Published on Tuesday, 28 February 2017 at 12:00:00 AM
Onslow celebrated their new skate park, called the BHP Billiton Fishbowl, on Friday night with a free community event that saw the town’s local youth showcase many impressive tricks and skills.
Friday’s celebrations kicked off with workshops and demonstrations hosted by Freestyle Now, which saw kids of all ages riding their scooters, skateboards and BMX bikes in a mini jam session. The professional skaters from Freestyle Now mingled with local kids, providing a great opportunity for coaching and skill development.
While the skate park was completed in December and kept many kids and families occupied throughout the school holidays, Friday night provided an opportunity for the whole community to come together and watch the kids practice their newfound skills.
Shire President Kerry White said the skate park has created a valuable space for the town where people of all ages could come together and have fun.
“Having a dedicated facility for local youth to burn off energy, develop physical skills and spend time with their friends and family has had such a positive impact in the community.”
BHP Billiton Country Manager Graham Salmond was impressed by the level of consultation and engagement with the local community, resulting in the final design of the new skate park reflecting exactly what the community wanted.
“We are proud to have been able to support the Shire in delivering a fantastic facility in Onslow with significant input from the local community, including almost all of the children at the school.”
The skate park was designed and constructed by Convic, and to ensure that the community was actively involved in the project, 10 local children were selected as Ambassadors for the Skate Park development. They were actively involved in the design and planning stages of the project as well as a competition for the name and logo of the facility.
The skate park was designed to cater to all ages and skill levels with shallow elements for the younger or beginners to the free form bowl and cantilever banks for the more advanced.
Besides improving physical fitness, mental alertness, balance and coordination, skate parks offer opportunity for youth to develop important social values. They also help to build self-esteem and confidence which transfers to other areas of an individual’s life.
The BHP Billiton Fishbowl was made possible through a partnership with the Shire of Ashburton and BHP Billiton.
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