Eric's Fundraiser for GBASO

A little over 4 years ago I first stepped into GBASO with my youngest son and one of his friends. As I toured the building it brought me back to my childhood ambitions of wanting to skate just like a saw on TV. As a child I did not have access to a facility where I could learn how to reach this child hood dream so it died before it even started. On our second visit to GBASO my son and I started skating together and were instantly embraced by the skate community and with a lot of practice we started getting pretty good.  A year and a half latter I started coaching kids how to skate. Never in my life did I imagine that a short lived childhood dream would turn into a reality 25 years later. 

Presently I work part-time as a skate coach at GBASO and I get to help kids get started on their own skateboarding journey.  Perseverance and letting go of fear are two huge lessons I get to see kids learn each day. We are not only teaching kids how to learn gnarly tricks at GBASO we are also teaching them to never give up, be strong and always believe in yourself. 

It is because of community support and volunteers that GBASO, Northeast Wisconsin’s only indoor action sports facility, opened its doors on March 15, 2014. Within the past few years, GBASO welcomed over 3,500 new members, representing over 240 cities, 11 states, and 2 countries.  GBASO houses ramps, a skating bowl, and a street course where people can enjoy skateboarding, BMX biking, inline skating, and scootering.  In addition, climbers enjoy our indoor bouldering cave.  With childhood obesity rates increasing and kids spending more and more time on electronic devices, it's critical that our youth have a safe place to get active all year-round.  GBASO is that place!

GBASO provides a facility to grow our youth's physical skills through exercise, camps, and lessons.  We grow social skills with friendships, birthday parties, and volunteer opportunities.  We also build leadership skills with coaching and volunteer opportunities.  GBASO leverages action sports to help youth grow life skills including; risk taking, goal setting, perseverance, and respect.

GBASO strives to keep membership rates low so that families with varying economic status can enjoy the park.  Our session rates are $10, with monthly youth memberships as low as $30.  This is a much lower cost than other indoor skateparks in the Midwest.  In addition to open sessions, our summer camps, school field trips, autism events, home-school classes, birthday parties, and kids’/girls' nights that have been put on by GBASO have proven to increase youth involvement and activity.

In addition to helping area youth, GBASO has also welcomed hundreds of visitors from areas outside of Green Bay/Fox Valley.  This is because we are the only action sports  facility north of Milwaukee.

GBASO is a nonprofit 501c3.