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Skate Park re-opens after renovations
The Crowsnest Pass Sk8ters Club is back
to business at the Skate Park in the Albert Stella Arena, and they are
happy both to welcome all their members back and to show off the changes
in the park itself.
“We’re happy to be back open,” says Rob
MacGarva, who heads up the club, “and the kids are too.”
The Skate Park saw a lot of maintenance
and renovation through the summer and early fall, including a brand new
ramp built by Ben Clark, a local member. The new ramp is a street-style
obstacle with a double step, says MacGarva. “A lot of the kids these
days are street skaters. This is the club’s way of bringing the street
aspect to the park.”
He adds that they basically gave the
park a full facelift, patching holes and rebuilding one ramp to fix it
up. MacGarva says that finances remain their greatest potential trouble
spot, but the club is currently paid in full with the municipality.
“It’s a small volunteer base,” he says, “but we’re gonna do it. We’re
not going to shut down. We want to be open for the kids, for the
community. It’s a positive place for the kids to hang out.”
The Skate Park has been open for ten
years now, he says, and they plan to keep it affordable for all kids, at
$40 for a year’s membership. He says that they absolutely refuse to
raise that price. “We want this to stay affordable for the kids.” With
all of their money going toward maintenance and rent, says MacGarva,
they can’t plan to do a whole lot more, but they will stay open and keep
providing a place for kids to have fun and focus some of their energy.
As there is not a lot for local kids to do in the winter if they don’t
play hockey, he adds, the club is an important part of youth recreation
for the Pass.
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