Sterling Skater Is Man on a Mission

"We've always had interest in skate parks and plazas, but we don't have funding," he said, noting that the county's capital improvements budget already is planned through 2014.

Another option, possibly less expensive, would be to build several smaller skate parks throughout the county, Jefferson said.

Saturday's competition in Sterling was the third indoor skating event that Jefferson has organized in the past four months. The wooden ramps and rails have been donated by the Elite Board Shop in Fairfax and, between events, are stored under a tarp outside his parents' home. He is hoping to use proceeds from the events to find a permanent storage space for the equipment.

Jefferson launched a Web site last week, Loudouncountyskateproject.com, and is in the process of creating a nonprofit organization. In the coming months, he plans to present his idea for a skate plaza at a meeting of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

Support has been building in the local skating community through word of mouth and the Internet.

Bill Bold, a freshman at Oakton High School in Vienna, learned of Saturday's event through MySpace. Like many teenagers, he was excited about the effort to expand the number of legal skating spots in the area.

"Ever since Vans [Skate Park in Potomac Mills] closed, we don't have anywhere to skate except dumb parks," Bold said. "If he builds a place, we'll have a substitute and we won't get in trouble with police."

Debbie Adams of Sterling, who came out to watch her son Joe compete in one of the skating contests, was also enthusiastic about the idea.

Joe "has wasted a lot of gas going to and from Arlington" to skate, she said. "I'd be thrilled if they had something for the kids in Sterling."

Kara Muller of Ashburn learned about the event on the Internet and decided to watch it. Muller, 33, is a member of DC Rollergirls, an all-female roller derby league in the District. She said that young skaters are often stereotyped as troublemakers, but that those perceptions can dissolve when the community is presented with someone like Jefferson.

"People seem to think that skating is an element they don't want in their community, but they don't get to know the individuals who are doing it," Muller said. "These kids have an outlet. These aren't the kids with nothing to do after school."