IRVINE

Barely open a month, Irvine’s new skate park has already had its share of casualties. While eight kids have walked away with scratches and bruises, four in-line skaters have seriously injured their wrists, in some cases breaking them.

That’s a problem city officials are not going to ignore.

About a week ago, managers of the Harvard SK8 Park in the Harvard Community Athletic Park started offering wrist guards to skaters. While everyone cruising the concrete ramps has to wear a helmet, elbow and knee pads, the wrist protectors are optional. But that might change soon.

Making the wrist guards mandatory is “something that we’re seriously considering,” said Marsha Burgess, the city’s superintendent for family services. She added that skaters can borrow the protective gear from park attendants.