Vancouver Skateboard Coalition

Commissioner Blyth proudly holds up the proclamation after reading it aloud at last night’s Park Board meeting. MEDIA: High Res photo available at end of story.

Last night I popped by the Vancouver Park Board office on my way down to 2^nd Beach for a swim. I hung out long enough to watch Sarah read the proclamation in (on behalf of Mayor Gregor), officially declaring it ‘Skateboard Week in Vancouver’. It’s quite rare to have the Park Board meeting stop, and make such a declaration. So that’s pretty awesome.

Here’s the official proclamation:

Proclamation for Skateboard Week and Go Skateboard Day

WHEREAS skateboarding is embraced by tens of thousands of young Vancouverites and is an internationally recognized sport that continues to grow around the world.

WHEREAS over the past 10 years, Vancouver has created six new internationally known skateboard parks and relaxed the existing ban of skateboarding in the streets, thereby reinforcing the city’s status as the skateboarding capital of the Canada.

WHEREAS the City of Vancouver has a long history of supporting skateboarding stretching back to Expo 86 where the Transworld Skateboard Championships were held as well as events like the Slam City Jam, which is now part of the World Cup of Skateboarding.

WHEREAS this year, 15 professional skateboarders will be joining over 5,000 young and old skateboarders around the city to celebrate their passion during the annual Go Skateboard Day, which will feature events throughout the city.

NOW THEREFORE, I, Mayor Gregor Robertson, on behalf of the City of Vancouver, do hereby proclaim June 15 — 22, 2009 as “Skateboard Week” to recognize the importance of this sport in our city. I further proclaim June 21, 2009 as “Go Skateboard Day”.

Now, as far as proclamations go… Sure, they sound a little hokey, but they don’t just hand them out for anything. Sarah put some work in on this one, and with special nods to Jay Balmer & former Mayor Larry Campbell for sure, as KK noted in the comments on the last post. While this may seem to be a small thing, it definitely cements (no pun intended) our viability as a legitimate sport and group in the city. Good job to all.

MEDIA: High Res link: Feel free to use this high res photo of Commissioner Blyth holding up the Skateboard Week Proclamation.

Youth Week is happening this week in Vancouver (May 1 – 7) and the VSBC is putting on an event this Saturday down at the Plaza. There’s going to be a demo by the Kitsch Skateboards and Antisocial Skateboard Shop teams as well as music, BBQ, booths and prizes for everybody!

The event is this Saturday, May 9^th from 1pm-4pm at the Downtown Skateboard Plaza (at Union and Quebec Streets), and the event is on RAIN OR SHINE.

This is a youth focused event, so all are invited to this non-competitive, family friendly skateboard event. Some Vancouver Park Board Commissioners and City Councillors are coming out to show their support for the youth of Vancouver at the plaza – we hope to see you there too.

For more info about youth week, check out there site at bcyouthweek.com.

This event is brought to you with the help of The Vancouver Skateboard Coalition, Antisocial, Boulevard Skateboard Shop, Kitsch Skateboards, City of Vancouver Youth Outreach Team, the City of Vancouver, Workplace BC, Douglas Park Community Centre and Riley Park Community Centre.

Frank Daniello posted an “In The Park” article on the Push.ca website about the history of the Leeside tunnel, and it’s ramped up progress in the past year. He talks to VSBC’s good friend Seb Templer who gives us the good word on what’s happening down in the tunnel, and gives special nods out to VSBC President Michelle Pezel for her unwavering commitment to Leeside. The coalition has been working with the City of Vancouver and Park Board to get the tunnel officially recognized as a memorial to Lee Matasi since his untimely death.

You can read the article here.

You have to read this Globe and Mail story to believe it.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080514.wskateboard0514/BNStory/National/home?cid=al_gam_mostview

Lately there’s been a lot of talk and some misinformation circulating about the Vancouver Skateboard Coalition and our stance in Vancouver’s municipal politics, in particular, our relation to Al DeGenova. If you care about things like that, read on… Continue reading “The Vancouver Skateboard Coalition and Vancouver’s Mayoral Race” »

Looks like trouble’s a brewin’ over at the Park Board. Some staff members aren’t happy, and now we aren’t either. Why? Because on Monday (March 10^th) at 7pm, the Park Board is holding a meeting to approve the current draft of the 2009 – 2011 Capital Plan… a plan that doesn’t include any funding for a new skatepark (look at page 3 near the bottom). What happened to the Park Board’s Skateboard Strategy?

When the Skateboard Strategy was approved in October 2005, Quilchena (Vancouver’s newest skatepark) had already been built. In 2006, when the Park Board told us that they were “leaning towards” bulldozing the bowls at China Creek, we were repeatedly assured that China Creek would be quickly replaced by the new skateparks that the Skateboard Strategy would be bringing to the city. And now they’re proposing a budget that completely cuts us out until 2011?

Want to do your part to help out Vancouver’s skateboard scene? Of course you do. So come to the Park Board Administration Office (2099 Beach Drive) on Monday, March 10^th at 7:00pm. You also want to personally tell them what you think, so register to speak by calling the Board Secretary at 604−257−8451 before noon on the day of the meeting. The Vancouver Skateboard Coalition will be there and we’d love to see as many of you out as possible.

It may be a rumour, I just don’t know, but perhaps, just perhaps it may be newsworthy. I’ve heard it on the grapevine that if you turn up at Whistler dressed up as Old Saint Nick that you might get comped a free pass to shralp the mountain. Oh crap, I typed “whistler santa” into Google and there was an article on the Whistlerblackcomb.com site about it all. It’s true. Sorry for the suspense there. Get your free ride in and dress like Santa, its simple as that

My letter and Ms Kim’s are in today’s issue, as well as a letter from a neighbour, Hilda Nanning, who still needs to be won over. As for Hilda’s concerns about a skatepark being so close to a daycare, being a China Creek neighbour myself, I’m more worried about the junkies that shoot up in the daycare’s playground, then about some toddler getting stoked watching Chris doing a blunt fakie.