We’ve just joined Instagram and to celebrate, we’re giving away a custom Artschool Skateboards Reuben and the Dark deck!
Reuben Bullock is in town for a Thursday night performance at Calgary Folk Music Festival and was kind enough to donate this deck to us.
Check out the contest details on Instagram by clicking below:
On June 29th, Calgary city council voted on Councillor Woolley’s notice of motion to amend the law which prohibits ramps in Calgary.
You can read the meeting minutes here but we’ll summarize how it went:
The motion was moved by Councillor Woolley and seconded by Councillor Carra. Voting went like this:
FOR: B. Pincott, J. Stevenson, W. Sutherland, E. Woolley, G-C. Carra, D. Farrell, R. Jones, S. Keating, N. Nenshi
AGAINST: J. Magliocca, R. Pootmans, A. Chabot, S. Chu, P. Demong
This means the motion was carried and the City will now take a look at changing the bylaw. Expect more news to come. If we hope to ride ramps in our own backyards like the one below, we’ll need support. Please contact your councillor and community association to let them know why it’s important to have a ramp on your property. The way the law is written, it doesn’t just ban mini-ramps. It also applies to rails, grind boxes, quarter pipes, launch ramps, and basically anything you can skate on. The bylaw wording defines SKATEBOARD RAMP as “a structure that is used to provide a surface upon which an individual may use or operate a skateboard”.
The City of Calgary has updated their Skatepark Development website.
First, as you probably already know, there will be no skatepark in Edgemont. Thanks to everyone who worked at trying to keep this park alive.
Second, Bowness skatepark is on hold. We’re looking into the reasons why and what can be done about it and we’ll update you on any developments.
Third, PCL has been officially awarded construction of Southwood and Huntington Hills skateparks. Work on these parks will begin in August, with estimated completion in October 2015.
Huntington Hills 3D Concept
Southwood 3D Concept
Last, you probably know and maybe have seen the construction at CKE. It’s scheduled to be complete in September of this year.
CKE skatepark construction – July 2015
There’s a skate competition at the Langdon skatepark this Saturday, July 18th. Click the poster for more info:
It appears the saga that has become the Edgemont Skatepark is at an end.
The previous decision to re-visit the skatepark discussion in the fall was overturned soon after the community association’s annual general meeting. The newly elected Edgemont Community Association board has passed a motion permanently killing the idea of a skatepark in John Laurie Park. They’ve also stipulated that there be a three year “cooling off” period before discussion of another location for a skatepark in Edgemont.
There’s nothing we can do to change this, barring the Edgemont Community Association suddenly changing their mind. You could respectfully reach out to them and let them know why their decision to stop the skatepark is wrong. You could also contact Councillor Sean Chu, who stood by the residents against the skatepark.
The City of Calgary Mobile skatepark will be in Edgemont from July 21-August 6.
Last week, the Calgary Herald Editorial Board published an opinion piece titled, “Don’t Ramp it Up”, which grossly attacked skateboarding and made some extremely poor comparisons. It echoed their previous crack at skateboarding and skateparks, “Edgemont Skateboard Park Would Be Hell On Wheels”.
The CASE board sent a response directly to the Calgary Herald. To date, they have not printed it, nor have they acknowledged it. Here it is in its entirety:
Not every Calgarian is going to quietly sip Chardonnay in their backyard on a warm summer’s night. Your editorial suggests that kids and teenagers should stay inside. To compare the ramp bylaw to not allowing chicken farming within city limits is by far the furthest anyone has ever reached to disparage skateboarding in the decades that skateboarding has been around. Your issue is with the serenity of the back yard experience. Maybe you should consider living in the countryside – hopefully in an area where there is a bylaw that makes sure cows don’t moo after dark. Cars, motorcycles, residential construction, air conditioners, trampolines, airplanes, family get togethers– you name it, are noisy and what occurs in living in a city.
Simply put, no other city in North America has a ramp bylaw. Noise bylaws and other resources available to the citizens of Calgary are robust enough to restrict the issues noted in your editorial. Those same bylaws are used to make those teens you refer to, not play on their trampoline after 10:30 pm.
Based on most of the articles written by your staff, including those regarding the Edgemont Skatepark, there is clearly a negative bias to skateboarding at the Calgary Herald. It seems to be that regardless of the issue, skateboarding is the scapegoat. In one of the Herald’s opinion pieces skateboarding was compared to Chinese water torture. Studies regarding noise pollution are cited but there is no reference to studies on how today’s youth do not get as much physical activity as they should. A 2015 ParticipACTION report states that only 9% of youths aged 5 – 17 get the recommended amount of physical activity per day with skateboarding referenced in the report. For an editor of a large newspaper to weigh in and compare skate boarding to back yard chicken farming reinforces this bias. One would hope that as an editor you would have a more reasoned and fair minded approach to your comments.
There are a great deal of positive outcomes to allowing kids (and adults) to play. The City of Calgary is not only unique in having a ramp bylaw, they are very forward thinking about recreation and its benefit to Calgarians. The City’s Skateboard Amenities Strategy and the support of the City’s administration and Council of this sport and all others is tremendous. Comments like yours continue to reinforce a negative sentiment to skateboarding and are not appreciated.