Archive for SkateMCR
April 23, 2008 at 2:19 pm · Filed under Byelaws, Central Skatepark, Events, Go Skateboarding Day 2008, Manchester, NOTE Shop, Pump Cage, Skate Jam, SkateMCR, Urbis, Video
| June 21, 2008 |
| 12:00 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
This year’s Go Skateboarding Day is fast approaching (it’s June 21st in case you didn’t know). And this year SkateMCR is planning to organise another protest skate at URBIS.
Last year it got rained off - see the SkateMCR video of last year’s Go Skateboarding Day below.
Go Skateboarding Day 2008 is set to be a big one in Manchester because the Vans team are coming here for the day! Their team includes Kris Vile, Danny Wainwright, Ross McGouran and local boy Ben Grove.
Their plan is to have a pump aroung the Projekts Skatepark from noon - 3pm, then sign stuff at the NOTE shop from 4 - 5pm, street skate from 5 - 8pm, then finish off with a Jam at Central Skatepark from 8pm onwards where there will be bands and some “special guests”!
The SkateMCR Protest will be at URBIS from 6pm - 8pm so the Vans team should be able to come and skate with everyone at the best spot in town. The protest will be about the byelaws which ban skateboarding in Manchester’s City Centre. See the byelaws here and sign the petition to get rid of them here: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SkateMCR/
See the Vans website for more info. Here’s their poster:
And here’s the video from last year:
March 18, 2008 at 2:49 pm · Filed under SkateMCR
The consensus from the Save SkateMCR meeting was that people were interested in the idea of setting-up a Co-operative.
But to do that we need to raise 400 pounds…in money, not weight.
Any Ideas?!
February 21, 2008 at 11:12 am · Filed under Events, SkateMCR, SkateMCR Events
| March 3, 2008 |
| 7:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
As you may know, SkateMCR needs to become a Co-operative to keep going. The poll on this page currently suggests that 85% of you want SkateMCR to continue. So it’s time to do something about it.
On Monday March 3rd we’ve got an open meeting for you to come and find out more about becoming a member of a SkateMCR Co-operative. The meeting will be upstairs at Central Skatepark at 7pm - put it in your diary or online calendar or phone now!
We’ll talk about what being a member will involve, what you would like SkateMCR to carry on doing or start doing, and what the next steps will be. Just to remind you, here are SkateMCR’s current aims:
CELEBRATE
SkateMCR celebrates skateboarding in Manchester. We aim to to this by creating skate competitions and jams, organising a skate film festival and a Manchester skate festival.
OPPOSE
SkateMCR opposes the byelaws banning skateboarding in Manchester’s City Centre. We will oppose the byelaws by public protest, petitions and efforts to educate the council and public about the true positive nature of skateboarding. We believe skateboarders have an equal right to use public spaces responsibly, along with other citizens.
DEMAND
We demand that any Council in Greater Manchester consults with us whenever they attempt to create future skate facilities. Too often has public money been wasted on badly designed and un-usable skateparks. We will form advisory groups consisting of skaters to design and oversee the building of any skate facility.
ENHANCE
We want to see the skate scene in Manchester enhanced by gaining a concrete skate plaza and an extension to the Pump Cage under the Mancunian Way. We will lobby the relevant groups or people to get such a plaza built either at the gasworks, or at the new media city development at salford quays. We will also support efforts to get funding for the extension to the Pump Cage.
If any of that stokes your heart or imagination, and if any of this following information about Co-operatives gets you excited, please, please, please come to the meeting!
A co-operative is defined as an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
The co-operative movement is based on a set of values and principles:
Values
Co-operatives are based on the values of:
- self-help
- self-responsibility
- democracy
- equality
- equity
- solidarity
In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility, and caring for others.
Principles
The co-operative principles are guidelines by which co-operatives put their values into practice:
1. Voluntary and Open Membership
Co-operatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination.
2. Democratic Member Control
Co-operatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary co-operatives members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote), and co operatives at other levels are also organised in a democratic manner.
3. Member Economic Participation
Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their co operative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the co operative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any of the following purposes: developing their co-operative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the co-operative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
4. Autonomy and Independence
Co-operatives are autonomous, self-help organisations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organisations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their co-operative autonomy.
5. Education, Training and Information
Co-operatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public - particularly young people and opinion leaders - about the nature and benefits of co-operation.
6. Co-operation Among Co-operatives
Co-operatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the Co-operative Movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.
7. Concern for Community
Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members.
