By Parker McKenzie
The Cardinia Shire community was finally able to celebrate the opening of the Gembrook Skate Park on Thursday 29 September, after its official reopening in 2019.
After being postponed and cancelled because of Covid, Cardinia Shire council held a “skate and scoot jam” celebrating under clear skies and sunshine, featuring competitions, a free BBQ and prizes for young people to get involved.
Coordinator for parks planning at Cardinia Council Sam Cross said they first tried to have a community opening when the upgrades were finished, but major weather events and Covid stopped it from happening.
“It’s been almost three years in the making, it’s awesome to see how busy it is here,” she said.
“It’s really great to have organisations like the YMCA here and involved in running the event for us.”
The skate park received a $1.5 million upgrade co-funded by the council, and state and federal governments, which included an adventure playground, shelters, barbeques, a multi-use sports court and an upgrade to the skate park itself.
YMCA Action Sports skate coach Mark Khalil said events and investment in skateparks help create a good environment for young people to grow.
“If there is a safe place for kids to go and have fun, and it’s somewhere like they where everyone is skating, it’s just going to keep kids out of trouble to begin with,” he said.
“It’s really important that the government invests and does more because the community it builds is priceless.”
Action Sports runs skateboarding lessons and workshops alongside competitions and events in partnership with local councils.
Mr Khalil said it has been “really positive to see this many people on scooters, bikes and skateboards.”
“Skateboarding has always been a bit of an outcast and it’s not really seen as a traditional sport,” he said.
“Now that it’s in the Olympics, there’s been way more acceptance. The tides have changed.”
The event was well attended by local children, who competed for prizes in competitions ran by the YMCA.
Bernard Tyers, whose son got involved in the skate competitions, said investment in facilities like skate parks is important to the community.
“We travelled down from Pakenham for this, we saw it a month ago and decided to register for it. He’s been pumped to get involved and it’s good to be here,” he said.
“It’s very important to have access to stuff like this and it allows parents to have a break.”
The Skate Park is located at 4 Gembrook Road, Gembrook.
