of Skate. (Photo provided)
In the plan, these parks would be updated and expanded, when possible.
“Morris has limited space, so it would be important to prioritize a skate park for beginner and younger skaters, but have some creative and unusual features to still challenge more advanced skaters,” said Forsline. “A community stage would be a nice multi-use feature to include in this skate park space.”
“The skate park in Morris is in poor shape,” observed Longfellow resident Bill Welk. “I have not been there for several years due to the condition of the skate park and overall poor layout. The skate park features pre-fabricated concrete obstacles sat on an asphalt surface. Over time the heavy concrete obstacles have sunk into the asphalt and created gaps between the ramps and the asphalt. Not to mention that the rough asphalt eats up speed as a skateboarder pushes across; however, the aged asphalt is wonderful at removing layers of epidermis should a trick not go according to plan.”
Brackett’s existing skate park has always been a well-used skate park, despite having a rough asphalt surface. “With more space allocated here, having both street and transition skateboard features would be important,” said Forsline. “We have to keep the existing old playground rocket feature as a landmark. Maybe build the skate park around the rocket? A NASA and/or space themed skate park would be cool. A glowing skateable moonscape would be awesome.”
To accommodate the number of skaters in the city, the plan calls for adding skate parks at Nokomis, Northeast Athletic Field Park, Central Gym Park, and Cedar Field Park, and the potential Underpass Park and Skyway Commons Pocket Park.
A skate park at Nokomis is a part of the Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park Master Plan, but it is currently underfunded. It would be located to the west of the recreation center, and the initial design integrates natural elements. Skate bowls flow within the landscape. A skate plaza replicates nature with granite, bark textures, and shade trees. Plus there’s a high priority on integrating water management features.
Photo right: “The Nokomis Park is in a great location. It is set to be built in an area between the two lakes,” pointed out Longfellow resident Bill Welk of City of Skate. (Illustration courtesy of City of Skate)
“The Nokomis Park is in a great location. It is set to be built in an area between the two lakes,” pointed out Welk.
In addition to creating spaces for skateboarders, planners recognize that inline skaters and BMX riders will use these parks.
“The skateboarding community in Minneapolis is pretty tight-knit,” observed Welk. “I like that skateboarding is always there for me when I want it. I can go skate by myself or with a group of people. There isn’t a set time, a season, or reliance on another people to skateboard.”
The challenges the community faces include a lack of public parks and long winters, according to Welk, who was part of the steering committee meeting on the Skate Park Activity Plan.
Quality skate parks: a great asset
“Skateboarding is only going to grow in popularity, and a city with a skateboarding plan is going to benefit,” pointed out Forsline, whose children skateboard. “Quality built skate parks by our park system will be the most heavily used features in our park system, and will, therefore, be a great value for our tax dollars. Well-designed skate parks should be inspired spaces that the community and skaters are both proud of.
“I hope every Minneapolis child has the opportunity to discover the challenge and creativity of skateboarding at their local public park and throughout our city.”

Article appeared in the December 2017 Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.

Nokomis woman plays on local Australian Football team

Men’s and women’s Minnesota Freeze teams play games at Lake Nokomis fields every Saturday during season

by Tesha M. Christensen

The day Bri Ostoff moved into the Nokomis neighborhood three years ago, she joined the women’s Minnesota Freeze Australian Football team.

“I found the Minnesota Freeze on Meetup, a website for different activities, and they practiced in my new neighborhood at Lake Nokomis so I decided to try it as a way to met people,” recalled Ostoff. “I have been hooked and playing for over three years.”

The Minnesota Freeze has over 50 members from the Twin Cities area playing on the men’s and women’s teams. Their season runs from the end of April to mid-October. 

The teams are at Lake Nokomis fields just off Cedar on Saturdays with practices at 9 a.m. and inter league scrimmage starting around 10:30 a.m. Men practice Wednesdays at Northwestern Health Science University in Bloomington at 6 p.m., and women practice Mondays at Bryn Mawr Park in Minneapolis at 6 p.m.

