Ramps in the Netherlands

InLine Magazine Nederland gives a list of ramps in their first edition. They add that it is not complete yet. I have copied that here, and added as many ramps as I know of. By now, many people have sent me lists of ramps that they know of, and the list from ILMN is getting to be a minority. Keep the information coming, people!

Also, ILMN gives a couple of definitions for types of ramps. I thought these would be handy. I, myself, am, or was, quite confused about miniramps, quarterpipes, halfpipes and vertramps.

A list of definitions

These are definitions given by ILMN. Feel free to have your own opinion, of course.

	Halfpipe: What the name implies: A really big pipe, cut in half horizontally. A halfpipe has no horizontal stretch in the middle. True halfpipes are very rare.
	Ramp: A (half)pipe with a horizontal bit in the middle. This is a lot easier than a halfpipe, as you have some time to correct your course.
	Miniramp: A small ramp, with a maximum height of about 1.8 metres.
	Vertramp: A ramp that is a lot bigger, at least three metres in height. Anything between a miniramp and a vertramp is 'just a ramp'.
	Quarterpipe: Half of a halfpipe, with only one edge. You ride onto it really fast, do your trick, and ride off again.
	Jumpramp: A small ramp (in the usual sense of the word, 'schans') that you ride on to, then have to jump off. It has a flat bit on the top.
	Launchramp: A bit like a jumpramp, only the shape is such, that you're 'launched' off.

A list of ramps

Here's a list of ramps, that has been published in ILMN, number one. I try to add as many ramps as I can find that aren't in this list. For ramps in Noord Holland, there might be a more extended review with some pictures by Max Faber & Co (both Dutch and English, skateboard-oriented).

