With the help of this year’s Neighbourhood Small Grant, we were able to host another great skate contest that brought together skateboarders from around the Langley area. We held the contest at the Aldergrove skateboard park, which was newly renovated last year.
As my wife and I were expecting our first baby two months after the event was planned to take place, we were really grateful to see friends, family, and members of the skateboard community come together to help us plan, set up, take down, sponsor and host the event.
One big improvement this year was the ability to rent two portable toilets for competitors, viewers and supporters. The facility had no accessible washrooms, which was a challenge last year. We will definitely be renting a portable washroom again next year at our skateboard event, unless we see some infrastructure added to the park that includes washrooms.
Logistically, skateboard competitions can be difficult to organize, get sponsors for, secure a space, get township approval, and have judges and prizes, and to host, but we were able to overcome all those odds with help from our friends and different members of Langley’s skateboard community.
One skateboard shop came through with their sound system to provide a way for us to play music, and use microphones for judging and announcing the contest. Another skateboard shop offered their staff to help judge, make hotdogs, set up, and donated prizes as well!
Another cool thing that happened this year was that a Langley Township council member showed up to the event to check it out, and talk to us who organized it about an upcoming opportunity for skateboarders to sit in on town council meetings to advocate for our local skateboard parks to be improved, and to have covers potentially built over existing spaces, which would allow people to skate during our long rainy season!
We hope to see more skateboard events, and improvements to skateboard infrastructure happen in our city as a result of the positive impact our event had on the skateboard community!