February 21, 2008 at 10:55 am · Filed under Byelaws, CAST, Central Skatepark, Manchester, Manchester City Council, NOTE Shop, Projekts Shop, Pump Cage, SkateMCR, Urbis
Document’s new mini-mag which is free and available form skateshops has a review of Manchester, both the City and the skate scene so get your copy right away! I think the article is also in the Document mag too.
On quick correction tot he article though: Although Projekts support SkateMCR and are trying to get an extension to the Pump Cage, is is SkateMCR who are “hounding council representatives, pushing for new parks and opposing the bylaws banning skateboarding in the city”… just so you know!
February 12, 2008 at 2:16 pm · Filed under Events, Manchester, Protest, SkateMCR
| February 14, 2008 |
| 7:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
SkateMCR has been invited to take part in The Valentine’s Lectures, a series of four evening quick fire slide show lectures, radically themed and presented in a format which is part charity soup kitchen, part Lecture part ‘flash mob’. 
Topics include the city, public space and consumerism.
Ben Gibbs from SkateMCR will be giving a talk under the title “Go Skateboarding” about opposition to skateboarding in Manchester and what has been happening recently to change this.
This talk will be on the 14th February (Valentine’s Day) from 7pm outside The Holden Gallery,
Manchester Metropolitan University, in the vicinity of All Saints Park (Cavendish Street, Manchester, M15 6BR).
Come along and give your support to the efforts to remove restrictions to skateboarding in Manchester!
January 30, 2008 at 11:37 am · Filed under SkateMCR
SkateMCR is at a crunch point in terms of it’s future.
The History
I (Ben Gibbs) founded SkateMCR in Novemebr 2006 as a result of talking to skaters for a few months about what they thought of the Manchester skate scene and what they thought would make it better. I was able to do this for 2 days per week through funding from a Grant Making Trust. They committed to fund me for 2 years from July 2006 until June 2008.
The Present
The end of that funding is fast approaching and if I am to continue doing what I do with SkateMCR, I need to get further funding from July 2008 onwards. I have been advised from the Scarman Trust that no funders will even consider funding SkateMCR since it has no legal framework or any constituion. It is extremely unlikely that any funder will fund me directly, most of them don’t like funding salaries and even when they do it is through a properly legal enterprise that they route that money.
The Future
All this leaves SkateMCR in a dilemma and with 2 clear choices, both of which depend on the active support of skateboarders in Manchester. I briefly mentioned the options on the notes from the January SkateMCR meeting, but I’ll got through them in more detail here.
SkateMCR Becomes A Co-operative.
SkateMCR could become a Co-operative. This would mean that it had a legal framework and a constitution and would therefore be eligible for funding from many Grant Making Trusts and other funding bodies. So it could potentially raise funding to pay me for my 2 days per week and more funding for other projects.
To become a Co-operative SkateMCR would need at least 3 people for the Committee plus others to become members. I would want to get at least 8 skaters who were fully committed to creating and being an active part of the Co-operative. I think that 8 people would give it the life and legs to move forward and grow and be a success. SkateMCR would also need £400 to register as a Co-operative. Currently SkateMCR has £24 in box on my desk so this £400 would need to be raised somehow and quickly.
The concept of a Co-operative is that it exists to serve and benefit it’s members. People become members by paying a nominal fee to the Co-operative (like £1) and fitting the criteria for membership. Each member then gets 1 vote on any issues which need deciding.
Any money the Co-operative has or makes belongs to the membership ie. they decide how that money is spent. The Committee then does the leg work and basicaly fulfills the wishes of the membership - so they don’t lead or decide on thier own, they make sure the Co-operative does what the members want it to do. The Committee members also have 1 vote each. Every year there is an Annual General Meeting where the membership hear what the Co-operative has done over the last year and then votes on who will be the Committee members for the coming year.
To find out more about what the principles and values of a Co-operative are, click here.
SkateMCR Winds Down
The other option for SkateMCR is that it winds down over the next 5 months. If there are not 8 people who would be willing to form a SkateMCR Co-operative then there is no chance of getting any further funding. In this case I will not be able to continue doing SkateMCR for 2 days per week from July 2008 onwards. I will do web design with those 2 days per week instead and earn alot more money!
Even in this situation there are 2 options. If somebody or some people want to keep SkateMCR going in their own time then I would hand over the usernames and passwords and all the contacts and information 
I have to them and they can do what they want with SkateMCR from then on. I doubt they would be able to give 2 days per week to keep it going without pay so it’s activities and results will be greatly reduced. Or, if nobody want to carry SkateMCR on, then it will just end in June.
