For years now, Skateparktour.ca has included video edits shot at individual skateparks alont with photos or a virtual tour as part of the information provided about skateparks. In the past few years, fewer and fewer people have been making these “edits”, so Skateparktour.ca is starting to make our own.
The first video in the “LocalzSKatepark Tour” video Series from the Glendale Skatepark in Red Deer AB has been published and more are on the horizon. The Glendale video features (Skateparktour.ca sponsor) Industry Skate & Snow team members Riley & Mitchell Gladue sharing their thoughts about Red Deer’s outstanding primary skatepark.
The name of the series, “Localz Skatepark Tour” intend to counter the “Locals Only” ethic that was once more common in skateparks, and promote skateparks as great places for people sho skate, bike, scooter, inline, unicycle, or WCMX to gather and have fun. Today’s skateparks are welcoming and inclusive, and this video series will provide another way to showcase what your skatepark has to offer.
Do you want to help make a Localz Skatepark Tour video for your local skatepark? Contact Skateparktour.ca to discuss how we could make it happen!
The Millennium Place skatepark in Sherwood Park was builitin 2000 and has been showing its age for a while now. Strathcona County undertook some citizen engagement then came up with a plan to repair the cracks and coping issues, and to add a bowl and seating ledge. Construction should be done in jUly, and parts of the park that have been repaired will be opened when safe to do so. For details, click here.
Seylynn Skatepark, Canada’s oldest skatepark. Virtual tour coming soon!
On a recent trip to BC, I visited 32 skateparks and took spherical virtual tour photos so that in time, you will be able to explore more Canadian skateparks with virtual tours! Since 2006, Skateparktour.ca has provided skatepark users with opportunties to find and check out skateparks where they live and travel, and this recent trip will help skateparktour.ca keep current with the most popular skateparks in bC.
As this post is written, there are 195 Canadian skateparks on Skateparktour.ca, 88 of which are in BC. This trip will see 15 BC skateparks added and 16 parks upgraded to virtual tours from slideshows. The new additions include the recently opened Victoria Park in Coquitlam and Queens Park in New Westminster, and Canada’s oldest skatepark, Seylynn.
It will take some time to create and post all 32 virtual tours because skateparktour.ca is a one person operation, but they should all be in place before summer. that is the hope anyway. Each new addition will be announced on Facebook and Instagram, so be sure to Like / Follow Skateparktour.ca so you will be kept up to date!
List of skatepark virtual tours in development
Spherical virtual tour photos taken May 2019
N = Skatepark new to Skateparktour.ca – virtual tour in production
N** = Skatepark has been expanded or replaced – new virtual tour in production
Skateparktour.ca has been busy getting the site tuned up and ready for another season in Canada’s skateparks! Some changes have been made to make the site work more efficiently for you when you look for skateparks, and big plans are in place to grow the number of skateparks on the site. Here are some of the changes made so far:
Map search results for the Okanagan
Improved Search
Improved site search box – If you know the name of the park, type it in and the link will appear right away just below the search box
Proximity – Click on the target to see what skateparks are ithinthe distance you choose, or type the name of a town and see what skateparks are near by
Map – zoomin on an area or click on clusters to explore skateparks in a geographic region
Filtered List – narrow the list down by choosing criteria for the type of skatepark you want to find
WebVR Enabled Virtual Tours
Creston BC
You can now have an immersive VR experience directly from a web page without the need for an app. Most of the current VR headsets can display WebVR content. All you need to take advantage of this feature is a compatible headset and a compatiblem browser on your device. You can find an up-to-date list of browsers at WebVR.info
This past week Canada Skateboard with CASE hosted an information session at The Compound Indoor Skatepark in Calgary. About 30 skaters listened to Vice President Kyle Dion tell the Canada Skateboard story and share plans for skateboarding in Canada.
