National Lottery funds free skateboard sessions in Worthing for all ages

The National Lottery Community Fund has given South Coast Skate Club a grant for skateboard events at Homefield Park, including free weekend sessions for all ages.

Dale Lay, director, said: "This project is very close to our heart, as a local skater that's seen many generations of skaters come and go over the years. It's very common for old locals to return to the park after years off the board and still see friends and make new friends and be welcomed back into the scene, a home away from home.

"We feel honoured to have the support of the National Lottery to help us run our ongoing free skateboard lessons at Homefield Park, with skateboards and helmets to borrow to allow anyone, from any age, to get involved with the local skateboard scene, running most Saturdays and Sundays, 8am until 9am or 8am until 10am.

"Growing up in the 1980s, there was always a local park or area that you could go and meet friends, without the need to phone anyone and prearrange to meet. It's nice that even in today's modern age you still have spaces like these where you can just turn up and bump into a friend or meet new friends that are all just completely down for skating and the fun it provides.

"The skatepark can look chaotic with no real system but far from it. Skaters and other users of the park generally stick to a certain skatepark etiquette that allows everyone to share the space by way of taking turns, watching out for each other, encouraging others, celebrating not just the best tricks but celebrating people trying and succeeding in their own goals that they have set themselves.

"There has also been a great amount of research recently into the benefits that skateboarding can have on people's mental health from such projects like Push to Heal, which is a way of using skateboarding to help people dealing with trauma and the healing nature that skateboarding can have."