For the eighth year running, the 12th century former Benedictine Abbey in Malmesbury, is to be transformed from a working church to a skatepark, welcoming hundreds of young people over the February half term (17th-19th February). This year we are adding a new soft-play session for pre-schoolers on Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th February from 10.30-12.30.
The skatepark is a collaboration between the Malmesbury Abbey congregation and the Nailsea-based Christian Skaters UK organisation. Since it began in 2009, Abbey Skate has become one of the premier youth events in the West Country. Last year more than 600 young people tested the ramps, quarter pipes, grinding rails and trick boxes.
The organiser this year is the curate of Malmesbury Abbey,
Rev John Monaghan.
For more information, or to book a session, parents and young people must visit www.malmesburyabbey.com/skate Booking is NOW OPEN!
The general timetable of the week looks like this:
Sunday February 14th (4pm-9pm): At 4pm, Malmesbury Abbey holds its regular Sunday informal worship service. Afterwards, the congregation remove the chairs and lay down a double-thick wooden floor to protect the abbey’s stone and parquet flooring.
Monday February 15th (7am): A local farmer lends 120 straw bales, which are then bagged and tapped up by volunteers, to protect the Abbey’s ancient mighty stone pillars. At 9am we build the supporters staging and at 10.30, our first pre-school soft-play session starts with a bouncy castle and other fun toys.
Tuesday February 17 (approx. 7.30pm): The skate ramps, quarter pipe, and other equipment arrives and is set up – the skatepark transformation is complete!
The event opens at 10am on Wednesday, February 18, runs all day and into the evening on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with demonstrations from professional skaters and scooterers, and climaxes with a grand competition on Friday night starting at 7pm, with prizes courtesy of a variety of different sponsors. It is an action packed three days, with age-appropriate skate and scoot sessions for people of all abilities. Once the competition is over, an army of volunteers removes the skatepark, returns the bales, takes up the floor and returns the chairs