Ocean Bowl...

Ocean City's newest hot spot !

The East Coast's coolest municipal skate park is thriving in Ocean City, Maryland! The modernized Ocean Bowl Skate Park offers skateboarders and inline skaters new challenges, with the perfect harmony of east coast and west coast styles melded into one spectacular space.

The 17,000 square foot concrete based park takes advantage of every inch of space, with transitions allowing the flow from one end of this "carveable" park to the other. A world class pool bowl (newly refurbished in February 2000) with deep and shallow end, a large vert ramp and a mini ramp, along with the 13,000 square foot innovative open concrete street course with hit walls, hips, and small bowl, provides challenges for skaters of all abilities.

Designed by industry leader Tim Payne and molded by Omer Windham, the Ocean Bowl Skate Park definitely puts Ocean City on the "must experience" list for aggressive in-liners and skateboarders.

Skaters must wear helmets, knee pads, wrist guards, and elbow pads while in the park, and a liability waiver must be signed by all participants and/or parents of children under 18 years of age. LEGAL GUARDIANS MUST BE PRESENT at registration, or the official waiver form with the guardian's signature must be notarized.

Annual memberships run from July 1 - June 30, and a limited number of pads and helmets are available for rent.

Ordinance 30.3 Operation of Skateboards (amended 4-19-76)

It shall be unlawful for any person to ride, propel, push or otherwise operate a skateboard on any public street, public way, public alley, public sidewalks, public boardwalks, public lots and other public property (except for public skateboard facilities and publicly sponsored or authorized skateboard events) within the corporate limits of the municipality between the first of April and the first of October of each and every year.

SKATE PARK HOURS (weather permitting)

Summer 9:30 a.m. - dark daily

Fall/Spring 11:30 a.m. - dark weekdays

9:30 a.m. - dark weekends and no school days

Winter 1:30 p.m. - dark Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

9:30 a.m. - dark weekends and no school days

BEGINNER'S HOURS are scheduled from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. daily during the summer months.

Ocean Bowl Skate Park Rules and Regulations

1. All skaters must be appropriately registered. For skaters under the age of 18 years, a parent or legal guardian* must be present at the time of registration.

2. All skaters must wear appropriate safety equipment: Skateboarders must wear helmet, knee pads and elbow pads. Inline skaters must wear helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards. All skaters must wear shoes.

3. Only skateboards and inline skates are permitted in Park

4. Proof of membership is required for entrance to Park.

5. Spectators are not permitted entry into skate area unless registered and wearing safety equipment. Spectators are welcome in our elevated viewing area.

6. Skater etiquette is expected at all times.

7. No glass is permitted in the Park.

8. No alcohol or drugs are permitted on City property.

9. No defacing of park property. Vandalism is subject to incarceration

10. Personal property is the responsibility of the skater and may not be stored in the Skate Office.

11. No personal music devices allowed in park.

12. No trespassing or skating when closed.

13. Profanity, recklessness and/or boisterous behavior are prohibited.

14. Any infraction of the rules will result in the loss of membership privileges.

*Legal Guardian includes those individuals whom have been given the legal authority to make decisions on behalf of a minor. Friends of the family, relatives, etc. whom the child is visiting are not eligible to claim legal guardianship. In the event a parent or legal guardian is unable to accompany the minor at the time of registration, the Town will accept a notarized signature on the official waiver form. The waiver form may be downloaded from our web page at www.ococean.com.

What you can find in our Park

Described by some as one of the best uses of limited space, the Ocean Bowl offers an incredible array of skating areas for skaters of all skill levels. "B" identifies Beginner areas, "I" identifies Intermediate areas, "A' identifies Advanced areas.

Vertical Ramp (I, A): Our vertical ramp is layered in steel and is 32 feel wide and 12 feet tall with 10 ½ foot transitions and 1 ½ feet of vertical. An additional 1 ½ feet of vetical sits atop the left corner of the east side of the ramp on the 6 foot wide extension. *Beginners can use the flat bottom of this ramp to pump if it's not being skated by more advanced skaters.

Mini Ramp (B, I, A): The mini ramp is also layered in steel and is 24 feet wide with an 8 foot transition cut down to 6 feet.

Pool (I, A): The concrete pool is one of the most unique features of the Ocean Bowl. The shallow (north) end has a 7 foot radius and is 5 feet deep. The deep (south) end is 9 feet deep with an 8 foot radius and 1 foot of vertical. The shallow end is 20 feet wide while the deep end is 28 feet, with a rounded hip connecting the two on the east wall. *Beginners can use the bottom of this area if it's not being skated by more advanced skaters.

