What happens when a skateboarder gets up in years, and fears the law finally has a good chance of catching him? He pulls together an elite team of like-minded people, forms a corporation, and corners the extreme sports market.

By 1998, Harold Bolinger of Cumberland, MD, was fed up with broken promises. Growing tired from 25 years of running from the law and politicizing about it, he found himself on a crash-course with destiny.

In 1977, while a sophomore in high school, Bolinger approached the Cumberland Mayor and Council for a skatepark. He was told that his “blue jeans would outlast the fad of skateboarding.” Now 39 and still skating, he can only comment on the denim he has worn out and destroyed while riding (and occasionally wiping-out) on the streets of Western Maryland.

“I always knew I had a purpose in this life,” he told Weekend Adventures Magazine. “I firmly believe I’m on a mission from God to do things for kids. They lack clout in the political process to do it themselves, and most people in this region with money just don’t understand contemporary sports.”

Bolinger and a few alternative sports enthusiasts formed Freestyle Country Clubs, Inc. (FCCI) in July of 1999, only three months after the Cumberland Mayor and Council tabled indefinitely a proposed skate park. After negotiating with about 20 or so property owners, they had their first land deal (in Hampshire County West Virginia near Romney) in September of 2000. The second (with the City of Frostburg, Maryland) came in November of 2001.

FCCI’s first contract netted them a huge piece of property to develop, leading to the creation of the only country club in the nation “where golf is illegal and skaters control traffic patterns.” The 100 acre parcel on the back side of Mill Creek Mountain is now home to the Mid-Atlantic Action Sports Complex. Miles of existing clear-cut mountain trails have been marked for motorcycle (hare scramble) and mountain bike (downhill and cross country) races. A three acre motocross track, with an impressive array of jumps, sits beside a 1000 foot long BMX bicycle race track.

11 acres of the former farm now comprise complicated paint ball scenario games. The first stage of their B-3 vert complex is in place. All terrain skateboards, quads, paint ball players, in-line skaters and assorted disciplines of bicyclists and motorcyclists finally have a home where police chases are a thing of the past. To market the Hampshire Complex, FCCI has a triple edged sword, and they are drawing extreme sport athletes from all over the Mid-Atlantic area.

First, they are a “club” in the truest sense. Local families are paying membership fees, and joining them for year round, if not sometimes weather-permitting, action.

Secondly, their event roster draws some of the region’s top competitors in the action sports lineup. FCCI fills their weekends with motocross, BMX, mountain bike and other racing action, along with paint ball tournaments & similar competitive events. During these events, FCCI entices people to join their club, and come regularly.

Third, they are not content with being alone in their event promotion. To capitalize on the existing network of promotional help offered among extreme sports web sites and print publications, FCCI has sanctioned with the biggest names in modern recreation.

Their motor sports are under sanction of both Districts 5 & 7 of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA)–the nation’s premier points and rankings organization for motorcycles and quads. NORBA (National Off-Road Bicycle Association), and the USCF (United States Cycling Federation) sanctions their mountain bike and bicycle road races. The National Bicycle League (NBL) helps coordinate bicycle motocross (BMX) racing. They have a contract with High Noon Paintball, Inc. (an affiliate of the American Paint Ball League) to manage war games. Their B-3 (bikes, boards and blades) sports are affiliated with the Skate Park Association, the World Flatland Skateboard Association (WFSA) and the IGSA (the International Gravity Sports Association–the X-Games gravity sports company). All their bicycle sports sanctioning bodies are part of USA Cycling, Inc.– America’s bicycle link to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

With connections to both the Olympics and other extreme sports equivalents, FCCI is positioned to do something no one else in the region has ever attempted– combining multiple action sports events, and daily access for their members, under a single umbrella organization. Each activity center is autonomous in many respects, with events & memberships centrally coordinated.

Bolinger underplays all the hard work involved in the sanctioning & development process by saying “I got tired of bitching, and decided to just do it.”

