Beloved skate park's survival depends on community engagement

A beloved skate park in East Vancouver, built up by the community, will require some advocacy if it's to remain a fixture in the community. 

The skate park, which is located on the old tennis courts of the Britannia Community Centre, organically came together over the past few years, beginning in 2016. 

Cynthia Low, the executive director of the Britannia Community Services Centre, said the park which features many handmade curbs, ramps, and kickers, has been built up gradually.

"The tennis courts [had] fallen into disrepair and tennis may not be as popular as it used to be. So there was a self-organizing group that started using the skate park for skating," said Low.

"[The year] 2016 was when it sort of started being used more regularly; 2018 was a time it became known as the skate park."

Today, it is a popular spot for all ages, demographics and skill levels. 

Rose Archie, long-time skateboarder and president of and co-founder of Nation Skate Youth, says the handmade aspect is the best part about this skate park. 

"Britannia courts is so important because it's DIY. We're doing it ourselves. We're making the ramps. It's all a community project. It's a space that we made safe for everybody to enjoy," Archie said. 

The park also played host to "Stop, Drop and Roll," a skate contest for women, trans, non-binary, and/or gender non-conforming skaters which Archie co-founded.

Skateboarding — which has a relatively small barrier to entry: a board — has enjoyed a great deal of popularity in recent years. It even debuted to fanfare as an Olympic sport at the Tokyo Olympics.

Archie says she's seen an uptick in skateboarders during the pandemic. 

"Skateboarding is a healing activity that you can do on your own," she said. "You're pushing yourself to learn tricks and to maintain [your skills]."

The park has even caught the eye of the professionals. Fabiana Delfino, a professional skateboarder from Boca Raton, Florida who now lives in Vancouver, says it's her favourite skate park in Vancouver.

"Young people come in all the time," Delfino said. "It's a really great community." 

But the future of this park's survival depends on the community's advocacy.

In 2018, Vancouver city council approved a renewal of the centre, but those master plans don't include a skate park.  The focus is on the replacement of the pool and rink.

Low says it's important that the community speak up at an upcoming engagement session about how to integrate a skate park into the renewal.

"As institutions, we may not always understand what the needs of the community are but as long as we try to support those aspirations, I think that's important," she said. 

The Britannia Community Centre will be hosting public engagement events on Sept. 16 and one specifically with the skate community that will soon be announced.