Five hundred skateboards will be given to Des Moines-area children to create greater awareness of the sport and encourage more youths to take up the activity, under a new program announced today. The “Get on Board Project” will hand out a new skateboard, helmet and skateboarding instruction to children in grades K-8. The project is sponsored by Subsect Skateshop in Des Moines’ East Village and Skate DSM. Norm Sterzenbach, president of Skate DSM, said the “Get on Board Project” is the first of its kind and helps to further raise Iowa’s profile on the national skateboarding map. “We built the greatest skatepark in the world, now we want to do everything we can to ensure local kids have the tools they need to skate it,” Sterzenbach said, referring to the Lauridsen Skatepark, which opened last spring on the downtown Des Moines riverfront. Eligible students in Polk, Dallas and Warren counties can apply at SkateDSM.org/GetOnBoard. Applications for the first round of equipment must be received by April 22, with recipients being notified on April 29. Virginia Lauridsen, who along with her husband, Nix, donated $1 million to the skatepark that bears their name, is among the sponsors for “Get on Board.” She said the project “will help remove barriers that may exist for future skaters by getting them the equipment they need to give it a try.”