South Daytona, Florida * -- The Stone Edge Skate Park fell into such disrepair that many skateboarders had assumed it closed.

And it was about to be bulldozed if not for the last-minute intercession of world champion skateboarder and Daytona Beach native Jen O'Brien *. (Jen also happens to be married to Bob Burnquist *).

"She asked me, 'Can't you take it over?' " recalled Martin Ramos.

Ramos' family owns the Kona * Skate Park in Jacksonville. Established in June 1977, Ramos claims it is the oldest operational skateboard park in the country. O'Brien connected Ramos with Stone Edge's former owner just days before the park on South Ridgewood was supposed to be razed in 2002 *. In the last two years, Ramos has refurbished the park and is about to expand it by another 12,000 square feet. He is organizing competitions and "2005 * is going to be a really exciting year," Ramos said.

The sport is riding a new crest of popularity, thanks to video games that feature the gravity-defying spins of skateboarding stars such as Tony Hawk *. Because skateboarding is an outgrowth of surfing, the sport always has been a natural in states such as California * and Florida. Ramos is helping to revive what was once a big business in the Daytona Beach area.

Longtime skateboarders recall the Daytona Beach area had as many as four professional parks in the late 1970s.

Locals say Port Orange was even home to the nation's first skateboard park, ScatBoard City, which was at the current site of Go-Kart City on Nova Road. Its name was later changed to Skateboard City.

The Port Orange park opened in 1976. Another park opened in California around the same time. So the title of first skateboard park in the nation is subject to debate.

"If you ask somebody in California, they will say Carlsbad was the first skate park," said longtime skateboarder, Kelly Lynn, 40. "If you ask somebody in Florida, they will say Skateboard City was the first skate park. Either way, it's one or two. I actually think Skateboard City beat it by a month or a few weeks." A native of New Smyrna Beach, Lynn won a state championship at Skateboard City when he was 13.

Another native, Charley Gonzalez, 46, was a pro at the park. When they were in their teens, Gonzalez and Lynn had professional careers in skateboarding. Both were inducted into the Florida Skateboard Hall of Fame at floridaskater.com.

In the late '70s, ABC's Wide World of Sports filmed Gonzalez at a competition on Catalina Island in California. Gonzalez, who now owns a local home electronics shop, Stereotypes, with his family, remembers that event as the peak of the sport's popularity in the late 1970s.

By the early '80s, "all the parks got bulldozed," Gonzalez said. He believes the sport was too dangerous to be successful commercially. It was not uncommon for a skate park to have three to four injuries in one weekend, he said.

The liability issue probably forced the parks to close. "I was fortunate (not to get hurt)," he said.

As a parent, Gonzalez does not discourage the sport, but he doesn't encourage it, either. He thinks surfing is much safer. "At least when you fall, you fall on waves, not concrete," he said.

Ramos' skate park in Jacksonville was one of few parks to escape the wave of mass closings in the early 1980s. Stone Edge wouldn't open until the end of the decade.

But Ramos does not think injuries were to blame. Instead, Ramos believes an economic recession and poor management was what forced so many parks out of business.

Many parks did not know how to treat skateboarders. They were too heavy-handed with their customers, Ramos said. This clashed with a sport that attracts the creative and rebellious youth. The secret to a successful skate park is to set some standards, such as not allowing any profanity, smoking or chewing gum, but let the skateboarders police themselves. "Leave them alone," Ramos said. "This is their place. Let them have a good time."

As far as injuries, his park does not carry liability insurance. All skateboarders are asked to sign waivers and are required to wear helmets. To use the skateboard park, it costs $7 a day or $50 for an annual pass.

Skateboard technology also has improved with softer surfaces made from plastic and wood.

Since the first generation of skateboarders from the 1970s has grown up and had kids, skateboarding is becoming more of a family sport, said Lynn. Lynn also is part of a city committee that's looking for a location for a skate park in New Smyrna Beach.

Skateboarding is not just for kids. Lynn sometimes sees whole families skateboarding together. Lynn knows 30-somethings who have picked up the sport in the last few years.

Some adults never have put away their skateboards. Tommy Gazay, 37, started when he was 5 years old. He recently made a road trip from Orlando * to Stone Edge. "It's a rush," he explained. "It gives me serenity. Everyday stress is gone." Despite his age, he is not about to quit. "God will tell me when it's time," Gazay said.

Skateboarding probably is outgrowing its rebellious image when the sport can attract a great-grandmother and grandmother to its cheering section.

Over the holiday break, Susan Smarjesse and her 85-year-old mother, Mary Hummel, applauded the flips and twists made by Smarjesse's grandchildren --Nick Smarjesse, 14, and Jacob Smarjesse, 10, at Stone Edge.

In a time of epidemic obesity, Smarjesse likes what the sport is doing for the children's health. "You don't see a fat kid out here," she said. She also admires her grandchildren's devotion. While the family lives in Ormond-by-the Sea, her grandchildren ride their bicycles 7 1/2 miles to a municipal skate park on Nova Road in Ormond Beach. "That takes a little effort on their part," she said.

Many parents also are looking for alternatives to traditional sports. Jodi Roberts's daughter, Stacie Roberts, 15, "played the team sports. Because she's small for her age, they made her sit out. She didn't like sitting out." Stacie is a member of the skate park's team. "She's usually the only girl at the skate park," Roberts said. "They're all good to her."

The mom also believes the sport is a creative outlet. "I think it's more of an art."

This article was originally entitled "Jacksonville family comes to skateboard park's rescue" and was found at http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/ Business/Headlines/03BusinessBIZ01010905.htm

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