Dropping in with the USU Skateboard Club

As their motto reads, “From dropping out to dropping in” the USU skateboard club showed up to drop in at the new Providence Skatepark this past Wednesday, Oct. 16.  

With a bowl inspired by Utah’s canyons, the new Providence skatepark officially opened this month. USU Skateboard Club was invited to be some of the first wheels on the ground.  

This park is the second of its kind in Cache Valley, the first being the Hyrum skatepark. Both parks were designed by Hunger Skateparks.  

The club is led by President Connor Hales, with support from Vice Presidents Leo Gilbert and Blank. The trio heads the USU stake club Instagram, which saw some rebranding at the start of the semester.  

“So a couple of my friends were in charge of USU skate club a couple of years ago, and they all graduated, and USU Skate Club kind of died out and, there’s a super strong skate community at USU and I wanted to represent that and show people a good side of skateboarding. So that was kind of an inspiration for doing the Instagram and showing how fun and awesome skateboarding can be,” Gilbert said.  

Gilbert also works at the Directive Board Shop located on Main Street, which had a hand in the 12,500-foot Providence Park.  

“My boss works super closely with the city. He actually designed this park. He’s good friends with the city and with Hunger Skateparks,” Gilbert said.  

Directive is also working closely with the USU Skateboard Club to create its first set of apparel.  

Hales found himself at the USU skate club for his senior year after time spent outside of Cache Valley.   

“I was a transfer student here last year, and so I came up here just kind of on a whim, and didn’t have any friends and one thing that is easy to do is look up a skate park in your local area and Cache Valley with the opening of Providence. Now has four the best skate parks in Utah within like 20 minutes. So I just kind of went to a skate park just on a whim. And I met a few guys, and those have become some of my best friends. And so just opening it up to everyone and showing that, you know, the skatepark’s not only a place to skateboard, but also just a great place to find a community,” Hales said.   

With winter fast approaching, the club has been working with USUSA’s Clubs and organizations executive director, Jase Velazquez, on a place to skate on campus.  

“Skateboarding is a growing and popularized activity,” Velazquez said. “Whether it’s like reserving like the ARC, or even seeing if we can do it in like the HYPER or the military ROTC building, it is just finding that indoor space in which skateboarding, can still continue.” 

The new Providence skatepark included a covering for 3,000 feet of the park so that skateboarding can continue through the winter.   

With the addition of the Providence Skatepark, there are now four parks in Cache Valley, one in Hyrum, Logan and Smithfield.  

 “I think the beauty of skate parks and skateboarding in general, is that they each have their little characteristics to them, but all four of our parks are amazing,” Hales said.