Over the weekend, part of the 5ones crew had the pleasure of attending the grand opening party for the Nica Skate Pit. We’ve also had the pleasure of getting some one-on-one time with the crew responsible for the Nica Sakte Pit, so we sat down and found out some of the inspirations behind the pit and just about the general skate scene in Nicaragua.

5ones: What is The Skate Pit?

Nica Skate Pit: The Skate Pit started out as and extracurricular activity for our school, and quickly grew into a huge project. We ended up creating a website (still under construction) called Nicaskatepit.com where we have photos of skate sessions, announcements from the skate community, and profiles of our skate crew. So, The Skate Pit isn’t just a sweet ramp, but also a way for the local and international skaters to get together and have a fun session.

5ones: What was the inspiration for this project?

Nica Skate Pit: Skating, for us, is inspiration in and of its self; it’s fun to do and fun to be around. Here in Nicaragua there aren’t a lot of skate spots. So, we decided to make our own spot to shred. It is definitely the first of its kind in San Juan del Sur, and hopefully will blossom into a sick skate park.

5ones: What is the most rewarding part about doing this so far?

Nica Skate Pit: Our grand opening barbecue was a huge success, and extremely rewarding because we had a great turn out of skaters, friends, family, and spectators. It was great to have the skate crew shredding it up together. We haven’t had a session with all the skaters in a long time. We all skated for about six hours non-stop, everyone enjoyed some food, and just chilled as they watched the skating exhibition. The grand opening really showed us what is to (hopefully) become of The Skate Pit.

5ones: What are your goals?

Nica Skate Pit: With our website and skate ramp, we really just want to bring our skate crew together and have some awesome sessions. By doing this, the crew has already taken their skating skill to the next level. Most of our crew are street skaters, and now they are learning how to skate vert. Some have traveled to other cities/countries to skate ramps, but now that they have a place near home they can really take it to the next level. We would also really love to use our project to attract support from outside organizations. Such support would help us get skateboards into the hands of kids who can’t afford them. And make the San Juan skaters feel like their part of a global skate community.

5ones: Can you describe a typical Nicaraguan skate style?

Nica Skate Pit: The skate style that is being created down here seems to be a cross of raw hard-core urban skating, and aggressive surf influenced fluidity. We’ve basically got a couple of highly skilled and motivated street skaters, used to making the best of less than favorable terrain, coming together with Nicaragua’s leading surfers whose smooth and powerful techniques are coming directly from the waves, to patent what is a unique Nicaraguan skate progression. One thing is certain, Nicaragua’s skaters are an innovative group, drawing heavily from every influence available to them, and constantly pushing the envelope. It’s definitely a lot of fun to be down here right now, watching it all go down! Dale Pues!

Tags: 5 with 5's

Posted by Ruben 'Studdard' Najera on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 in Skateboarding.

• -The Nica Skate Pit
• -Nicaragua: Not Just For Surfers Anymore
• -Longboarder Diaries: Me and My Stick
• -5ones Nicaragua
• -San Francisco Skate-A-Thon