The Freeze started in 2005 with a few Australians who had moved to Minnesota. Today, the Minnesota team has the least amount of Aussies compared to any other in the U.S., and is one of the largest leagues in the country. Ages of players range from as young as 16 all the way to 50. The Minnesota Freeze is part of the non-profit United States Australian Football League (USAFL), an organization dedicated to the development of and participation in Australian football in the United States.

 The United States Australian Football League’s (USAFL) first ever game was played in 1996 between Louisville and Cincinnati at Louisville, Ky. The league was founded the following year in 1997 at the first USAFL Nationals in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The men’s Freeze team has won three National Championships: 2005 - Division 3, 2007 - Division 2, and 2012 - Division 2.

The women’s team travels twice a year, once to play its nearest team in Chicago and once to attend the USAFL National Championship Tournament. The men’s team travels more often because there are men’s teams to play in Des Moines, Chicago, and Madison.

But traveling is not a requirement, according to Ostoff. Many members just play locally until the Nationals in October.

“This is a welcoming team full of people who wanted to train and play like a team,” said Ostoff. “Some of us came from other sports. For some this is their first team sport. Its social and the people are amazing. I do also really enjoy tackling people.”

The sport requires skill, strength, and strategic thinking. At whatever level one plays at, Footy improves fitness, strength and coordination.

LEARNING AS SHE WENT

Like many others on the team, Ostoff had no idea what she was doing and learned the rules as she went. During her first game, she got a 50-meter penalty -- that’s one rule she’ll never forget.

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, or simply called football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval-shaped field that could easily fit an entire football field. There are no pads, but it is a full tackle sport. Games are played in two 20-minute halves with a 7-minute half-time break.

There are jump balls similar to basketball at the start of quarters, after goals, and when there is a struggle of possession without any prior opportunity, according to Ostoff. If a player tackles a person who has possession, the ball is turned over and he/she gets a free kick. You have to kick the ball through the middle posts for 6 points; if you get this through the posts on either side on a kick it is called a behind and worth only one point. A behind turns the ball over to your opponents’ defenders, and they get a free kick.

“It’s a continuous moving sports, so changes are made on the fly,” said Ostoff. “There are no off sides. And you can only score by kicking.”

Women and men’s teams play by the same rules.

“I find it to have similar structures to hockey,” noted Ostoff, who played hockey in high school and college. “It combines so many aspects of different sports that it fun to learn and we love to teach it.”

Ostoff biggest challenge has been learning how to kick, as this is the first sport she’s played where she needed that skill.

“The kick is most like a football punt, but it has its own technique because you should be able to kick without really breaking your running stride,” explained Ostoff. “This is something every American on the team has had to learn. Your kicks have to be accurate enough for your teammates to catch on the fly while fending off a defender.”

She typically plays the position of Half Back Flank, a defensive position on the D line closest to the midfield and flank. “Tall people are generally in the middle of the field,” stated Ostoff. “I’m short so I play on the outside.”

Ostoff had competed in over 13 different sports growing up, so changing sports wasn’t a new idea for her.

“I love team sports,” Ostoff said. “Working and training to achieve a common goal is an amazing, empowering place for people to bond and grow.”

REPRESENTING THE U.S. IN AUSTRALIA

This past August Ostoff went to Australia as a member of the USA Women’s Liberty team, a development team made up of women who play footy from across the U.S. Team members played local women’s clubs in Australia, winning 3 out of the 5 games. This opportunity exists every three years, and Ostoff learned about it during her rookie year and worked three years to make the team.

“It was amazing to play footy in Australia,” remarked Ostoff. “The feel is similar to small town hockey. The whole town comes out to support their clubs and cheer each other on. It was a great honor to represent the USA and our women.
 The Minnesota Freeze is always looking for new men and women to join and play. More at www.mnfreeze.com

 This article appeared in the October 2017 edition of the Longfellow-Nokomis Messenger.