Small Bowl (B, I): The small bowl or "kiddie pool" has 7 foot transitions and is 4 feet deep. It has four rounded corners and angled lips, with the exception of the west wall which is higher and rounded and connects to the deep end of the Pool. The north wall connects into the street area.

Vertical Wall (A): The vertical wall will provide a challenge to even the most advanced skaters. A 7 foot transition with 1 ½ feet of vertical with inlaid steel coping connects via a rounded hip to the Small Bowl on the south end, and to a downsized slope wall on the north.

Banked Walls (B, I, A): The concrete banked walls are 5 feet high with a mellow, non-curved transition. They are ideal for more technical street-skating style tricks.

Pyramid (B, I, A): Standing 5 feet high, 4 feet wide on the west side and 8 feet on the east, this concrete pyramid has it all. The south face has a rounded corner and an angled lip connecting to the banked walls, while the west and north faces have rounded lips that connect to the "Back Bowl".

Corner and Hips (I, A): This section of the park has a corner and two 90 degree hips. The hip to the east (adjacent to the Mini Ramp) has an angled lip. The corner and the west hip both have inlaid steel coping.

Back Bowl/Escalators (B, I, A): This section of the park is a skate park in itself. The entire area has 8 foot transitions ans stands 5 feet high, with the exception of a 6 foot section on the north wall that extends to 8 feet high with escalators on both sides. This entire area, including the extension escalators and corners, has inlaid steel coping.

Summary of Park Characteristics for varying Ability Levels

Beginner: A skater who is not able to drop in on a transition or is not able to pump or do a turn on a transition wall more than 5 times.

Mini Ramp, Small Bowl, Banked Walls, Pyramid, Back Bowl

Intermediate: A skater who can drop in on mini ramps or the escalator wall. Some will be able to carve around the concrete area and do grinds. An intermediate is someone who is used to the park and knows what it feels like to skate it.

Vertical Ramp, Mini Ramp, Pool, Small Bowl, Banked Walls, Pyramid, Corner and Hips, Back Bowl, Escalator Walls

Advanced: A skater who is able to do a variety of tricks in the park such as ollies, kick flips, airs, and lip tricks. One who is able to use more than enough speed for landing the trick.

Vertical Ramp, Mini Ramp, Pool, Vertical Wall, Banked Walls, Pyramid, Corner and Hips, Back Bowl, Escalator Walls

History of our Park

The Ocean Bowl Skate Park is the oldest operating municipal skate park in the United States. Following the rise in popularity of skateboarding in the 1970s, the Ocean City Council banned skateboarding on the streets within City limits. This prompted many skaters and their parents to attend the next Council meeting to ask that a space be provided for them to pursue their sport. By the first week of June, 1976, the park opened. At that time, the facility consisted of a four-foot deep asphalt bowl which proved so successful that a larger bowl was quickly added. In 1984 this "big bowl" was structurally weakened by successive tropical storms and was removed the following year. It was succeeded by an eleven foot high, twenty-eight foot wide metal-surfaced half-pipe which served not only to replace the lost bowl, but also to respond to the changing demands of skateboarding and the huge popularity of vertical ramps at the time. The ramp and the small bowl stood for another ten years when finally, in 1997, due to time, wear and the current needs of skaters, the park was again in need of renovations. After long hours of planning and many meetings, the City Council together with a Skate Park Committee composed of local skaters, business people, politicians and parents, came up with the resources to build the park that exists today. The old bowl and ramp were torn down in the Fall of 1997 and the new park opened in July of 1998.

WHAT SKATE BEGINNERS SHOULD KNOW

Beginner Hours are from 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. every day during the summer.

Height and age do not have anything to do with the ability level of skaters. Parents of young beginners should realize that there may be adult skaters present during the designated beginner hours who will be skating at the same time as the younger participants.

Beginners should learn how to pump on a transition before dropping in on any of the walls in the park. The best place to learn how to pump on a transition is the vert ramp and the mini bowl. Begin at the flat base of the structure and slowly work up the walls.

The best place for beginners to learn how to drop in and to learn basic tricks is in the mini bowl.

For safety reasons, if a skater cannot drop in on the escalator wall, then he/she may not ride the pool, nor be permitted to drop in on the vert ramp.

If a skater can pump and turn on a minimum of 5 walls, they shall be classified as an Intermediate skater and may not skate during beginner hours.

Only one person at a time may skate an area during beginner hours. Never should anyone drop in on another person while they are skating.

A beginner skater is ready to move up to the next level when they can perform basic tricks and can drop in on the mini ramp.

Before skating, the following form must be signed. Skateboarder and Inline Skater Assumption, Waiver and Release: Page 1, Page2

Call 410-289-BOWL (2695) for additional information.

Ocean Bowl Layout

aerial winds photography/roro

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