Adds to growing rec opportunities in the area
by Larry Chowning –
Middlesex County officials presented a ribbon cutting opening ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 9, to kick-off the grand opening of a new Middlesex County skateboard park at Cooks Corner.
Back in March, Middlesex County supervisors agreed to a memorandum of understanding with Triangle Skateboard Alliance (TSA) in Williamsburg. TSA is a nonprofit organization founded to build and improve skateparks in the Tidewater region.
Supervisors agreed to accept a $2,545 donation in the form of equipment for the park. The board had earlier agreed to the concept of having a skatepark built on a concrete slab that was being used as a basketball court and had been part of the playground of the old Rappahannock Central Elementary School. The new park abuts the Middlesex Pet Friends for Life Dog Park.
The skatepark was requested by the Middlesex Christian Skaters Skateboard Club (MCSSC). The club is a Middlesex County Public Schools-sponsored club that started in 2019 at St. Clare Walker Middle School (SCW) by the Rev. Aaron Wells and his wife Bonnie.
At the opening ceremony, Bonnie said that this was a “dream come true” for MCSSC club members and she thanked the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors, the Middlesex Rotary and Kiwanis clubs and TSA officials for their support. The local Rotary and Kiwanis clubs were financial supporters of the project.
With the pandemic, the club moved from SCW to the Wells’ driveway and requested the move to the Cooks Corner concrete slab for a larger location.
The skateboard park is part of a larger Middlesex County Parks and Recreation plan to create a park with a playground, outdoor basketball courts and other amenities.
Also, with the $800,000 renovations at the Cooks Corner Office Complex, which includes improvements to the old St. Clare Walker High School gymnasium, the county is moving towards better recreational facilities for citizens in the middle and western end of Middlesex County.
