Tasmanian skateboarders pushing for council to upgrade Hobart’s premier skate venue

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Tasmanian skateboarders say it's time to repair and upgrade Hobart's premier skate venue. With over a thousand people signing a petition calling for an overhaul of the North Hobart Skate Park. A local skating organisation says improving the facility would help young Tasmanian skaters reach an international level.

Transcript

00:00Skating came naturally to 15-year-old Zaley Jackson.

00:06For five years, she's worked hard to hone her skills.

00:10But there's a barrier to her big aspirations.

00:13It would be pretty cool to become a professional skateboarder,

00:16but it's a bit hard down here in Tassie to get that good of a level.

00:22The premier skate park in Hobart, the closest city to where Zaley lives,

00:27is deteriorating, and it doesn't have advanced features like high vert ramps.

00:32The Hobart skate community has started a petition calling for upgrades

00:36to restore the North Hobart skate park to the skating mecca it was

00:40when it first opened in 2002.

00:43Once upon a time, it was a pretty world-class facility,

00:47but as the years have gone on, it's fallen into a state of disrepair.

00:53Harrison Moll is the co-organiser of the petition.

00:56He envisions a park like on the mainland,

00:59with more diverse features, better accessibility,

01:02and a fix for dangerous floors.

01:04So this crack is, yeah, obviously large enough to be quite hazardous

01:08and can catch wheels.

01:12Paul McMacken runs She Shreds,

01:14which encourages female skaters like Zaley.

01:17He helped organise the petition

01:18and says some of his students have competed nationally,

01:21but gave up because they couldn't train properly.

01:24I think they need to understand now that it's an Olympic sport.

01:27We've got skateboarders down here that could be competing on the world stage,

01:32they just don't have the facilities.

01:34The skate community is largely supportive of improving the condition of the skate park,

01:38but it can be a touchy subject.

01:40For many, there's nostalgia and history in these ramps that have been their second home.

01:45What's clear is that skaters want to be properly consulted about any changes.

01:50Whether that's completely doing a complete redo or trying to preserve some of the features of the skate park

01:56that are important and are of historical relevance,

01:59and work with everybody involved to, yeah, get a better facility.

02:04The Hobart Council says it has plans to renew the skate park,

02:09but first needs to renew its lease over the land.

02:12It says in the meantime, it carries out regular inspections and repairs to ensure the park is safe.

02:17is safe.

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