ABOUT US




The Valley Skate Park is the result of 5 years of collaboration and work between students, teachers, administration and the county. The idea was born in 2017 and has slowly taken shape over time. There is a board of students, parents and community stakeholders that oversees fundraising and maintenance.

The goal of this skate park is to offer skateboarders in Marin an option that is great for street and trick skaters as well as beginners. Our park’s mission is to be an inclusive space for every skater.

The park is named in honor of Jeff Lippstreu, who was the Lagunitas Facilities and Business manager when the idea first came to fruition. He went from being against the idea to being one of its biggest proponents. We hope this park will represent student led innovation and the power of being open to change.








OUR STORY




In 2017 two 8th grade students wanted to know if they could add skateboarding as an elective. They reached out to a local skater and parent at the school; Adam Vurek. Before long kids were skating during the school day, practicing new tricks off boxes and making the sides of planters into curbs.

A couple years later a group of students started wondering why we couldn't have a dedicated place to skate on campus. They were coming on the weekends doing tricks off the stairs and the picnic tables which was cool, but they really wanted a park of their own in the valley. They didn't want to always have to leave their community to hang with other skaters. They went to the school board and gave a rad presentation but there were too many questions about insurance and safety and no one had the answers.

The students graduated but the idea for a skate park at the school didn't go with them. A new group of students took it on. They created new presentations and built on what the other groups had done before them.


REMEMBERING JEFF LIPPSTREU



 
They found an unexpected champion in Jeff Lippstreu for whom the park is named. He was the business manager at the school and went from wondering why the kids just couldn't play football to figuring out how to make it happen. They spent hours in meetings with the county, they created the Valley Skate Crew, and soon they had parents, community members and the school board rooting for them. With a mix of individual donations, grants and some super fun events we are planning to break ground in the Spring of 2023.

The park will be a great place for trick and street skaters. The rest of the parks in Marin are geared towards more advanced trick skaters; the goal of the valley skate park is that everyone feels welcome skating there. It will be an inclusive experience for all levels of skaters. None of it would be happening without the work of some pretty awesome kids: Danni Trinka, Rio Lorenzen-Parra, Aiden Steig, Jaden Wernick, Isaia Rasmussen, Marcelo Jones, Micah Arnold, Atticus Bliss-McHone, Ian Andrews and Dylan Grimmer.

Special thanks to Stefan Werba @stefwerb for the home page footage!