Work on Ucluelet’s first ever beach volleyball court is underway.

The district has allocated $7,600 towards turning the property across from Ucluelet’s community centre into a beach volleyball court and improved bike park.

“There’s been really good community input,” said Ucluelet’s director of parks and recreation Abby Fortune.

 â€œThere’s synergies with both groups…We have limited funds on this project so we’re working with both groups to see what we can do.”

Shovels have already hit the ground to improve the area’s drainage, according to Fortune who said land-clearing work would kick-off in short order.

She suggested, once it’s in place, the court could allow for beach volleyball leagues to spring up and she hopes to see the local contingent of volleyballers grow.

“It’s very exciting because opportunities like this are a big part of community health, community wellness, and connecting people to the outside,” she said.

“One of the big pushes with recreation right now is the outdoor recreation side of things. Getting people out, and getting people active, is one of the key mandates for the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association.”

She said the court would also provide non-structured recreational opportunities for locals to simply “grab a volleyball and go play” and added the court would be open to the public with volleyballs available at the community centre.

She assured the two user groups would safely share the space, without bikers crashing into volleyball players, and work would be done to ensure no volleyballs fly onto nearby Matterson Drive. 

Fortune, who has been at the helm of Ucluelet’s parks and recreation department for the past 25 years, said the community has never had a full-on, standard-sized, beach volleyball court before.

“We did do some beach volleyball many moons ago down at Wick Beach, but this gives opportunities for our kids and adults to play locally,” she said.

“We’ve been working with the community and getting the community’s feedback on these projects and the parks and recreation department, and council, hugely wants to continue the open dialogue with the community to ensure that we’re meeting the needs of the community to the best of our ability and funding.”

Locals are encouraged to keep their ears open for possible fundraising opportunities and work-bees to assist with.

 

Andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca

Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News