o Comply indoor skatepark in Friars Walk has seen a noticeable rise in the number of females using the facility, which plans some great events over the next few months
NO COMPLY skatepark has accumulated more than 1,300 members since opening in October of 2022 and has been used well over 6,250 times.
The most noticeable shift in the skatepark since the start, is the number of female users attending the skatepark.
Roughly 70 per cent of its users are female, and 80 per cent who attend professional lessons are female too.
At the end of April, founder Alan Cains and his team ran an all-female competition, which 22 local competitors entered.
Alan told the Argus' sister magazine Voice: “Due to the success of girl’s night, it has inspired a group of local parents to start up an all-girls South Wales Skateboard Club, which No Comply skatepark is now a hub for every Wednesday evening. This is our most popular session!
“Some of the girls have started competing at national level, and one 10-year-old in particular, Luna Gordon, ranked fourth when she competed against adults at the National Championships in London.
"Luna has also recently placed first in each of our local competitions.
“Our girl’s event was massively popular, so much so we’ve had an equal number of males request a competition at the skatepark too. The cost for the event, as most things these days, was huge, so we’re looking into sponsors for running another event this summer. On top of everything else it would be the icing on the cake – that is if we’re able to pull it off!
“The growing numbers of users shows there is a need for a much larger indoor skatepark facility in Newport as people are travelling great distances to get to this indoor facility.
“The support and use of the skatepark has been amazing and people are excited to where this project will lead us.
“By becoming a member is supports the skatepark to stay running and will allow us to expand the skatepark, eventually.
“People paying the £20 membership fee will get reduced rates for lessons and sessions and get early access to events happening at the skatepark.
“If all our users paid the membership fee, we’d have enough money for a deposit on a larger venue and enough money to move to a much larger premises.
“For the summer, we’re hoping to engage with as many youth organisations across Newport as we can to for skateboard workshops, suitable for ASD users, ALN users, with a team of male and female coaches including BSL options for users.
“The workshops are fun and engaging to get people active and passionate about skateboarding.”
Alan and company are hoping to collaborate with Newport Live and skateboard academy UK for the Big Splash this year – offering an outdoor space where people can take part in our fun activities.
In August he will represent Newport Pride by holding a Queer Skate South Wales and Pride in the Port collaboration in the week leading up to their annual event at the start of September. Dates have yet to be confirmed.
For anyone looking to have something different for their child’s birthday parties, there are plenty of weekend and evening openings for private hires, which are suitable for social occasions with friends too. They also have an air conditioning unit which makes the skatepark nice and cool for users.
For all the latest news and updates, be sure to follow the No Comply Skate Park social media pages.
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