The group is revamping its indoor skatepark and hopes to start the program some time this August for first-time skaters.
“Every year we try to add a new piece to the indoor site, just to keep the interest and kids getting to their own next level,” said Jim Dobbin, president of Trick Lane. “Right now we have one unit being finished in the corner for the beginner skate program.”
He said that 30 skaters have already signed up for the program, which will be run by youth directors once per week for two hours. It will teach kids all about safety, how to put on equipment properly, understanding how a board works, and how to start skateboarding correctly.
“Parents have to come to the facility to see what is here first and where we are going with the program and what our volunteers are doing with regards to supervision,” said Dobbin. “After the parents come here and see what the indoor program is all about, any age can sign up.”
A presentation was made to students at the end of the school year and registration forms were handed out, he noted, which can also be picked up at the Labrador City Department of Recreation and from youth directors.
For Cody McLean and Aaron Power, skateboarding is all about fun and both of them would like to see a new skatepark in Labrador City.
“I love the fun of it,” said McLean, “going around town, skateboarding with your friends and having a good time. It’s an important part of the town because a lot of kids do it.”
“I do it whole year round,” said Power, “but skating the same thing for the past couple of years is getting kind of old.”
A survey was done recently for all recreation facilities in Labrador West, noted Dobbin, and Trick Lane put forth a plan for an outdoor skateboarding facility with access to an indoor facility over the winter months.
According to Dobbin, the Town is looking at the old track and field site by the Labrador City arena for the new indoor-outdoor skatepark.
He noted the final results of the survey won’t be out until September and hopes Trick Lane is on top of the list.
“I would like to see the concrete poured in summer of 2011, that would be my goal,” he said.
Like any group, he added, skateboarders are looking for their own identity and space where they can learn and become better at what they do.
“There’s young families that are moving in here from all over Canada and their youth are skateboarders coming from facilities that are much more developed than what we have here,” he noted.
Sometimes skateboarders are seen in a negative light by businesses and facilities in town, but, he said, skateboarders aren’t looking to damage anything.
He believes a new skatepark would keep kids from hanging around stairs, railways, and ramps that are part of businesses.
Also, not only skateboarders, but other kids and bikers hang out in the same places, so it’s more like a family, said Dobbin, that’s looking for a place to belong.
As in previous years, he added, Trick Lane will be hosting an Indoor Skateboarding Challenge sometime in September when students are back from vacation. He anticipates it will attract plenty of local skateboarders, as well as those from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Churchill Falls, and Fermont.
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