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VIDEO: Ucluelet celebrates skatepark upgrade on Saturday

“This is for the kids so it’s great to see them out enjoying it.”
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Ucluelet locals Takaya Fuller, Ava Duncan, Calla Hurwitz beamed under Saturday’s sunshine while celebrating the reopening of their community’s skatepark. (Photo - Andrew Bailey)

Ucluelet locals celebrated the reopening of their skate park under a scorching summer sun on Saturday.

The district unveiled the park’s new, roughly $115,000, street-style addition last week and Saturday’s event saw clinics for kids and open skate sessions held throughout the day leading up to a free all-ages concert by local band Streetsweeper, scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m.

Municipal councillor Randy Oliwa was thrilled to see an impressive crowd of local youth attend the afternoon’s skate.

“The reason we’re excited about this is because it was a prior commitment of the municipality to get this phase 2 done and we’re standing here today with completion,” he said. “And, look at the turnout. This is phenomenal.”

He added the skatepark addition was a key step towards building a healthy community for young families to thrive in.

“This leads to that,” he said. “It’s a great day for the community and we encourage everybody to come on out and enjoy our newest amenity.”

Local skateboarder Zachary Belisle was stoked to see so many new skaters at the park.

“I’m having an awesome time because it’s a nice sunny day and there’s so many young kids that have never skated before but are super excited to try,” he said. “We’re learning new tricks and people are helping each other so that’s really cool to see.

Brandon Lytle of the Ukee Sports and Social Club helped put the event together and said it was important to celebrate the positive steps Ucluelet is taking to boost its recreational opportunities.

“They’re putting a lot of money into upgrading the skatepark and making great things for the community right now,” he said. “I’ve talked to a lot of the older locals who grew up here and they didn’t have a lot of this stuff here growing up so they’re stoked to have it here for their kids.”

The event was held as a fundraiser for another addition to the park, which would likely be a beginner-friendly flatland section, according to Ucluelet Skatepark Committee member David McPherson.

“This is for the kids so it’s great to see them out enjoying it,” said “There’s a great culture in Ukee of surfing and skating…We’d like to keep that momentum going.”



Andrew Bailey

About the Author: Andrew Bailey

I arrived at the Westerly News as a reporter and photographer in January 2012.
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