Horsham’s ‘Jam in the Park’ raises £1400 for Skate Park Extension

Horsham’s first Skate, BMX and In-line Jam raised £1400 toward the Skatepark extension on Sunday and was hailed as a resounding success by everyone involved.

Entrants and spectators were full of praise for the Jam, which looks like becoming an annual event to coincide with the Family Fun Day.

Gary Holder who took part with his son Thomas and collectively raised £338 in sponsorship, said: “As an entrant and spectator, The Jam was an extremely well organised and professionally run event. We were both fortunate enough to win categories in our respective age groups and were totally overwhelmed with the quality and value of the prizes donated by Little Sky and their suppliers. As the oldest entrant in the Jam, the last time I won something for skating was in 1978 so I am looking forward to trying again next year”.

Horsham District Council were also extremely happy with the proceedings; Chris Dier, Director of Community Development and Leisure Services at Horsham District Council said: “We are delighted to see this event running alongside the Family Fun Day and obviously providing a new interest to this popular day. It is hoped that this competition will be the first of many. I know that street sporters are a very enthusiastic bunch and that any contribution to the planned extension to the Skatepark area will be very beneficial”.

The Jam was organised by Little Sky, Horsham’s premier kids clothing store for 0-16’s, Horsham District Council Leisure Services and Horsham Street Sports Association.

Kate Oldfield a Director of Little Sky was thrilled to see so many people of all ages enjoying themselves both within and around the arena: “Some 64 entrants were watched continuously by the thousands of visitors in the park for the Jam and Family Fun Day, who were shouting their encouragement and applauding the exceptional talent on display. Little Sky was delighted to be a major part of the Jam and are already looking forward to putting our full support behind next year’s event”.

More than £1000 worth of prizes were donated by Little Sky’s suppliers and were allocated by the judges for Best Trick, Cheesiest Trick, Best Effort and Best Overall Run per age group in each of the three disciplines, Skate, BMX and In-line. In addition Horsham’s generous retailers donated another £1000 worth of prizes for the bumper raffle which closed the event.

Greg Charman from Horsham District Council’s; Community Development Department said: “Whilst it was expected that the event would be popular, the numbers involved were unprecedented and clearly reflected the huge support within Horsham District for street sports. Horsham’s Skate Park is a shining example of how a modern leisure provision can be designed to fit in with a delicate natural environment. If this first Jam is anything to go by, we would fully support similar future events”.

As well as the category Jams, a ‘BMX Bunny Hop’ competition was held midway through proceedings, which was won by Gavin Shortall who managed to launch his BMX over a bar raised to 42 inches (3.5 feet), which secured him a £70 Ripcurl watch, again provided through Little Sky.

Such was the expectation and interest in the event, Radio Mercury sent Black Thunder, their outside broadcasting facility to promote the Jam and had a live link to their studio’s to keep their audience updated on proceedings.

The Jam was also an opportunity to remember and reflect on the sad loss of John Wells who died just over two years ago. John was a founder member of the Horsham Street Sports Association (HSSA) which lobbied to have the Skatepark built. John’s mother attended the Jam to hand over a cheque for £135, which was raised in a collection at his funeral, because she wanted the money channelled back into the sport he enjoyed so much. A special plaque is being produced and will be erected in the Skatepark soon to commemorate John.

Martin Robertson who chairs the HSSA, thanked Mrs Wells for the donation in a moving speech about John. He also commended the entrants and spectators: “I am overjoyed with the way the Jam went, especially the friendly and happy atmosphere created by those who took part and spectated. These sports are great to both practice and watch and the feedback received from everyone I have spoken to was extremely positive”.

Claire Minto, Co-Director of Little Sky praised the efforts of the regular users of the Skatepark and officials who helped to make the event run smoothly: “We had a tremendous amount of support in the run up to the event and on the day and would like to thank the Skatepark regulars, Horsham District Council Leisure Services and HSSA very much for making it such a huge hit, plus Graham Ansell Sound Production for providing the sound system with DJ Graham Smith, the Judges, Raffle Sellers, St John’s Ambulance and of course Mitchell Richards and Graham Day who commentated throughout”.

Weaver Brothers of Redhill and Southern Counties Ice Cream provided food and ice cream at the Jam, who very kindly contributed a proportion of their revenue to the Skatepark Extension Fund.

There were four photographers capturing the thrills and spills of the Jam all day, including Jamie Cameron from Ride Magazine, the UK’s No1 BMX magazine, again re-iterating the appeal of Horsham’s first organised event of this type. To see a pictorial account of the Jam keep visiting Little Sky’s website www.littlesky.co.uk or the HSSA’s site www.binliners.co.uk where photography will be uploaded continuously over the coming weeks.

Finally, Horsham District Council Leisure Service would like to encourage anyone who is interested in starting to ride or skate at the park to contact HSSA at www.binliners.co.uk, Little Sky, 32 West Street, Horsham, www.littlesky.co.uk or simply go to the park and talk to some of the current users. There is a real community feel amongst the regulars at the Skatepark and anyone wanting to get into these sports is always welcomed and supported by those involved already.

PRESS INFORMATION

If members of the press would like more information, please contact Colin Minto, Event Director, on 07887 480142.