A skateboarding competition victory in New Orleans, La. has landed one Mississippi community the opportunity to create a new venue for young people to learn the sport.
In mid-April, Team Tupelo was crowned this year’s Red Bull Terminal Takeover champions. Over the course of two days, ten teams of skaters from cities all over the country hit tricks on escalators, baggage carousels, and ramps placed strategically throughout an abandoned Louis Armstrong Airport terminal that was converted into a custom-designed skatepark.
The teams then compiled the highlights of their performances into a two-minute clip and submitted it to a fan-sourced vote online for a chance to win $5,000.
Matt Robinson, the owner of Change Skate Shop in Tupelo, said that his squad was considered to be a heavy underdog in the competition but was able to win with a sizeable majority of the vote even against teams from communities with a larger skateboarding presence.
“We were able to take the top spot from other cities in the running like Denver, Colorado, Houston, Texas, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Orleans — cities with exponentially more population than we have here even in all of north Mississippi,” Robinson said on Good Things with Rebecca Turner. “At the end of the vote, we wound up with about 60 percent of the vote.”
Robinson plans to use the funds to erect a new park for those looking to learn how to skateboard in an area where they will be given the chance to learn fundamentals in an environment conducive to newcomers.
“The community has won this for us. Let’s give it back to the community,” Robinson stated. “We’re working with the city planner, the Convention of Visitor’s Bureau, Downtown Main Street, and Parks and Rec to create a beginner’s skateboard area, which we hope will be the first of many in all the areas of Tupelo. Most kids don’t have access to transportation when they’re eight years old, so having something in the neighborhood, having something families can walk to, and they can engage in this activity is the ultimate goal.”
The location of the new park is still being determined by multiple parties. However, Robinson says it will be located in a new part of Tupelo where there will be a “beginner-friendly” skate space.
Watch the full interview with Robinson below.
