Best news we’ve heard all week and it’s totally unexpected. English Heritage have officially listed Rom skatepark! In a move that helps preserve the legacy of youth culture in England for generations.

Rom has been the lynchpin of Skateboarding and BMX since time immemorial. This year we launched Ride To Glory from there and we’ll no doubt be working with Rom for years to come.

Read all about why English Heritage listed Rom here…

“The Rom Skatepark raised interesting questions for English Heritage. What type of designation would be appropriate, given that this is a concrete surface and not a building? And how can heritage protection respond to the values that become attached to cultural and sporting sites, where the physical fabric of structures often takes second place to a venue’s status as ‘hallowed ground’? Skateboarding in England has always reached past the technicalities of the sport and is connected to the tastes in fashion and music of contemporary youth and their social attitudes. The decision to list the Rom lay in its key importance as an icon of the British skateboard scene, one whose design has influenced the building of new skateparks since the Millennium. Although skateboarding remains a very public form of athletic display, with the street used as a public arena, its development goes hand in hand with that of its facilities and equipment. It can be argued that the full range of skateboarding skills and techniques would never have been devised without purpose-built venues like the Rom. As it is very unlikely that many more skateparks will be listed, recognising the Rom’s importance as the single outstanding example of its type will help to preserve the legacy of one of the most distinctive and enduring strands of modern British youth culture.”