The grand-reopening celebration of the revamped 33,000-square-foot Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA skatepark officially got underway at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 13, 2004 with a vert demo on the 2003 X Games ramp, generously donated by Target. Located on the hillside just east of Interstate 5 in Encinitas, California, the park offers a breathtaking view of Moonlight Beach. Festivities brought Target riders Mat Hoffman and Shaun White, local vert and pool pros such as Brian Howard, Mathias Ringstrom, Cara-Beth Burnside, Mike McGill, Dave Duncan, and Kevin Staab, and 1,200 to 1,500 spectators and skaters throughout the day. Although the event started with the vert demo, attention drifted straight to the kidney and clover bowls directly afterward.

The Y's new cement setup was designed and erected by Site Design, bringing the best pools in the area. The hype on the new cement was nonstop. Credit for the 15, 000-square-foot street course and relocation of the vert ramp, along with adding half a foot to its monstrous height, go to Team Pain.

The buzzing never ceased -- everyone was elated. "The park turned out really nice," commented pro skater Mimi Knoop. "It was cool to skate with everyone that was there. It was a diverse crowd and everyone seemed to be having fun."

"I've been skating at the Y since they opened a skatepark," added longtime pro Cara-Beth Burnside, "and it just keeps getting better and better. Another bonus is that it's only a mile from my house and we can skate it anytime."

After the demo, the park opened its doors to all to enjoy, with autograph signing and a half-hour session open to the public. Special thanks go out to Garrett Bjornson, skatepark director of the YMCA, who started this dream more than a year ago with the guidance and assistance of quite a few of the local pros; Colby Carter from Site Design; and Tim Pain from Team Pain for making this a reality and a blessing to us all.

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The new park is officially open to all, offering three sessions a day and two BMX sessions a week. Along with this good news, helmets will be the only kind of protection required of adults. For more info on the park, go to http://ecke.ymca.org/sk8construction.htm.