Coming off a world-record performance at the BMX Championships in Ocean City, Marlyand, Patton Township resident Jamie Bestwick is hoping to make a difference in the community.
The 7-time X-Games gold medal winner has won 9 consecutive gold medals at the BMX Vert championships and scored a record 94 points this past weekend. Bestwick now has more wins than any BMX athlete in the world.
“I’m really proud of myself for taking my 9th successive Dew Cup,” Bestwick says. “I am especially proud of the manner in which I won. I took my riding to another level which made the win even more special.”
As important to Bestwick as the accolades, though, is his foundation. The Jamie Bestwick Foundation provides financial support to families and individuals in the Centre Region who are in need.
“We look for fun projects and raise money to donate back to the local community,” he says. “We donate to people who are in need. With State College as small as it is, we feel like we can make a huge impact.”
Bestwick’s latest project is developing a proposal to build an action sports park in State College. He is actively meeting with local municipal governments to see if there’s an interest in building one. Bestwick is willing to help raise money and build the park.
“There are no action sports or skate parks in State College,” Bestwick says. “We have countless football, baseball and soccer fields and yet we don’t have a skate park in a town that houses X-Games gold medalists. A new skate park would be very relevant to a lot of people moving into this town.”
Bestwick says he has received only tepid interest from local governments so far, despite what he characterizes as a widespread community interest and need.
“We’re going to the different boroughs and we’re seeing if we would be able to put a skate park in one of the many preexisting parks in the area,” Bestwick says. “We’re getting everything in place so when we do get the green light we have the capability to build it right away.”
Bestwick laments what he says is a lack of understanding among decision makers in the region about what local youth desire. He does not understand why there can’t be “progress” and “diversity” when constructing community parks.
“Why do we need to keep filling the same parks with the same kind of apparatus?” he says. “Any time you can bring change into any town people are going to treat it hostile. They don’t want to see change. The people who are making the decisions for change aren’t specifically in touch with what the youth of today want. They’re not sporting people. The last thing they trouble themselves with is what the youth of today actually want.”
Bestwick Foundation and StateCollege.com columnist Patty Kleban has been a supporter since the foundation’s inception in 2011. Kleban hopes the new action park can become a reality in State College.
“Of great interest to our community is his proposal to build an action sports park that is free for users and accessible via the bus or by bike/foot,” says Kleban. “Jamie and Kerry (Bestwick’s wife) do so much for our community. We are so lucky to have an athlete and person of his caliber in our community.”
Bestwick doesn’t have a specific location in mind for the park – he’d be happy just to have some support from the local municipalities.
“It’s a no brainer situation,” Bestwick says. “We don’t have a skate park in State College. We need something for the community. There are so many benefits to adding skate parks to the local community parks. Let’s make it happen.”