	Alkmaar: A ramp in a small park at the Heiloerdijk, with review in Dutch by Max Faber & Co. A ramp, two back-to-back jumpramps(?), and nice smooth asphalt, called `De Mare', in Daalmeer-Zuid, north of shoppingcentre `De Mare', south of the Tiroolstraat, with review in Dutch by Max Faber & Co.
	Almere-Buiten: Halfpipes in Molenbuurt, Bloemenbuurt and Regenboogbuurt.
	Almere-haven: one miniramp by the busstop between Almere-stad and Almere-haven.
	Alphen a/d Rijn: 2 miniramps.
	Amsterdam: A vertramp under the Schellingwoudebrug (one of the biggest in Europe), which has recently (16/09/1997) burned down. On 13/05/1998, however, there was an article in Amsterdams Stadsblad which says that the burned down ramp in Zeeburg is being rebuilt and will be ready on the 6th of june. It is going to be very large again: 3m high, 12m wide. A big vertramp at the Museumplein, near the Rijksmuseum, in usable condition, the curve on the vertramp is not so very smooth. (May be moved soon (16/09/1997), or even removed completely.) (There used to be a miniramp there, too, but it's closed now.) Behind the central station there is an indoor skatepark ('3rd floor'), which is quite big.
	Amsterdam-Bijlmer: Quite high mini-ramp, 2 rails and a handrail.
	Axel: Near sports centre 'het Sportuus', there is a miniramp. Ask in the sports centre and they will tell you where it is. The ramp is in very good condition.
	Bergen Op Zoom: Near the Philip Morris cigarette factory, there's a miniramp in good condition.
	Beverwijk: Near youth-centre Labyrinth, close to the sports hall, there's a miniramp, in good condition, with review in Dutch by Max Faber & Co.
	Bilthoven/Bleiswijk: From the train station about one kilometer in the direction of Utrecht: a combined mini (about 1.5m) and vertramp (about 3.5m).
	Boskoop: A miniramp near the soccerclub Floreant.
	Capelle a/d IJssel: In `Het Schollebos', near shopping-centre `De Scholver', but hard to see from the bike-path, a miniramp, about 1.5m high and 2 or 3m wide.
	Castricum: Near sporthall de Bloemen, on the Marin Luther King laan, there's a miniramp, in good condition, with review in Dutch by Max Faber & Co.
	Culemborg: A miniramp in excellent condition.
	Delft: A miniramp near NS station Delft-Zuid in reasonable shape, and some plans.
	Den Bosch: Lots of ramps, rails and other fun stuff (including a bar, billiards and a football table) in the skate center in the neighborhood called Maaspoort. Entrance f7,50 for those of us aged 18 or under, f10,- for those over 18. If you buy ten tickets at once, you get a discount. They rent out skates (f7,50 a day) and equipment (f2,50 a day). They give lessons and the athmosphere is very good.
	Den Haag: Lots of stuff in Skateland.
	Den Helder: a half-pipe in the `Quelder Duin' park. Quite big (3m?), and good for jumping. Also some more quarter pipes, curbs and more of that. Review in Dutch by Max Faber & Co.
	Deventer: In sportcentre `De Scheg' there is a skate and skeeler park in the summer. There are hips, banks, curbs, quarters, pyramid, drvieway, funbox with rail, handrails and other rails.
	Dordrecht: There is an aliminium vert in the center, but there are plans to move this to the new skate park under the Dordse Brug. See some guy skating there.
	Dronten: Across the road from the sportshall 't Dok, near the busstation. About 3.5m high, 4 plates wide, in good condition.
	Druten: A skate park `stichting skateboarden Druten' with club house, vertramp, miniramp, funbox some grindrails and plans for expansion. Entrance: f2,50 per day or f30,- per year.
	Dubbeldam: A miniramp.
	Eindhoven: A double (back-to-back) miniramp, in the Henri Dunant park.
	Gemert: 2 miniramps (wood), bad condition (one unusable, one dangerous), at Sportlaan, near sporthall Molenbroek. Frequently used.
	Goirle: A miniramp and funbox near the soccer club VOAB.
	Gouda: A miniramp near the GGD office.
	Groningen: In an old hall across the street from the Groningenr Stadspark office: a midi-ramp, 2 funboxes, stairs with handrails and curbs, several banks and quarterpipes. Inline skating only on wednesday, entrance f5,-.
	Haarlem: On the Van Zeggeleplein there's a very small vertramp in good condition.
	Heemskerk: A miniramp in good condition.
	Heemstede/Aerdenhout: Close to the NS station a vertramp that's in good shape, quite high and not too wide. Also a funbox and grindrails.
	Heerde: A miniramp.
	Hengelo: a 6 meters wide back-to-back miniramp with a larger sort-of vert ramp, also 6 meters wide. Reasonably far from the train station: take busline 12 to `De Nijverheid', and ask for playground `De Nijverheid'. However, you have to pay to get in, and the opening hours ate 2pm to 8pm.
	Hoogeveen: Miniramp with extension in good condition, near the policestation.
	Kampen: Near the swimming pool, near sports hall De Reeve, a mini ramp in good condition.
	Krimpen a/d Lek: 2 miniramps (unknown place). Also, a miniramp (not really in good condition), a grindbar and some obstacles, all looking handmade, near the sporthall, with not really smooth asphalt.
	Landsmeer: A miniramp.
	Leiden: A vertramp, quite new, made of steel, very good condition, somewhat slippery. From Wassenaar, take the 'rijksweg' to Leiden, exit Leiden Zuid. Enter the new neighborhood that is being constructed.
	Leusden: There used to be a miniramp, however, it seems to have been removed.
	Lekkerkerk: A miniramp.