So, the future of SkateMCR is up to you, skateboarders on Manchester.
The Plan Now
I intend to arrange a meeting for anybody who is interested in the idea of creating SkateMCR as a Co-operative. It will be an opportunity to findout more about how the Co-operative would work, what your committment and responsibility might be and a chance to shape the direction and purpose of the SkateMCR Co-operative.
Within a week of this meeting I will need to know who is fully committed to the idea. If we have 8 or more people then we will go ahead and raise the £400 and form the Co-operative. If we don’t have 8 people then we’ll forget the idea and revert to winding SkateMCR down.
I will get a date and place for that meeting within 7 days. Things need to happen quite fast so keep an eye on this website for more information as it comes. Please contact me if you want to know more or you know you want to come to this meeting by leaving a comment below or calling me on 07811 197374 or emailing me at ben@skatemcr.com
January 29, 2008 at 3:45 pm · Filed under Byelaws, Central Skatepark, Gasworks, Lobbying, Manchester, Manchester City Council, Media, Protest, Pump Cage, SkateMCR
I totally missed this when it was in the paper nearly 2 weeks ago but it’s a good article covering many of the issues surrounding skateboarding in Manchester:
KEEN skateboarder ‘Chris’ travels more than 200 miles, all the way from Pontypridd in Wales to use the facilities Manchester has to offer.
Yet despite what appears to be a ringing endorsement of the city’s ability to attract skaters to its facilities, Chris and his fellow skaters still feel Manchester needs to `pull its finger out’.
“I reckon a skate plaza in the city centre would be great so we could street skate without all the hassle of being asked to leave,” says Chris, 23.
Byelaws prevent city centre skating and cover the big attraction for Mancunian street skaters - Cathedral Gardens, outside Urbis. Anyone found flouting the law receives a formal warning, and may be prosecuted.
Since these measures were introduced in 2001, more than 100 people have received verbal warnings and at least four have been taken to court, fined and ordered to pay costs.
The problem, though, can only get worse. Skateboarding has gone through a revival since 2000 and hundreds of skaters now flock to the city every weekend.
On one side of the debate, the skaters claim they’re starved of decent purpose-built facilities, but on the other, the council believes street skating is anti-social to shoppers and tourists, not to mention expensive as the council has to fork out to repair damage to street furniture.
Lure
Yet the lure of skateboarding stretches beyond the city centre, across the length and breadth of Greater Manchester. A new skatepark at Stamford Park, Altrincham, is in the offing after police, community leaders and councillors agreed it was sorely needed to help get young people off the streets and engaging in and creative energetic pastime.
Teenage skater Nick James believes provision of more facilities is long overdue. “Skaters in Manchester really need a skate plaza, something similar to Urbis, but designed especially for skaters,” says the 17-year-old.
“There aren’t enough facilities. The one under the Mancunian Way gets wet if it rains because there are no walls - it makes it unusable.”
That venue is council-funded, but Mick Regan, head of community activity at Manchester council, says the problem is keeping all parties happy.
“We have a lot of meetings where people have conflicting demands. We’re heavily involved in the Mancunian Way skatepark. Along with the financial assistance, we also run the positive futures program, helping disadvantaged kids get involved with sports, like skateboarding.”
The UK Skateboarding Association has raised concerns about the number and quality of the skateparks. Chairman Kevin Parrot believes there are too few indoor parks and the rest are badly constructed council parks.
Problem
Lack of suitable facilities shifts the problem back to the streets, where the skaters are drawn to places with the architecture and street furniture to hone their skills, such as steps, handrails and ramps.
But Cathedral Gardens is now out of bounds and two other favourite hangouts have also gone: the Gasworks is now under redevelopment, and the University of Manchester campus has introduced anti-skateboarding devices, like blister paving.
“I can understand why people prefer to street skate,” says Paul Harrison, owner of The World Famous Central Skatepark. “The idea of exploring and finding new spots is the whole point.
“But I also think it’s common sense that there are laws in place. I’m not saying people shouldn’t street skate, I’m just saying it’s unfair to try and demand that they’re allowed to damage other people’s property.”
But a rebellion is brewing. SkateMCR was set up by disgruntled Mancunian skaters, fed up with the restrictions and poor skating facilities in the city. They want the bans lifted and have even petitioned the Prime Minister’s website.
