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Summerland celebrates new skate park

A couple hundred people crowded the park for the official opening June 22

The official grand opening of the new Summerland Skate Park was the culmination of years of hard work, and a lot of kids dropping into the bowl and grinding along the rails.

“Now for some of these kids, with skateboarding and BMX making its way to the Olympics next year, this isn’t just a park.” said Erick Thompson, the chair of the Summerland Skate Park Committee.”It’s a training ground for the future. They may not know it, but it might be.”

The new 10,000 square foot skate park is set on the corner of Summerland’s Jubilee Road and Rosedale Avenue, right on the northeast corner of the Summerland Secondary School field. The new park features not only ramps and rails, but a deep bowl to drop into and get some sick air off of.

Pentagon Board Shop’s team of pro skaters were on hand to give demonstrations, alongside all of the kids who made it out. Pentagon, as well as local Antlers Surf, also gave out a number of prizes, including a brand new board for a lucky rider.

Also joining in the festivities was local Olympic gold medalist, Justin Kripps. He piloted the two-man bobsled in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Justin was an avid skateboarder in Summerland in his youth and he trained track on the site of the skate park years ago.

“I grew up skating on the old skate park, and believe it or not, I was there when it first opened up back in the day,” said Kripps. “I’ve come a long ways, skateboarding kind of kicked off my journey that ended with Olympic gold. It’s amazing to see this skate park open, and really come full circle.”

The completion of the $600,000 skate park was a joint project between the District of Summerland, The Penny Lane Charity Society, School District 67, the Federal Gas Tax Community Works Fund and community contributions.

“This is a fine example of what can be accomplished when community partners work together,” said Mayor Toni Boot. “I thank previous councils for their foresight, especially former Mayor Waterman’s council for committing the gas tax funding to this community project.”

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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