Sports Minister Chris Steel (left) getting ready for a shred as Canberra Skateboarding Association vice-president Brenden ‘Woody’ Wood watches on. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Years of “kicking up a fuss” have paid off for Canberra’s skating community as the ACT Government brings their sport to the fore in a new draft strategy.
The push to pull Canberra’s parks into the modern age – plus petitions for upgrades at Gungahlin and Tuggeranong – and once again make the ACT become skateboarding’s destination of choice, led to the strategy’s creation.
Planning and Sports Minister Chris Steel said this was about putting in place a better system to maintain Canberra’s 24 skateparks and plan for future ones.
“We’ve seen increased participation in the sport as of late, and that has brought, I think, more attention and focus to skating,” he said.
“We’ve seen not just skateboarders, but scooter riders, BMX riders use these facilities as well, which has attracted a whole other group of people and particularly some of the younger participants … so that has meant that the government has needed, in recent years, to invest in new skate facilities.
“We do need to invest in new facilities and what this strategy will do is help to inform how we develop those new facilities to make sure that they’re well designed and properly meet the needs of our skating community, both for skaters, but also for BMX riders, scooter riders and other users.”
The ACT’s vision for Canberra is to become a world-class destination for skating, with a “dynamic community and well-managed facilities”, and to make it a safe and inclusive activity.
Proper maintenance is one of the key objectives under this vision.
The strategy noted that the ACT was falling behind in both skatepark provision and maintenance, that no new parks had been built for over a decade, that existing facilities lacked modern street elements, and that local skaters were often forced to travel interstate for training due to outdated infrastructure.
“The condition of many skateparks in the Territory varies widely, with some rated very poor or poor condition,” it stated.
Mr Steel said regular audits were already undertaken into Canberra’s skateparks, but their focus had been too narrow.
“Often they just focused on safety, and I think there’s a need to make sure that those audits cover a broader range of needs based on feedback that we’ve heard,” he said.
“That will help to inform a more proactive maintenance schedule, and it also talks to the need to have skilled and experienced contractors who understand the needs of skaters when maintaining those facilities.”
Adding to existing facilities and building new ones are also on the agenda.
Maintenance work will kick off at the Tuggeranong and Belconnen skateparks next month, and the ACT Government has committed to delivering new skating facilities in Jacka.
Consultation is underway with the skating community for an improved facility in Kippax.
Mr Steel said ongoing consultation with skating organisations was a need the government had heard loud and clear.
“The strategy here is important because these facilities are quite unique, and we do need to work closely with our skating community to make sure that we get the design right, and to enhance the existing facilities that we’ve got,” he said.
Canberra Skateboarding Association vice-president Brenden ‘Woody’ Wood was confident his days of “kicking up a fuss” to get the government’s attention had been worth it.
“We put a lot of effort into grassroots events, and we’ve got Belco Bowl Jam that happens on the world stage as well, that’s all run by volunteers, it’s been happening for a long time,” he said.
“I’m optimistic that something good will come out of this – I really hope so – it’s been a very long time.”
Mr Wood said the government shouldn’t focus on delivering new skateparks over extending older facilities or building incidental spaces.
Ideally, Canberra would get a mix of everything.
“We’ve had a recent win in that the new play space in Watson has skate elements included,” Mr Wood said.
“Canberra used to be really good at doing that a few decades ago – you’d see a new playground get built, there’d be some skate spots integrated into that play space, [and] that bridges the gaps between larger facilities, makes skateboarding and skate parks more accessible to people in their neighbourhoods.
“But there also still is a need for larger facilities.”
Consultation is now open on the Draft ACT Skate Strategy. Submissions close on Monday, 5 October.