Nokomis playground re-opens

Officials and community members including Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Commissioner Steffanie Musich and Nokomis East Neighborhood Association Board President Mike Ferrin, officially cut the ribbon to open the updated Nokomis Community Center playground on Friday, July 28, 2017. The $300,000 cost of the improvements came from 2015 CIP net debt bonds.  Work started in May, and included “logs” for balancing on and “wood” stepping stones made from recycled plastic materials, “tree” poles for climbing, and raised hills. There’s a “birds nest” to play in on one of the three-to-four-foot high raised hills, and a taller structure on another. There will be one tall slide and two smaller ones, a climber, diggers, swings and Willow Thicket. Planners tied the existing disconnected play structures into a single playground through the use of a long concrete border (that doubles as a balance beam for children) and a single container filled with an ADA-compliant surface. Bollards around the playground area had yet to be placed as of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The project has experienced some delays due to weather.

Avery Asante, 5, of Bloomington tries out the new swing after hopping from log to log in another section of the playground. “We love it,” said his father, Andrew Asante. “It’s nice to go to different parks.” To get a feel for how residents used the old equipment, playground designer Chris Desroches observed it in person and then factored in resident comments before fashioning the new design. Comments were solicited last year three open houses and the Monarch Festival.

“The park board has made significant investments in our neighborhood, and we couldn’t be more thrilled,” said Nokomis East Neighborhood Association Board President Mike Ferrin, referring to the new playground at Nokomis Community Center and the updates at Bossen field.

Four-year-old Faye Saybolt goes down the big slide at the Nokomis Community Center playground, a feature that residents recall having been there in the past and asked for again, according to project manager Beth Pfeifer. “It’s amazing,” said Faye’s mother, Jennifer Saybolt, who lives near the lake.

Max Kyle, age 3.5, of Ericsson, climbs on the raised hills that play off the nature area nearby but don’t replicate it. Kyle attends the preschool program at the Nokomis Community Center and will be seeing a lot of this playground, according to his father, Collin Lyle. “It’s nice that they updated it,” said Lyle. A surprise for the kids includes the old dolphin with teeth and a bowler hat buried in the sand so that children can dig it up. Planners think this lends towards the desire by community residents to keep pieces that inspire creativity.

When it was possible, old pieces such as the pull-up bars and metal arch were re-used. They will also be repainted to match the new items at the playground. The Willow Thicket that has been at the Rose Garden temporarily has found a permanent home at the Nokomis playground. 

Parks Commissioner Steffanie Musich is most excited by the natural play area to the south of the new playground equipment. It is the first like it in Minneapolis and will provide an example of how to do this elsewhere. “So many kids in an urban environment don’t have the opportunity to get comfortable with nature in a tactile way.” (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

Photos by Tesha M. Christensen

Appeared in the September 2017 Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger

Simple and nature-based playground planned at Nokomis

Playground near community center will be redone next year and stand out as a unique park

By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN

Neighborhood kids are excited by the plan to redo the playgrounds by the Nokomis Community Center next year.

The new design for the playground near the Nokomis Community Center features “logs” for balancing on and “wood” stepping stones made from recycled plastic materials, “tree” poles for climbing, and raised hills. There’s a “birds nest” to play in on one of the three-to-four-foot high raised hills, and a taller structure on another. There will be one tall slide and two smaller ones, a climber, diggers, swings and Willow Thicket. (Photo submitted)

They had the chance to check things out during an open house at the Nokomis Community Center on Tue., Nov. 15.
“It’s really cool,” said nine-year-old Emersen Russell after looking over display boards. Her friend, Annika Clift, agreed, pointing to an image of the multi-user swing. “We love those things!” she said.
Ava Beckett, age 10, is excited to see “those spinning things that I love.”
“Everything looks fun,” stated Gemma Cudd, age 10.
Adults gave the plan a thumbs up, as well.
“I think it looks nice,” remarked longtime resident Scott Beckett.

