Bunbury's world-class skate park opens

30/10/99
Youth Minister Mike Board has officially opened Western Australia's latest world-class skate park, a $125,000 facility in Bunbury.
The opening of the Queens Gardens Skate Park in Blair Street brings to fruition a two-year campaign by young people in the district for such a facility.
In his official opening address, the Minister told the young people of Bunbury that they should be very proud of their achievement and that the whole community should salute their enthusiasm and perseverance.
"The whole community benefits when a project for young people comes to a successful completion like this," Mr Board said. "Not only are the recreational and safety aspects important but the pride and satisfaction gained by the young participants will stay with them for life.
"Every time the community is offered an opportunity to value the positive contributions made by young people, the community grows closer and stronger."
The Bunbury skate park was funded partly by a $10,000 grant from the Office of Youth Affairs. More than $300,000 has now been allocated to 33 skate park projects across the State under the Skate Parks Grant Scheme.
The Queens Garden skate project has been driven by the local Youth Advisory Council (YAC), a group of young people working with the City of Bunbury to co-ordinate the delivery of youth services to the area.
Bunbury was the first YAC to become operational in Western Australia and there are now 79 YACs operating across the State.
In 1997, following a 450-signature petition to council, the YAC undertook a survey of local young people and gathered more than 1300 responses. Almost a thousand of the responses called for a central location for the park.
The Bunbury Skateboarding Association was formed to put forward ideas for the design, management and maintenance of the skate park.
The skate park includes passive and active skating areas to cater for all levels of wheeled expertise and has resulted in a world-class, low maintenance facility.
The design includes a variety of ramps, a half-pipe, a quarter-pipe, a wedge ramp, a fun box and a skid rail - all are built into the design to provide for maximum enjoyment and competition.
The Minister said he expected to see a strong rivalry develop between Bunbury skaters and those from other centres in the South-West who were honing their skills at other parks established recently.
"I know that there are some very tough games played in other sports at a regional level and I expect the competition between Bunbury's best skaters and their rivals from Margaret River, Nannup and other areas will be intense," Mr Board said.
"These are all world-class facilities, so I will be very surprised if at least one South-West skater doesn't rise to national or international prominence over the next few years.
"But whatever your level of ability, on in-line skates or on a skateboard, you are all involved in a positive and healthy sport. I wish you all safe and satisfying skating."
Media contact: Jody Robb 9222 9211