Recreation Activities Nonprofits
Eau Claire Skaters Association Partners With Pinehurst Park For New Amenities
ECSA intends to bring the first skateboarding bowl to Western Wisconsin, community fundraiser aimed to raise 100k
Evelyn Nelson, photos by Andrea Paulseth |
Another season of summer skate lessons and making the most of the Chippewa Valley’s skateboarding amenities has passed since Volume One last checked in with the Eau Claire Skaters Association (ECSA).
These days, the decades-old nonprofit has its focus on a major goal: to establish the first skate bowl in the Eau Claire and wider Western Wisconsin region.
In recent years, members of the ECSA have traveled to 3rd Lair skate park Golden Valley, Minn. – among other bowls across the state of Wisconsin – to spectate or compete at regional skating contests.
In these moments, kids in the organization observed other youth their same age, who had greater access to transition skateboarding; a style focused on riding tricks along curved surfaces like ramps, bowls and half-pipes alike.
Ultimately, enough trips led Gabe Brummett, president of the ECSA and Thomas Kemp, the nonprofit’s secretary, to the shared concern that children across Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley wouldn't have the opportunity to experience these same thrills close to home.
“We are hoping to create something that will bring people to the area and really provide a place for skateboarders to develop their skills and talents to a higher level.”
thomas kemp
secretary, eau claire skaters association
In July of 2025, the association – in collaboration with Pinehurst Park’s OutdoorMore, Inc. – launched a fundraising campaign with the goal to create Eau Claire’s first skateboarding bowl and one of the singular bowls in Western Wisconsin.
“Kids can have an opportunity to up their skill level and hopefully draw in people from out of town, looking to skate something big and different,” Brummett said. “We’re very lucky to have the three (skate) parks that we do, but having a wide variety of terrain to ride makes everything better for the skate community and the general community who may want to learn how to ride bowls,” he continued.
Since July, the ECSA have continued to organize and spread awareness on the prospective bowl – most importantly – its determined location at Pinehurst Park (3523 Delbert Rd., Eau Claire). Kemp shared the Pinehurst Park bowl would be located adjacent to the obstacle zone for snowboarders in the winter at the park.
At the time of announcement this summer, the nonprofit organization had already raised $10,000 toward an ultimate $100,000 goal. In the new year, Kemp shared the group has surpassed this initial number and donations, slowly but surely, are coming in from the community.
In addition to the online fundraiser, members of the ECSA also provide routine maintenance to Eau Claire’s existing skate parks and offer courses for youth interested in learning how to skateboard as avenues to increase funds.
The youth lessons and programming has become Kemp’s favorite way to engage new community members to the vision of the ECSA and what bringing a skate bowl means for our community.
Kemp’s role as a faculty member and department chair of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire also indirectly connects to his role in the ECSA; this past year, he authored and published “Shred Central: Estimating the user benefits associated with large public skateparks.”
This research serves as an additional showcase of the positive environmental, social and economic benefits of increased skate parks in communities, he said.
Notably, the addition of these skate parks can become a significant draw of inbound tourism traffic, as seen in Milwaukee, Des Moines, Iowa and other Midwestern states, his analysis reveals.
“We are hoping to create something that will bring people to the area and really provide a place for skateboarders to develop their skills and talents to a higher level,” Kemp said.
Kemp and Brummett both shared more meetings with OutdoorMore, Inc. members in the new year, to check-in on fundraising goals and next steps to implement the skate bowl.
As the skateboarding community in the Chippewa Valley continues to grow, the inaugural skate bowl will bolster their visibility – but the visibility of other outdoor recreation activities including BMX biking, roller skating and more, they said.
To learn more about the Eau Claire Skaters Association, or donate to the Pinehurst Park skate bowl, visit the nonprofit’s Facebook page online (@EauClaireSkateboarders) or their fundraising page.