	Maarsen: A vertramp in good condition, close to the train station, on the other side of the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal.
	Maastricht: A small streetcourse and a fun ramp under construction under the John F. Kennedy Bridge, the most southern bridge in town, on the west side of the river, with lots of free parking space, too.
	Meppel: A miniramp in good condition in Ringpark Oosterboer.
	Mierlo: A miniramp near the school "Het Schrijvertje" and near sports hall "De Weier".
	Moordrecht: A miniramp in good condition, quite fast. It is located in the main park of Moordrecht.
	Nieuwegein: A miniramp in park Oudegein in reasonable condition. Rumours about a funbox to be built next to De Zwolsche Algemeene.
	Nieuwerkerk a/d IJssel: A miniramp in the park, in lousy condition, but somewhat usable. Next to this is an oval asphalt road with great asphalt.
	Nieuw-Vennep: A mini-ramp of about 1.5m high and 4m wide, in quite good shape.
	Oldenzaal: 'De Hulsbeek' is probably a skate park near Oldenzaal.
	Oudelands Ambacht: A miniramp.
	Purmerend: In the Leeghwaterpark, close to the Waterland hospital and the police station. Around 2.3 meters high, and quite easy to find.
	Puttershoek: At recreational area Binnenmaas, there's a vertramp in good condition.
	Reeuwijk: Miniramp with strange traction.
	Ridderkerk: A miniramp.
	Rotterdam: A vertramp, in good condition, and a mini-ramp, not in good condition, near the Witte de Withstraat, a miniramp near Middeland, and a miniramp near the Binnenweg. The vertramp on the Prinsenlaan, in the Alexanderpolder, has unfortunately been removed, due to maintenance costs.
	Schagen: There's something there, but the list doesn't say what.
	Scheveningen: There's a miniramp in good condition near the harbour.
	Schiedam: Behind the NS station, there's a ramp, and there's also a miniramp someplace.
	Soest: At NS station Soest-Zuid, there's a miniramp that's not used much.
	Someren-eind (near Weert): A miniramp with a metal frame and a 'plastic' toplayer. In quite good condition.
	Spijkenisse: Skatepark with 3m vert ramp, miniramp, pyramid, bump to bump, rails, quarterpipes and many more, near subway station Spijkenisse Centrum, behind the hospital.
	Swifterbant: Across the road from the busstation. About 3.5m high, 4 plates wide and in good condition.
	Tilburg: 4 miniramps. Other reports say a miniramp in the skate center.
	Uithoorn: A mini-ramp, in good conditioin, near a basketballfield.
	Utrecht: Near parkinghouse Staffhorst at Paardeveld (next to the main police station), a miniramp of about 2m high, in fairly good condition and usually relatively busy, this is about two minutes skating distance from the central train station. In the Tuindorp district, there is a miniramp of about 1.5m high, in a small unnamed park, not visible from the road, so hard to find, and also in very bad condition. In the Overvecht district, there is a vert of about 3.2m high, with a narrow section of maybe 4m, in good condition. Plans for an outdoor skatepark in the Griftpark, supposed to be ready in march '98.
	Valkenswaard: A halfpipe in the center of the city.
	Veldhoven: A vertramp, in not too good shape (rusty), about 4 meters high.
	Velserbroek: A miniramp in the park.
	Vlissingen: Plans only.
	Voorburg: Again something, but the list doesn't say what.
	Vorden: three quarterpipes, 2.5m ramp, two rails and a funbox.
	Vroomshoop: Mr. Ed's Skate Park, with one (almost vert-)ramp of 2.70 meters, 4 quarter pipes, a mini ramp, a mini-mini ramp and a funbox.
	Waddingxveen: Metal, 3.5m high vert near Texaco, close to a sportshall. Next to a big parking lot. Rumours about funboxes and grindbars.
	Wassenaar: In front of the town hall, there's a vertramp.
	Weert: A mini-ramp, in good condition, completely made of steel, and regularly empty. Also a mini-ramp. Also a metal funbox near the school 'De Biest'.
	IJmuiden: In Het Moerberg Plantsoen (behind the Volmar), there is a BIG ramp and a square with a long quarter-pipe and a small plateau. Everything in excellent condition. With a review in Dutch by Max Faber & Co.
	Zandvoort: An indoor skatepark with two skatebowls in the late `Dolfinarium' at Burgemeester Fenemaplein. Entrance f10,- per day, opening hours Mo-Fri: 12.00-22.00, Sa: 10.00-00.00, Su: 12.00-22.00. More information: 02357-30759. Here's a picture (by Martin Bracke).
	Zoetermeer: A metal miniramp, in good condition, though the coping sticks out a bit. Also a funbox and a curved grindpipe. Fairly crowded with good atmosphere. Near the sportshall close to the Nutricia factory.
	Zwijndrecht: A miniramp in Oudelands Ambacht, near the disco The WareHouse.
	Zwolle: park `De Wezelanden': a mini-quarterpipe, a vert-quarterpipe, a driveway (1m high) and a vertramp of about 3.5m high and four plates wide. Plans for a miniramp, a funbox and enlargement for the park, possibly already present, as expansion continues.Also in Zwolle: a new, wooden mini-ramp and a street course in an old school, only open during bad weather and now open for both inline skaters and skate boarders, and f2,50 entrance. Plans to build more. Also, plans to build a mini-ramp in Zwolle-Zuid.

Again, this is only a very meagre bit of information right now. I know that, but I hope it will grow. You can actively contribute to that growth by sending me information on skating in the Netherlands.

johannes@nada.kth.se