Girls spearhead plan for skate park

Leah Van Sickle (left) and Lauren Cannone are trying to raise $75,000 to build a skate park in Pembroke. (David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

PEMBROKE - Watching professional skateboarder Ryan Sheckler perform his tricks on the MTV show "Life of Ryan" last fall was enough to inspire Lauren Cannone and Leah Van Sickle of Pembroke to give the sport a try. It did not take long for them to get hooked.

"We started practicing once, and we didn't really stop," said Lauren, 13, who like her close friend Leah, 14, is an eighth-grader at Pembroke's Community Middle School.

Now, as they try to master the sport's varied maneuvers, the two teens are taking on an equally daunting challenge: raising money to build a skateboard park in town. Even with the support of town officials, it's not easy. They need an estimated $75,000.

"It's overwhelming," acknowledged Leah. "But I think overall, when it's done, it's going to be worth it."

While often regarded as primarily a pastime of boys, skateboarding is a sport girls can enjoy, too, Lauren and Leah said. "It's just fun and it's a challenge," Lauren said. She noted that "most of the people who are talking to me about it [the park] are girls."

Now Lauren and Leah skateboard in the parking lot of the Hobomock Elementary School, and Leah sometimes goes to Birch Street Park. They say others go to the middle school parking lot or even use downtown sidewalks.

But none of those spots can substitute for a skateboard park, which would provide a safe place to skate - free of potential collisions with cars and people - and the ramps and equipment needed to master the sport, they say.

The idea for the campaign came from a forum that Donna Cannone, Lauren's mother, attended in January on risky behavior among Pembroke youth. At the event, she learned that the town had identified a spot for a skateboard park but needed someone to spearhead the effort.

Donna Cannone mentioned the conversation to her daughter, who agreed to head the campaign, and Leah soon jumped on board.

"They took the ball and said they're going to do what they can," said Donna Cannone.

The Recreation Commission has "pledged 100 percent the support of the Recreation Commission to do this," said commission chairman Greg Hanley. "It's a great civics lesson these girls are learning by undertaking this project."

In a letter seeking selectmen's backing, Lauren and Leah noted that businesses do not like people skateboarding in front of their stores, and said, "By putting in a skate park, we would be allowing kids to have a safer, more accessible place to hang out." Selectmen responded by voicing support.

The girls also obtained the support of their school principal, Steven Lamarche. With the help of a teacher, Emily Bradley, Lauren and Leah are setting up a student group to pursue the project.

Recreation director Pam Rowell said several other attempts have been made to establish a skateboard park in town over the past 10 years, none of which came to fruition. But she is impressed by the girls' efforts to date.

"They're really gung-ho about this," she said. "They've got the 100 percent support of the commission and myself, and anything we can do to help we will."

Just where the park would go is not yet decided. Rowell said the commission would ideally want it in a "visible and central location." The current preferred spot is next to an existing playground outside the town's community center.

Alternatively, if the town moves ahead with a new community center behind the current one, a park could be located in back of that building, Rowell said.

Voters this fall are expected to consider a plan that includes the proposal for the new community center. Other sites overseen by the Recreation Commission might also be possible.

For now, Lauren and Leah are focusing on raising the funds needed for the park. Their ideas include sponsoring a 5K run and a car wash, and approaching town businesses. The girls are also researching designs for a park.

"It's going to take a long time and a lot of work," Lauren said. "But if enough people support it, then we can definitely do it."

John Laidler can be reached at Laidler@globe.com.