When it comes to skating at any skate park, there are a few things you should know.

Typically, a skate park has a sign posted listing the general rules. Skaters should note that each park has a different set of rules. These include wearing safety gear, not eating or drinking in the park, and no use of illegal substances. What these signs don’t include are so-called unspoken rules of skating.  

Unspoken Rules at the Skate Park: 

1. Waxing ledges or coping!
Ask others before you go wax some ledge or coping. It might be sticky, or it could just be you. Try rubbing some wax on your trucks.

Without wax, ledges and coping at any skatepark can get sticky and mess up skaters. This makes skaters want to add wax but it may not be needed. So before you plan on pulling any wax out, check with other skaters to make sure they agree.

Even though it may seem like you need wax, you may not be hitting it with enough speed. Try rubbing some wax on your trucks and get a better lead up instead. 

2. Don’t be a snake!
There’s a line. Everyone’s gotta wait their turn. Don’t cut other skaters off.

When the park gets busy, traffic can make things messy. You can see there is some sort of order skaters go in, so make sure not to take other skaters’ turns. It’s okay to join in, but don’t mess with the flow.

3.  Bowl Hogging!
Other people want to skate the bowl too. Don’t be hoggin!

When you’re skating bowl, the focus is on you. Nobody but you will be in there skating so you have all the space you need to do what you want. Make sure that you’re considerate of others and don’t take too long.

4. Board!
When you loose your board, and it shoots out in some direction, yell out “ board” so everyone knows. It helps keep other skaters safe.

When you’re working on landing new trick and just lose control of your board, it is important to let other skaters know. You can do this by simply yelling out “board.” Usually if other skaters see a board freely roaming around the park, they will not be shy to let everyone in the park know. It is their own way of keeping other skaters safe.

5. Do not NOT skate!
Skaters come to the skate park to skate, not stand or sit in the way of others.

Some people come to skate parks to just hang out or when a skater gets there, they are too scared to actually skate. This can sometimes be annoying to some of the other skaters. Make sure that when you are hesitant, or just not skating at the skate park, you are out of the way.

So, even though you now know the unspoken rules of skating, it is important to be familiar with the atmosphere of the park itself. It is recommended that you scope out the skate park before skating.

Staff writer Mackenzie Lawrence contributed to this story.