MASE plans clinic, Finger Sports contest
MONROE - Monroe Clinic, MASE, Green County EMS and the Monroe Parks And Recreation Department will host a skateboard clinic June 14 at the skate park, teaching new skaters a few tricks, while promoting safety with free helmets and pads. Contact the Monroe Parks and Recreation Department for more information.
The following weekend, June 19-21, MASE will be at the Monroe Balloon Rally for the Mattel X-Games Finger Sports contest.
Monroe is one of 50 skate parks in the nation competing for one of two $5,000 awards of prize money for skate park equipment.
Even though Monroe's skate park didn't meet the contest's required 50-100 skaters per day, it was specially invited to join by the contest marketing firm, because Monroe won $10,000 in an earlier contest.
MASE earns points for the number of pictures, videos, Web sites, media spots or other advertising it can produce during the contest. An ESPN representative may drop by to check out the fingerboarding contest.
Kids ages 8-13 are eligible to participate at the MASE booth, located on the fairgrounds. Winners and their fingerboards will have their picture taken. Participants could win one of five regular-size skateboards, a mini-skate park for their fingerboard, 1,200 finger skateboard helmets, T-shirts, stickers or other items donated by Mattel.
"I saw how dedicated they were to it and how good it was for them," he said.
Now, 10 years later, his children are grown and asking why he is still involved.
Miller, of course, is more than involved. He's the spokesman for the Monroe Area Skatepark Enthusiasts and has been a driving force in getting a skate park built in the city.
But Miller said this will be his last year as MASE's spokesman. He doesn't know who or how many people will step forward to take the reins of the loosely organized MASE, he said.
"There are a couple of people," Miller said. "We really don't have much for meetings, it's done mostly by e-mail."
The group also will be looking for an official treasurer; Mary Miller, Tom's wife, will be relinquishing her duties in that role.
Miller says skateboarding has several benefits.
"It teaches them to be persistent at what they are doing, until they perfect it; it's about being around others and it's a physical activity that gets them out and on their own," he said. "They're not sitting inside at the computer or playing video games or watching TV."
But back in 1999, skateboarders had no place to practice their "ollies," "grinds" and "flipkicks," and had inherited a bad reputation.
"The city has been tremendous in changing that image of skateboarders," Miller said.
Donations came in from the city, businesses and private citizens; and Miller has been a driving force during all of it.
Today, thanks to fund raising efforts of MASE, Monroe touts a fenced-in skate park with $110,000 worth of equipment in Honey Creek Park on the west side of town.
"Unlike organizations with structured activities, the skate park is a place to hang out, no matter how well they can skate," Miller said. "You don't have to be good enough to be part of it - you can just do it."
Parents feel secure in leaving their children at the park for a couple hours. Older skaters show younger ones how to skate. The skate park even became a destination for a birthday party for the son of one mother from Argyle, Miller said.
"I'm proud of the way kids have been behaving out there - even though it's secluded and unsupervised," he said.