A rendering of the new SLS Plaza at Woodward Pennsylvania, built by California Skateparks, that will ... [+]
For decades, Woodward has made action sports more accessible to kids around the country with its camp programming. Starting out more than 50 years ago as a gymnastics camp at the flagship Woodward Pennyslvania location, Woodward now offers camps spanning skateboarding, scooter, BMX and more.
Since it was founded in 1970, Woodward organizers have also seen trends come and go within certain sports, especially skateboarding. The original swimming pools and bowls that begat park skateboarding gave way to vert skating at the height of Tony Hawk’s X Games exploits. Over the last several years, the nucleus of skateboarding has centered on street.
Similarly, since it was founded by pro skateboarder Rob Dyrdek in 2010, Street League Skateboarding (SLS), which now boasts the premier professional street skateboarding competition with its Championship Tour series, has aimed to grow the discipline and provide a pipeline for kids to pursue it recreationally or professionally.
So the announcement from Woodward and SLS today that the two will partner on a new, 12,000-square-foot SLS Plaza built by California Skateparks at Woodward Pennsylvania sees both brands further realizing their guiding principles.
The plaza will feature signature SLS competition-style elements that mirror those found in Street League–sanctioned events, but the course will be unique to Woodward Pennsylvania. It offers campers the opportunity to hone their skills on the types of courses usually reserved for a select few professionals at the highest level of competition.
“As the global leader in action sports experiences, Woodward prides itself on providing totally unique, unforgettable camp experiences that kids can’t find anywhere else,” said Woodward President Chris “Gunny” Gunnarson. “With SLS Plaza, campers at Woodward PA have access to a one-of-a-kind environment to grow their talents as a skater and maybe even become a Street League pro themselves one day.”
California Skateparks, which has built courses for SLS events as well as for Dew Tour, Vans Park Series and X Games, will design the course for intermediate to advanced riding levels.
Features will include multiple double sets with hubbas and round rails; two different sized step-up gaps; a double kink round rail; a big triple set section with a round rail; two different sized gaps to hubbas; an offset bump to bump kicker gap; a tech ledge and manual pad combination and a center feature with a bump to hubba ledge.
“At every SLS tour stop, we work with California Skateparks to create a new course that will inspire SLS pros to push the progression of street skateboarding and fuel their creativity,” said Joe Carr, CEO of SLS parent company Thrill One Sports & Entertainment. “While accessible to young skaters, the new SLS Plaza is built with those same goals in mind.”
During the first 10 weeks of summer camp programming at Woodward Pennsylvania, the new plaza will host weekly SLS-themed skate competitions. The winners from each weekly event will then compete in an SLS-themed amateur finals event in Week 12, judged by SLS-sanctioned judges. The winning camper will receive a trip for two people to a SLS U.S. tour stop in 2024, including the opportunity to skate the course outside of the competition.
Campers at Woodward Pennsylvania this summer will also get to experience firsthand the new Sandlot East facility, a 8,800-square-foot indoor skatepark designed by Ryan Sheckler, based on his personal training facility in California. In 2021, Sheckler joined Woodward as its new skate program designer.
Current SLS pros may not have had the opportunity to train on a Street League–sanctioned course when they were young amateurs, but they are thrilled that the next generation will have the chance to do so.
“The new SLS Plaza at Woodward PA looks incredible,” said SLS pro Manny Santiago. “It’s a street skater’s paradise! From beginner to pro, there are spots in the plaza for all types of skaters. To have SLS join forces with Woodward, it is only going to give the next generation of street skaters a better opportunity to one day become an SLS Pro on the Championship Tour.”
