I took a recent road trip with a few fellow skaters to a fairly new skatepark in Upstate New York, just outside of Ithaca, NY.

The park is located in Central Lansing New York, next door to Rogue’s Harbor Restaurant and Bar, and Gimme! Coffee, just outside of Ithaca – only about seven miles north on Rt34/East Shore Drive. The skatepark is right across the street from a great deli called The Sub Shop, and just down the road from a pizza and ice cream shop, Lakebreeze Pizzeria.  However, plan ahead and bring your own food on Sunday, they are both closed.

East Shore Skate Park is a skate and bike park built to have fun and progress. It is a place for new, young up and coming skaters/riders to learn – and also a great place for advanced riders to meet up for a good session.

The building that houses the park was once a grocery store the closed in the early 90’s.  The building sat empty for years, until the current owner bought it with hopes of storing heavy equipment. Overall the park has a nice flow to it and even though it is heavily populated with BMX riders you wouldn’t really notice because of the way the park was built and layed out. The ramps are good and solid and the halfpipe is nothing less than awesome and built very very well, no kinks that I could feel. The coping was a bit smaller than what I am used to, but it was nothing a few runs couldn’t cure.

The street course is equally as fun although I like to stick to the halfpipes thease days, the younger skaters were ripping it up.

The locals are also very friendly and the owner was super friendly and happy to show us around. They are constantly having events and even have a spring break camp coming up in April. I would recomend anyone who is near the Ithaca area to check out the place as I have been to a few parks lately that have honestly been a disapointment but East Shore Skatepark is definitly not one of them.

Visit there website at www.eastshoreskatepark.com for more info!

Here is a bit of footage of the skatepark!

The Zoo York Institute is proud to announce that from July 24th-26th, the 2009 Zoo York AM Getting Paid (AGP) contest will be held at ‘Le Taz’ Skatepark in Montreal, Canada.

Presented by Monster Energy, Underworld Skateshop and SBC Skateboard Magazine, with additional support from New Era, Dakine, Transworld SKATEboarding, Exposé Magazine, 33mag, and Dose.ca, AGP is widely recognized as one of today’s most prestigious international skateboarding competitions for amateurs only with a hefty prize purse of $10,000 USD.

Established in 2004 by the Zoo Crew, AM Getting Paid is extremely important as it provides tomorrow’s pros with much needed support, experience and exposure within the global skateboarding community. AGP always brings out the world’s top ams to battle it out for the overall title and a healthy paycheck.

In celebration of AGP’s 5th Anniversary, this year’s contest will feature an exciting new jam format and move to the brand new 35,000 square foot ‘Le Taz’ Skatepark centrally located in downtown Montreal. Scheduled to open this spring, ‘Le Taz’ features a state-of-the-art indoor street course, lounges for competitors, media and VIPs, and it has plenty of room to accommodate the hordes of spectators and fans expected to attend.

So mark your calendar, because in four short months the 2009 Zoo York AM Getting Paid contest is on! Additional event updates coming soon.

To find out more, please visit: www.zooyork.com | www.amgettingpaid.com | www.underworld-shop.com | www.taz.ca

Here is a nice little Christmas gift idea for all of you who need to find a gift for the skater in your life.

SHORTYS CHRISTMAS DAY STOCKING W/ HARDWARE only $39.95

Electronic Arts, the makers of the award-winning Skate It videogame will hit retail stores starting November 19th in North America and November 20th in Europe for the Wii(TM) and Nintendo DS(TM). With intuitive Wii remote, nunchuck and DS stylus controls and the optional use of the Wii Balance Board, Skate It delivers a fun and unique skateboarding experience for skate fans and gamers of all ages.

Skate It brings gamers back to San Vanelona, a city that’s been safely evacuated, but left in ruins after being hit by a series of crazy events. Here, players are rediscovering their favourite spots, getting worked in Hall of Meat, and earning the opportunity to travel the world, all on their path to becoming Thrasher Magazine’s Skater of the Year. In Skate It, gamers will be able to make skate spots their own by moving objects like ramps, rails, and benches to fit their individual skating styles. The game also boasts a variety of multiplayer challenges, including Best Trick and Best Line, which will have players ripping it up with their friends as they prove their skateboarding prowess.

Skate It recently received the “Best Wii Game” award at the Games Convention tradeshow in Leipzig, Germany. Skate It was also nominated for Best Sports game for the “Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2008″. Skate It is developed by EA Montreal in Montreal, Quebec and Black Box in Vancouver, British Columbia and is rated “E” for Everyone by the ESRB and 7+ by PEGI for Wii and 3+ by PEGI for Nintendo DS.