A skate park nearly eight years in the making got its official opening Friday afternoon.
More than 300 youth, parents and officials came out to celebrate the opening of the long-awaited Chemainus Skate Park (located at the old Chemainus elementary school site) March 6, although it has already been in use since construction completed ahead of schedule in February.
The sound of skateboards, bikes and scooters filled the sunny afternoon skies as dozens of youth practised grinds, ollies, kickflips and other fun tricks on the new 7,500-square-foot concrete park built by New Line Skateparks Inc.
“This skate park is the talk of the entire Island. There’s people driving here from everywhere,” said Chris Istace, owner of Beyond the Usual in Chemainus. “And it’s not just skateboarders; you’ve got the BMX kids, all the kids on scooters — you’ve got three levels of sport and it’s serious to them.”
The park is a 50/50 mix of street style and traditional features, said Ernie Mansueti, director of Parks and Recreation for the Municipality of North Cowichan. The street style features include ledges, rails and stairs, while banks, pockets and wide curves allow for more speed.
The project came in below its budget of $350,000, thanks in part to New Line’s tender proposal coming in at $308,542.
“The design, the construction, the support from the community has been over the top. We couldn’t be more pleased with it,” said Mansueti. “It’s got something for everyone — it’s built so that a new user can use it, but those that are experienced are going to have just as much fun on it.”
Friday’s festivities kicked off with speeches from Deb Savory Wright, event emcee and KidSport Cowichan board chair, and North Cowichan Mayor Jon Lefebure.
Lefebure recounted the long journey of going from idea to reality, noting the many people and organizations who rallied together to make it happen, such as the Chemainus Neighbourhood House, the Skate Park user committee, Chemainus and District Chamber of Commerce and School District 79.
During the grand opening, two cheque presentations were made by the Chemainus Rotary Club and the Western Community Foundation and Coast Capital Insurance Services in the amount of $5,000 each
Beyond the Usual, which sells skateboards and clothing apparel for all ages, was on site with free giveaways, and guests also enjoyed a hot dog barbecue and cake.
“To see the number of people here today for the opening of a skate park is absolutely fabulous,” Mansueti said. “The usage we thought would happen at the park has already been exceeded.”
He added that users from all over the Island have been coming to use or try out the park.
The municipality is now looking to add further infrastructure to the skate park, and the $10,000 donations will go a long way to assisting with that.
“One of the things we want to do is increase the landscaping, add picnic tables, possibly pave part of the pathway to keep the rocks off the park,” said Mansueti.
Rick Neufeld is a 39-year-old skateboarder who has been using the new park with his two sons four times a week since construction was complete.
“We just couldn’t wait; I’ve been counting down the days for this park to open,” he said. “We were pushing the doors open [so-to-speak] to try to get in to ride it while they were still washing the park.”
Neufeld said it has been nice to see the community rally around what some consider a renegade sport. With its completion, the skate park will give local youth a good quality exercise-oriented place to hang out and be kids.
“You’re not focused on any kind of winning; you’re not focused on any kind of competition at this point,” he said. “It’s just hanging out and learning the sport and learning from other kids that know it really well.”
“It’s also an excuse for old people like me to try to stay as young as possible,” he added.