Playground designer Chris Desroches (left) explains the new pieces of equipment that will be installed at the Nokomis playground to Gemma Cudd, age 10, and Ava Beckett, age 10 during an open house. Beckett is excited to see “those spinning things that I love.” (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

“It looks like they’re sticking to the spirit of the outdoors and nature,” observed 16-year neighborhood resident Mike Russell. “It looks very interactive.”
After seeing the parks in many other cities while traveling for work, Russell said he really appreciates what Minneapolis has. “The city and nature really blend like no other city,” Russell said. “We have access to a lot of things to do outdoors.”
Additional comments on the plan will be accepted until Dec. 2 either in person at the Nokomis Community Center or online at bit.ly/nokomisplayground.
It will go the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board for approval on Jan. 4, 2017.
Simple and nature-based
The new design for ages 2-8 has a similar feel as the parks at Wabun and Levine Triangle, but it isn’t meant to be like any others in the city.
“One of the goals is to have each playground be slightly different,” explained project manager Beth Pfeifer. “We want people to have different experiences at different parks.”
To get a feel for how residents use the current equipment, playground designer Chris Desroches observed it in person and then factored in resident comments before fashioning the new design. Comments were solicited earlier this year at three open houses and the Monarch Festival.
“People liked what was existing there and the style of it,” recalled Desroches. They expressed a desire for a simple and nature-based playground.
“This will be a unique space,” said Desroches.
The new design features “logs” for balancing on and “wood” stepping stones made from recycled plastic materials, “tree” poles for climbing, and raised hills. There’s a “birds nest” to play in on one of the three-to-four-foot high raised hills, and a taller structure on another.
“What we wanted to do was play off the nature play area, but not replicate it,” explained Desroches.
The hills will be well-suited for younger kids, who won’t be hurt if they end up rolling down them.
Residents asked for a high slide, so there’s one in the plan, as well as two other smaller ones. They wanted lots of swings, so the plan includes a row of six with another two baby swings on the other side.
People with older and younger kids commented that it is hard to maintain good visibility of all their kids with the current set-up. In recognition of that, a hill will be graded and benches installed that allow parents to view the entire playground area at a time.
Planners intend to tie the existing disconnected play structures into a single playground through the use of a long concrete border (that will double as a balance beam for children) and a single container filled with an ADA-compliant surface. The green portions are a material similar to that at Wabun, and the rest will be a virgin hardwood material made specifically so that a wheelchair can be rolled across it. Plus, it last longer than regular mulch.
Metal equipment to be reused
Some of the existing equipment looks like it is solid and still in good shape, pointed out some residents. Park workers agreed. Two galvanized steel slides, a climber, the chin-up and turning bars, and the diggers will be reused.
Because safety standards are different today than they were 50 years ago, not everything can be reused in the same way. The dolphin with teeth and a bowler hat can’t be used as is, but designers have a plan for it. The dolphin will be buried in the sand so that children can dig it up. Planners think this lends towards the desire by community residents to keep pieces that inspire creativity.
The Willow Thicket that has been at the Rose Garden temporarily will find a permanent home at Nokomis.
It will be surrounded by round concrete billers — sort of like the ones in the front of Target stores, explained Desroches. The bollards can be used many different ways. Children will be able to climb on them. Plus, they allow parents to engage with each other in a way that neither benches nor picnic tables do while also keeping a good eye on their children because they can lean on them and move around as needed. Other bollards will be placed around the concrete border to break it up.
Nature pop-up becomes pilot project
As part of the project, the pop-up nature play area on the south side that was added last spring will be made more permanent.
A natural play area wasn’t included in the Nokomis master plan, but since it was so well-loved, planners didn’t want to remove it, according to Pfeifer.
Instead, the pop-up will become a pilot project.
They’ve asked the forestry department to hold onto specific shapes and pieces next spring that will become key anchors in the natural play area.
The area will be closed for a short time to regarded and place the new wood pieces.
Work likely to take six weeks
Residents commented that they wanted to have a playground to use during the summer, particularly for use by the Rec Plus program that begins when school releases. Planners also recognize that having it under construction during the Monarch Festival would be bad timing.
The current plan is to wait until fall 2017 to begin work, but if there’s an early spring, the project will be done then instead.
Once work begins, it will take about six weeks to complete, depending on the weather.
The large playground structure for ages 5-12 that was recently replaced will remain. However, the existing sand will be replaced with an ADA-compliant surface. The hope is to complete that work first so that this part of the playground will still be usable while the rest is fenced off.
The $300,000 cost of the work is part of the MRPB’s 2015 Capital Improvement Plan and is funded with net debt bonds.

Article appeared in the November 2016 Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.