Their directors understand what most people in this region have missed: that a bunch of people want to engage in 21st century recreation. Today’s youth are no longer content to wait for their turn at bat, or to simply watch from their La-Z-Boy or even Game-Boy. Adults are becoming health conscious, and want to enjoy the great outdoors as well. Whether it’s a father-son combination taking their mountain bikes a few laps, or a bunch of buddies donning face masks and shooting each other across super air ball fields, FCCI is catering to contemporary athletics. And they are doing it well, with plans for additional activity centers in other corners of the Tri-State region. These include mountain and road race bicycle events in Allegany County, and of course, “ramping up” their Frostburg facility.

On November 16, 2001 FCCI signed a multi-year contract to convert the former tennis courts (abandoned to a bygone sports era) at the Frostburg Community Park into a skate park. Excellent late fall/early winter weather has them ahead of schedule to complete the 9 ramps planned for the “street” part of operations.

In addition, excavation is nearly complete for a 20,000 square foot “street” & flatland pad at the Hampshire Complex. They are hoping to pave some of the mountain roads for luge and other downhill skateboard & gravity events, and to build three more HUGE vert ramps. Several additional parking areas are in the works, and a concert/multi-purpose stage is also in the plan. Bolinger said coyly “We don’t have any problems right now that a good shot of venture capital couldn’t solve.”

So what could possibly top those achievements? “We won't stop till there are as many of these facilities as there are golf courses,” he said. “By working with the Cumberland Recreation Board, and arguing with a dozen cities in the past quarter century, we discovered the missing link required for municipal governments to marry extreme sports. Recreation departments often have both land and money, but generally they have no clue how to configure, build or operate for such a diverse, contemporary crowd of athletes, or how to insure such a complicated facility. A ball field requires grass cutting. Skateparks require keeping up with developments in ramp technology and new designs to keep it fresh for an easily bored bunch of youths. That is where we come in. We have created all the ingredients for the ultimate in public-private partnerships. The City of Frostburg, MD is just the beginning” he said. Along with an unused tennis court, FCCI is deciding how to best spend $30,000 of the Recreation Department’s recent grant receipts. In exchange, FCCI pledged their expertise to build the ramps, operate the park regularly for locals, and throw some world-class events into the mix. “We certified all our staff in the new Red Cross Sports Safety Training program, and extended our affiliation with the Skate Park Association to satisfy the insurance requirements of the City’s insurer. Our staff will make sure the kids keep their helmets fastened, and verify that the waivers have been signed by their parents. They have even offered to let us use city streets for downhill and other events, as long as we provide the insurance coverage,” he said.

At Frostburg, FCCI is building a collection of ramps desired by the “new school” Sk8 generation. Grind rails were custom made in assorted heights, and the ramps reflect the “fun box” configurations sought by the “park” riding crowd.

For the 2002 season, FCCI has won their bids for NORBA State Championships (WV) in Short Track Cross Country, Downhill, Mountain Cross & Dual Slalom; and the Maryland State Championship NORBA Downhill event. They have teamed as part of the Mid-Atlantic Cup series co-sponsored by the Racers Edge pro MTB team of Baltimore. Events in other East Coast States will deliver a multi-race, high-point value NORBA mountain bike series. Paint ball tournaments are also planned encompassing three cities (Cumberland, Romney and Frostburg).

After 25 years of hoping for just one location dedicated to the more ‘extreme’ sports of the world, FCCI is now firmly in control of several. And more are likely coming down the pike.

“We can’t disclose the nature of the negotiations right now, but there is a good possibility we will add more cities to our list of partnerships in 2002” Bolinger said. “We are up to our ears with logistics for all this stuff, but our secret weapon is our Board of Directors. An experienced motorcyclist (Bill Taylor of LaVale) heads our Motor Sports activities. A former BMX champion (Jeff Kerr, from Cumberland) leads bicycle sports for us. We just appointed an expert ranked NORBA rider (Shane Leiggi of Morgantown) to micromanage the MTB side of things.

The rest of our staff, contractors and volunteers are totally committed to our mission; and of course I’m running interference with the politicians negotiating contracts, building ramps, and attending the sanctioning meetings–to make sure none of our dates conflict with other regional promoters. It’s all good,” he says. “We’ve almost achieved Utopia on both sides of the Potomac River.”

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