6th Annual “Shred in the Name of Love” Skateboard Contest Returns
March 3, 2023
Emma Hughes,
Community Newsperson
More than 120 people watched roughly 30 skaters at “Shred in the Name of Love,” a skateboard contest to bring awareness to teen dating violence, on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the District 4 Skate Park.
This was the sixth time the skateboard company Seven Layer Army—founded by GRIC members Reuben Ringlero from District 6 and Paul Molina from District 7—hosted the event, but it had paused since 2020 due to pandemic restrictions.
“It felt good just to be back with everybody,” said Ringlero. “It’s something we’ve been doing with Crime Victim Services, partnering to bring awareness to teen dating violence.”
In partnership with Gila River Health Initiative and Crime Victim Services, the annual event spotlights February as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.
Shanna Stewart, GRIC Crime Victim Services coordinator, shared how the event began.
“At the very beginning we were wanting to reach out to a different demographic other than the usual basketball tournaments,” said Stewart. “So we wanted to do something different, and at the time, we were working with the recreation department at District 3 Service Center, and they were the ones who actually knew about Seven Layer Army, and they suggested a skateboarding event.”
Cow Town Skateboards, Skate After School, Skate Wild, Casa Grande Skate Shop and Apache Skateboards sponsored raffle prizes for the event.
Crime Victim Services and SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) Forensic Nursing Department were on site providing information on their services and discussing healthy relationships.
SANE is specially trained to provide comprehensive care to trauma patients and can identify physical and psychological trauma needs. They work collaboratively with Crime Victim Services and Behavioral Health.
They shared what a healthy relationship does and doesn’t look like.
“I think when teenagers or younger youth get into relationships, everything is great,” Stewart said. “They want to be [together] all the time, but they don’t know the subtle red flags, like the constant ‘Where are you? Who are you with?’ text messages”
GRIC member Francisco Zamorano, a victim advocate for Crime Victim Services, said he has a teenage daughter, and it’s good to see people come out for events like this.
He was glad that services are trying to end the cycle of violence and promoting new ways to approach things in a healthy way. “It was great to see youth answering questions and engaging with the program,” Zamorano said.
“It’s been a great event—promoting healthy relationships, respecting one another, loving one another,” he added. “It’s great to have this event.”
Zamorano recalled growing up without outlets like skateboarding. “It seems like it keeps getting bigger every year,” he said, “so hopefully we’ll be back again next year and see more people come out.”
For more information on Crime Victim Services, contact (520) 562-4106. It offers services for victims of violent issues and crimes. The office is in Sacaton next to the Ira Hayes Memorial Library.
Seven Layer Army will host its next skateboard competition, “Sac City Throwdown,” on Saturday, March 18, at the District 3 Skate Park in Sacaton. Participants can register on site at 1 p.m. and the competition begins at 2 p.m. The free event is open to all tribal communities.
For more information, contact Seven Layer Army at (602) 621-1946 or sevenlayerarmy@gmail.com.