In the report Skating Park Planned For Tal-Qroqq (August 3), for some reason no mention of the Malta Skateboard Association (MSA) was made even though their involvement is of equal importance to that of the architects and politicians involved. After all, and simply put, how can a group of people design an area with specific activities involved without the much needed guidance of those who represent the very people who will use it? Fortunately, this is not the case...

I feel compelled as a skateboarder and a former MSA member to mention the association's involvement with the government on the project. I only mention this because this association has worked too hard to get this project finally going for no mention to be made within the article or any future articles that will surely be written about the skate park.

Since October 2003, MSA has been involved in so much that we helped changed the perception of skateboarding in Malta from a series of bad stereotypes to a proper art form and sport.

We had sponsors to help us along the years and did a service to the Msida subway by actually providing the place with bins and cleaning the place from time to time. We even used more than 30 gallons of paint to erase vulgar graffiti over the years. Besides doing these self-voluntary services, we also created a series of competitions for awareness and to keep our scene alive and even made a skate video entitled Get Real (available at Damage Inc., Savoy shopping mall in Valletta). And last but not least we actually made people aware that Malta needs a place where the likes of skateboarders can progress in their sport in a proper environment by mentioning Msida subway's all-importance to Maltese skateboarding (a place where skateboarders have ridden since late 1996).

Besides saying all this, and thinking it was a bit of a shame that MSA was not mentioned, I still would like to genuinely thank all those who are involved in the skate park project and who have supported MSA and mostly MSA's president, Micheal de Marco and vice president James Grimaud themselves for keeping their eye on the ball and not giving up as many youths have in the 30 years that skateboarding has existed here on this island.