With skateboarding becoming an Olympic sport (we’ll talk about THAT word later!), skaters needed to form a national governing body. The governing body will decide who gets to skate in the Olympics, and how to develop up and coming skaters for future games. Funding for this work comes from Sport Canada but donations and sponsorships will also make up part of the Canada Skateboard budget
Every Olympic country needs a governing body for skateboarding. In some countries there are battles between skaters and other sports organizations to be the skateboarding governing body. If the skaters that founded Canada Skateboard hadn’t stepped forward, decisions about who skates for Canada and how they are chosen could have been made by people who have no clue about skateboarding or skate culture.
Who Is Canada Skateboard?
So, who are the founding board members for Canada Skateboard? They are all prominent members of the skate community who have passionately lived the skateboard lifestyle for most of their lives. They are:
Kyle Dion, Canada Skateboard VP Presenting to Calgary skaters.
Ben Stoddard – President
Jay Balmer – Treasurer
Kyle Dion – Vice-President
Monty Little – Secretary
Rob”Sluggo” Boyce – Head Coach
Josh Clark – Board member
Mike Prangnell – Board member
Bob Lasalle – Board member
Annie Guglia – Board member
Kevin Harris – Board member
Jim Barnum – Board member
Brent Coyne – Board member
This board will manage Canada Skateboard until board elections can be held.
Priorities
Many skateboarders see skateboarding as a lifestyle, not a sport, and don’t think skateboarding should be in the Olympics. That ship has sailed and no matter what the skate community thinks, someone will win Olympic medals in skateboarding at the Olympics. Skateboard Canada was formed to make sure that decisions about Canada’s skate team would be made by Canadian skaters. Who knows better than skaters, who should be considered for the team spots and the money that goes with it?
While the Olympics is the reason Canada Skateboarding was formed, the games will not be the sole reason the organization exists. The Canada Skateboarding mantra speaks volumes about the direction they want to take:
Keep Pushing
Skating is everything. It is an artform, a lifestyle and a team activity on an individual level. It’s where you make your own rules, experiment with ideas, and push your limits for nobody’s approval but your own. It’s a community where you can be yourself, clear your mind, and connect with one another – no matter how shy or wild you are. Skating is where you push yourself to set goals and to stick to them, building a mindset that can serve you throughout life as you just have to keep pushing. #keeppushing
Building skateboarding will be the most important priority for Canada Skateboarding. They will work with local skate organizations to grow skateboarding from the ground up while providing opportunities for those who want to compete at the Olympics for Canada.
Canada Skateboard will have more information available in the new year, including a website. If you have questions about Olympic skateboarding or Canada Skateboard programs, please be patient. Plans are being developed in both in Canada and at the international level, and Canada Skateboard will have more answers to share in 2019.
Canada Skateboard will be a great addition to the Canadian skate scene. They are laying the foundation for an organization that will grow skateboarding in Canada. Skaters that want to compete internationally will have amazing resources and opportunities to help reach their dreams, but the focus of Canada Skateboard will be on grass roots skateboarding. Skaters everywhere should be sure to join Canada Skateboard when they launch in 2019.
If you live or travel in Alberta’s Peace River country, you’ll want to check out these two skateparks!
Thanks to an anonymous well travelled skater and Skateparktour.ca fan, two Peace Country skateparks have been added to the site. Both the Swan Hills Skatepark and Q Skate Plaza in High Prairie are quality, modern, concrete skateparks that any community anywhere would like to have. Take a look on Skatearktour.ca then plan a session next time you visit the area.
Swan Hills Skatepark:
A small town with a fun, interesting, concrete skatepark worth stopping at if you’re in the area!
High Prairie Skatepark:
About an hour and ahalf (148 km) north and west of Swan Hills is The Q Skate Plaza in High Prairie. “The Q” is a large (for a small town) 9000 Sq Ft park with a variety of street and transition features.
The Medicine Hat Skateboard Assciaton Skate Skool is returning and we can’t wait to help the young ones learn to shred! Same time, same place as before! For ages 5-12.
????????Saturdays at 11AM ????????Kinsmen Skate Plaza (In Kin Coulee) ????????Bring $5, a helmet, and a board!
This past week Canada Skateboard with 
