One Eighty projec to close
(One Eighty will continue until the end of the school term. The last session at Weston Children's Centre will be on Tuesday 19th July)
Ending projects is never easy. Ending one as successful, high profile and exciting as One Eighty is even harder. However after much thought, talking with skaters and reflection Bath YFC has decided that One Eighty will finish as a mobile skate project at the end of August.
One Eighty was the vision of Jo Dolby. Supported by Bath YFC and with funding from Quartet and the Local Authority, Jo launched the project nearly seven years ago with a one-off event in The Pavillion, Bath. The project has provided a mobile skate facility for hundreds of young people and has had an impact at a level that far belies its resources ever since. Locally the project has served young people around B&NES with a weekly skate session for over six years. One Eighty also ran summer events for the local authority and local schools. The project has played its part in raising the profile of skating in the area so that now Keynsham and Midsomer Norton, places where we ran events now have their own skate park. One Eighty has travelled far and wide in the region delivering skate outreach events in partnership with local churches, helping the church engage with young people often misunderstood, feared and stereotyped by society.
One Eighty hit national headlines in 2006 (in The Sun Newspaper and Radio Five Live!) and Bath YFC Director, James was interviewed on local television when we ran Thrive, our skate life skills project in Culverhay School, Bath. One Eighty has championed mission to skaters at a national level too. Working alongside Christian Surfers, Jo was very much involved in the development of a national network for Christian skate ministries. Furthermore Jo’s passion for mission to skaters led her to write the Switch Course; twelve sessions to help skaters explore the Christian Faith. Switch has been sold around the world to ministries in the US, South Africa and Sweden, sharing the gospel with skaters far and wide! In Bath we have run the course three times and as Dave says, “We have seen some amazing relationships built through the project and have seen young people’s lives changed as they have committed their life to Christ.” Christian Surfers (who also run Christian Skaters) have said they would love to take the resource and continue to promote it to skate ministries around the world, so it’s great to know that Switch will continue to make a difference.
However over the last couple of years things have changed and youth culture shifted, Dave Joyce explains, “Over the past year One Eighty attendance has been low due to a number of factors; two new skate parks being built in Midsummer Norton and Keynsham and skateboarding not being as popular as it was six years ago with the unstoppable rise of ‘The Scooter.’” He continues, “there was some thought about the project becoming a scooter project, however as well as our own reservations about this the young people were not keen, when we spoke to the current crop of skaters they preferred the idea that the project was started for skateboarders and should end a skateboard project.”
It has not been an easy or quick decision, however we have decided that the project will close in Bath in July and One Eighty’s final outing will be to run the skate park, as has become and annual custom, at the Greenbelt festival at Cheltenham Racecourse run over the August bank holiday.
Bath YFC would like to thank all who have played their part in One Eighty; a huge thank you to Jo for setting the whole thing in motion, our trustees for believing in the vision, volunteers who gave so much time, funders who helped make the dream a reality and all who offered encouragement along the way. Finally and most importantly, thanks to God who took and idea and dream and did far more than any of us could have ever asked for or imagined. If you are interested in purchasing the ramps, trailer and vehicle that tows them then please get in touch with Bath YFC. www.bathyfc.co.uk
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One Eighty
One Eighty is our mobile skate park project. We run a weekly session on Tuesday evenings from 7.30-9.30pm attracting young people from all over the city and beyond. We set up our ten piece mobile skate park at a local youth centre. Young people can skate the ramps, chill out with a skate DVD or magazine in the seating area or practice their 'tech deck' skills with our mini skate park for fingerboards! Half way through the night we break for a 'Think Slot', where there is the opportunity to listen to a short talk or discuss topics picked by young people. These have ranged from experiencing God, to drugs and alcohol and how we think about the future. Also available for young people on the night are the opportunities to play football or basketball in the outdoor ball court and once a month we bring in the laptop and decks and have an MC night.
If you want to find out more or come along please feel free to turn up at 7.30pm any Tuesday during term time. The cost is £2 for members and £3 for non-members.
The Graff project runs alongside One Eighty at the same time and place.
The mobile skate park and trained staff are available for other organisations wanting to use skateboarding to engage with young people and have travelled all over the South West and even further afield to deliver skate sessions for local authorities, local churches and other organisations. We also run the skate park at the Greenbelt Festival in Cheltenham every year. If you would like to hire this facility then please get in touch with Dave via the Bath YFC office.
Key information:
When: Every Tuesday in term time between 7.30-9.30pm
Where: Weston Youth Project, Weston Children's Centre, Penn Hill Road, Weston. BA1 4EH (click here for Google map location)