However, Steve Bass, who recently bought one of the region’s largest skateparks, believes the real way forward is through cooperation between skaters and local councils.
Steve’s UKskatepark in Stockport (formerly Bones) attracts around 200 people every Saturday. “Lot’s of outdoor parks in Manchester are built by the local councils, who tend to order ramps out of catalogues and then plonk them somewhere with no thought to their set up,” explains Steve.
“There’s only one other indoor park in the city, Central Skatepark, and if that gets too busy it’s almost unusable.”
The all-weather concrete platforms around Urbis mean it has found itself at the centre of the debate. But chief executive Vaughan Allen is keen to show they embrace the city’s skate culture. He said: “Urbis has adopted a proactive response to the problem by holding a number of skateboarding exhibits and events.”
January 28, 2008 at 10:32 am · Filed under A.S.B.O., Festival, Manchester, SkateMCR
It’s taken a while to get these notes up here because the future of SkateMCR is still in doubt but we’ll get to that later.
We began by talking about the plan to have a Manchester international Skateboard Festival. Basically Councillor Rosa Battle, John Haines and I met with the Manchester Events Team before Christmas and they told us it’s not going to happen this summer (’08) because they plan festivals about 10 months in advance and we had missed the deadline. They really liked the idea and are keen to help us do it for summer ‘09.
They mentioned a couple of people who are interested in doing a Northern Quarter Festival so I am trying to contact these people to see if we could band together and do something like that this summer.
We moved onto ASBO 2008. My wife and I are having a baby at the beginning of April so I will not be around for most of April. Everybody I’ve talked to really wants to do ASBO again because it was such a success last year. But since I’m gonna be out the loop in April we need some people to step up and offer to organise it. I’m willing to help and give advice and contacts before April but these people will need to take the lead with it and run it throughout April too.
Please, please, please contact me if you’re interested - 07811197374 or ben@skatemcr.com
The last item we talked about wa the future of SkateMCR. I am currently funded by a Grant Making Trust to do this for 2 days per week and my funding runs out in June this year, 5 months away. I have talked to the Scarman Trust who want to help me find funding but there advice is that no-one is going to fund SkateMCR if it does not have a legal status. Currently SkateMCR is a Collective so it has no heirarchy, no structure, no bank account and no legal status.
After thinking about this alot I think SkateMCR has 2 options:
Option 1: SkateMCR becomes a Co-operative. By becoming a Co-operative we will have the legal status to be able to access funding, not just to pay me and others, but also to put on events or long term projects. To become a Co-operative SkateMCR will need £400 to register and at least 3 members of the committee and more people to be members.
Option 2: SkateMCR stays as it is. If SkateMCR stays as it is, I will not be able to do what I do anymore - SkateMCR will have to run by you. It will not be able to get funding so I won’t be able to give 2 days per week to it anymore. So someone or some people will have to take it over unpaid, and if no-one wants to, SkateMCR will be no more.
Both these options need you to step up if you’re interested in keeping SkateMCR alive. If no-one is bothered then I’ll carry on and wind it down until June.
It’s up to you.
January 8, 2008 at 4:42 pm · Filed under Events, Manchester, Projekts Shop, SkateMCR
| January 23, 2008 |
| 7:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
Please come along to the next SkateMCR Open Meeting on 23rd Jan at the Projekts Shop from 7pm.
Manchester International Skateboard Festival is not going to happen this summer. Come and find out why and what the plans are for this coming summer and summer 2009.
We’ll begin the plans for ASBO 2008 so come and have your say and get involved this year!
And the future of SkateMCR is in doubt, come and find out why and how you can help keep SkateMCR alive. We need your input on all these issues since it is you, the skaters, who we represent!
As usual there will be free crisps, biscuits and drinks!
December 19, 2007 at 11:40 am · Filed under Central Skatepark, Christmas, Manchester, Photos, Skate Jam, SkateMCR
SkateMCR’s Christmas Doo Part 2 was a fun time down at Central Skatepark for a Nativity Fancy Dress Themed Skate Jam!
Plenty of folk came along to have a skate but only a handful made the effort with the fancy dress. Jim, the New Sensation, won the prize for the best dressed - an Element Deck - for his dressing gown, PJ bottoms on his head, and bareing his legs in the freezing skatepark to make the oufit more authentic!
Jim also came 3rd in the Skate Jam which was won by Louie B and Stu came second.
Sexual Stu even made an effort for a bit, but kept his leather jacket on for style!
Click here to see more photos, and Merry Christmas one and all!
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