The husband and wife team behind Edinburgh’s only indoor skate park believe they have come up with the perfect solution for parents of school children looking for a few hours off this summer: extreme sports in extreme safety.
Run by Ken Smith and Natasha Moroney (AKA skate park Mum and Dad) Transgression Park in Peffermill is a family-friendly environment for BMX, scooters, skateboards and inline skates, where complete beginners can learn alongside the best in Edinburgh.
Natasha explains: “The park is constantly supervised, with experienced skaters and riders on hand to keep a close eye on novices. One hour taster sessions and lessons with instructors are available for every level of experience, with each instructor working with a maximum of five kids at once. The mentors guide newbies around the park, teaching them how to use the apparatus safely – when to go, and when to wait.
“It’s not always about learning a new trick but also about learning how to move in an unfamiliar environment and building confidence. Our taster sessions and lessons have proved really popular allowing kids to come down and try out something new and exciting in a relaxed, supportive and safe environment. My own children ride here and, as a mother, it’s very important to me that Transgression provides a secure environment for young people to learn an extreme sport. There’s a real community spirit here, meaning parents know their kids will be looked after and will also have a great time exercising and spreading their wings.”
To mark the start of the school summer holidays, Transgression Park is hosting a hip hop BBQ party and open session on Friday 29th June from 3pm.
The BBQ, featuring music from rap duo Too Many Ts and skills from local skateboarders, BMX and scooter riders on the rails and ledges set up outside, kicks off a packed summer programme of events at Transgression Park, including the Vans Young Guns Series – the 2012 national unsponsored competition – on Sunday 1 July. Focusing on the under 16’s age group ‘Young Guns’ provides a rare opportunity to be talent spotted and picked out for potential sponsorship deals!
Transgression Park was formerly based at Ocean Terminal for three years before moving to its new home on Peffermill Road, the site of the old Jelly Club, in October 2011. The new park is far larger (18,000 square foot with capacity for 100 participants) than its predecessor and retains the best features of the old park alongside awesome new features including a pool bowl and numerous interchangeable rails and boxes. There is also a mezzanine level where spectators have a 360 degree view of all the action.
Transgression Park’s onsite cafe offers healthy food including homemade burgers made with Scottish Beef, fresh pizzas with pureed veg hidden in the sauce, fresh fruit, yoghurt smoothies and salad boxes. Parents can enjoy a gourmet coffee while taking in the skate park action.
Also onsite, Transgression Park’s shop is a leading stockist of all things skate, scoot and BMX carrying all the latest and best brands for scooters, skateboard, roller blades and BMX bikes as well as all the safety equipment and accessories The shop also stocks spare parts and has a workshop for the repair and assembly of boards and bikes.
Sessions last two hours and cost £8, then only £2 for every additional hour. Annual membership costs £35 and provides a 25% discount on standard prices. A full range of skateboards, scooters and BMX bikes are available to hire costing £10 per session or £5 per hour. Helmets and pads are also available to hire for £1 per session.
At weekends, sessions run for the under 13s between 10am and 12 noon and for the under 16s between 12 noon and 2pm, with lessons available for beginners and improvers. Specialist sessions also run for inline skating on Mondays 8-10 pm, BMX only on Tuesdays 8-10pm and Skateboard only on Thursdays 8-10pm.
Transgression can be booked for school trips, corporate days and birthday parties. The park operates a zero tolerance on drugs and alcohol.
For more information check out www.trangressionpark.com
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