CLINTON — The skateboard community of Montana has grown a little bit larger as Clinton launched the grand opening of its new skatepark.
After many years of work with the county and through generous contributions from organizations across the state, the skatepark in Clinton is officially open.
One of the contributors to the park was the Non-profit Montana Pool Service, founded by Montana’s own Jeff Ament from Pearl Jam, who was in town for the launch.
Derek Joseph
“It’s awesome just to be around all the young people that are… you know you see the wheels starting to turn and I think it’s helpful,” Ament said.
“it’s helpful in life it helps you navigate failure because a lot of skateboarding is failure and getting back up and doing it until you make the trick.”
Ament also believes spending time at a skatepark opens up opportunities for people to explore life careers.
“It’s a gateway to all the creative things, it’s a gateway to photography, and painting, and other sports, and sort of looking at the world in a different way and it connects sort of all these oddball creative types.”
One of the most important aspects of a skatepark is the community, and people at this skatepark are already encouraging others to get better.
Isaiah Stephenson runs a skate shop in Helena and he says young people need a place to interact with each other.
“I think especially with COVID, it kept a lot of people inside for three years. There wasn’t much to do; some people got active, some people stayed at home. I feel like there’s no in-between, I feel like, I think this was a great opportunity, especially for the younger kids, to be able to socialize,” Stephenson said.
“Everyone needs to meet each other, argue, get over it, discuss. It’s important for the youth to be engaged in something like this—eat some concrete here and there, rub some dirt on it, get up, and keep going.”
More information about Montana Pool Service can be found here
