2019-May-8 | Site News
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
- Bear Creek
- Bonsor
The amazing Queens Park flow bowl!
- Enderby N
- Fleetwood
- Fraser Heights
- Golden
- Hope N
- Kamloops
- Kensington
- Keremeos
- Merritt
- Mission N (coming in 2020)
- Mt. Pleasant
- Peachland
- Penticton Youthpark
- Penticton (Old skatepark) N
- Pitt Meadows
- Princeton N
- Queens Park N
- Railside N
- Revelstoke N**
- Rocky Mountain House (AB) N
- Salmon Arm
- Seylynn
- Summerland N
- Towne Centre N
- UBC
- Victoria Park N
- West 49 Indoor N
- Westbank N
- Westbank First Nation N
- Winfield / Lake Country N**
2019-April-1 | Site News
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
New Skateparks Added & Coming
Added Recently
Skatepark Photo sessions being planned
Skateparktour.ca will be taking some road trips this season to take photos for virtual tours of more skateparks. Planned trips currently include:
- Southern Alberta
- Lethbridge, SLP and the new skatepark
- Taber
- Greater Edmonton
- Edmonton skateparks
- As many Edmonton area skateparks as possible
- BC Lower Mainland
- Surrey, New West, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Burnaby
- Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver
- Vancouver Island
2018-November-19 | Skateboarding
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.
2018-September-15 | Site News
Grande Prairie Skatepark & Clairmont Skatepark Added
Our friends at Edmonton’s Castle Downs Coffee Crew took a road trip north and shared pics from the Clairmont Skatepark and the NEW Muskoseppi Skatepark in Grande Prairie. This brings Skateparktour.ca to 175 skateparks in 5 provinces!
Muskoseepi skatepark Grande Prairie
The bowl at the Clairmont AB Skatepark!
2018-July-12 | Site News
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.
2018-June-9 | Camps & Lessons
Coaching for all ages, weekdays from 8am-1pm.
Drop in – no registration required
Details: On the Facebook Page
2018-May-8 | Camps & Lessons, Scooters, Skateboarding
Unit #140, 241 Portage Close, Sherwood Park, AB 780-416-1133
- Camp ls limited to 12 participants
- Available for ages 6 to 14 years
- Camps include a full day of supervised activities
2018-April-30 | Camps & Lessons, Skateboarding
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!
Thanks to our sponsors The Summit Center, THE BOARDING HOUSE, and Tim Hortons!
2018-March-28 | Site News
The new homepage on a mobile phone, showing the interactive map!
After a long planning process and hours of transferring skatepark information from the old site, the new Skateparktour.ca is live for all to see an use! There is still almost 100 skateparks yet to be transferred, but they will come in the next few weeks. It is time for a new look and improved functionality!
The first two generations of skateparktour.ca was developed using WYSIWYG editors, Adobe Go LIve then Dreamweaver. About 6 years ago the site move to the Joomla CMS, which brought a new level of technical sophistication to skateparktour, but with the growth in the use of mobile devices, it was time for the Joomla site to be replaced.
This brings us to the end of March 2018 and the unveiling of the new WordPress version of skateparktour.ca! The site uses Divi, a responsive theme that adjusts the way skateparktour is displayed depending on the device bring used to view it. The most important design features include:
- The use of facets to narrow the search for skateparks based on your criteria
- the ability to search using an interactive map or a list
- Responsive display of the virtual tours and photo tours. No more extending beyond the device!
- Readable text
- More easily read and utilized menus for site navigation
Screen shot of the old site on a mobile phone.
All of these features mean skateparktour.ca will be a more effective tool to find skateparks near where you live and where you are traveling. More features are planned, and we’re open to your suggestions and feedback, so don’t hesitate to contact skateparktour.ca!
Now if the snow would just go away, we can all get into our skateparks and have a great time in 2018!
2017-September-9 | Site News
It’s back to the future for Skateparktour.ca as virtual tours return to skateparktour.ca after an absence of a few years!
When Skateparktour.ca first went live back in 2006 visitors were able to explore the skateparks using virtual tours created using Apple’s ground breaking QuicktimeVR. The interactive nature of QuicktimeVR let people explore skateparks in an immersive tour, almost as if they were there in person standing on the spot. As technology advanced, QuicktimeVR was left behind and eventually stopped working and Skateparktour.ca had to switch to slide shows to showcase Canada’s skateparks. Thanks to the development of affordable spherical cameras and HTML5, virtual tours are back on Skateparktour.ca, and they are bigger, better, and more immersive than ever before!
Here’s a sample: Chuck Bailey Skatepark in Surrey BC
Using the VR Tour
The new virtual tours come with a set of controls you can use to explore the skatepark. On phones and devices, gestures also work, and you can look around the skatepark by moving your phone too! Clicking/tapping on icons in the tour will take you to that location in the skatepark.
Conversion will take time!
Converting all of the parks to virtual tours will take time because the Skateparktour team is very small and has a limited travel budget. So far 26 (almost 10%) of skateparks have had virtual tours created so far. Here is the list:
BC 360º Skatepark Tours as of September 22, 2017
- Chuck Bailey Youth Park, Surrey BC
- Cloverdale Youthpark Surrey BC
- Guildford Youth Park – Surrey BC
- Ladner Skatepark, Delta BC
- Mouat Skatepark – Abbotsford BC
- Thomas Haney Youthpark, Maple Ridge BC
- Penzer Pump Track
- Queensborough All Wheel Park, New Westminster BC
- Sidney Skatepark, Sidney BC
- Vic West Skatepark – Victoria BC
Alberta 360º Skatepark Tours as of September 22, 2017
- Blackfalds Optimists All Wheel Park, Blackfalds AB
- Carstairs Regional Skatepark, Carstairs AB
- CKE Skatespot, Calgary AB
- Crossfield Skatepark, Crossfield AB
- Lacombe Skatepark, Lacombe AB
- Legacy Skatepark , Langdon AB
- McKernan Skate spot, Edmonton AB
- Midnapore Skatepark, Calgary AB
- New Brighton Skatepark – Calgary AB
- Town of Olds Skatepark – Olds AB
- Hamilton\’s Skatepark, Ponoka AB
- Red Deer Rotary Skatepark, Red Deer AB
- Rimbey Skatepark, Rimbey AB
- Southwood Skatepark, Calgary AB
- Sylvan Lake Optimist Action Sports Zone, Sylvan Lake AB
- Wetaskiwin Skatepark, Wetaskiwin AB
