In 2020, the summer Olympics will welcome skateboarding to its roster of competitions. California Skate Parks, a company that constructs and designs skateparks around the world and courses for famous events, recently broke out to also cater to the highest level of skateboarders around. The company added a new branch to its umbrella named CA | TF, an elite skateboarding training facility, to help competitors ready for global trials.
President Jeff Jewett said the two disciplines the 2020 summer Olympics is adding include park and street courses.
Since California has built competition courses for events such as the VPS World Championships, Vans Park Series, X Games and more, Jewett and his team thought they could do more to help athletes.
“We build all these event courses for these guys and girls to compete on, but there’s literally no place in the world for them to practice on the type of courses that we build for competition — they don’t exist in public skate parks,” Jewett said.
He said they wanted to offer a top training facility where professionals could go to get better at what they do since no other place provided such a thing.
Jewett hoped if they build it they will come.
And they are.
CA | TF found its new home at 1410 Vantage Court in Vista. The company constructed a competition-sized style park course and competition-sized style street course. Jewett made sure that all the standard dimensions and features were in place for the upcoming season.
“We want our Elite Members to be able to train and get ready for all of those competitions,” he said, noting Vans, Street League, Dew Tours and X Games events.
One of these events will potentially be one of the significant qualifying paths to the Olympics. Since California Skate Parks was building many of the courses in the competition it seemed like a natural segue to have a place where future competitors could train.
“This has never been done in skateboarding at this level for top competitors,” Jewett said. “Now, they can come here.”
Jewett was quick to point out that athletes must be invited to have an Elite Membership — it goes to athletes who are the best in the world. Members have access to the facility 24 hours per day.
Jewett describes CA | TF as an exciting venture. The Elite Member Program is its first program to launch.
“We can do something amazing for these elite level skateboarders,” he said. “We have an athlete lounge for them to chill in while they’re not skating and also be their resource center. I am working with nutritionists, strength and agility trainers, meditation, mindfulness, and yoga instructors just to name a few. We are putting our elite-level skaters in touch with the right resources to give them a complete training package and the best coaches and instructors in the world.”
According to Jewett, Southern California is a skateboarding culture. Pros hail from destinations such as Encinitas, Oceanside, Vista, Orange County, San Clemente, Long Beach, Huntington Beach and Los Angeles.
Jewett also said he has some international athletes who have been invited to become Elite Members.
When the 2020 Olympics rolls out, Jewett is confident his Elite Members will be on the podium winning medals.
“I’ll have the top competitors in all of those disciplines as members here. They’re expected to win because they’re already the one percenters,” he said.
What Jewett is looking forward to is his developmental training program where younger skateboarders with exceptional talent will become the new generation of competitors. CA | TF is accepting level four skater talent.
Jewett is setting his sights on the 2024 and 2028 Olympics.
“It’s going to be incredible when a kid that came in here as a level four goes through the whole program and curriculum, gets invited to have an Elite Membership, and then he or she goes on to win gold in 2024 or 2028,” he said. “That’s going to be amazing — that will be huge.”
