Published on Monday, 4 April 2016 at 12:00:00 AM
More than 450 youth and residents from Paraburdoo celebrated the official opening of the new skate park, as well as the revitalised Town Centre on Saturday 2 April.
The Paraburdoo facility improvements and community celebrations were made possible through partnerships with the Shire of Ashburton, Rio Tinto, Lotterywest and the Country Local Government Fund, along with support from Tom Price Youth Support Association, Para Men’s Shed and Paraburdoo Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services.
Shire President Kerry White said it was great to see Paraburdoo busy with activity as residents enjoy the new facilities and town improvements.
“The skate park has created a valuable space for the town, with the lawn area, barbecues and adjoining playground often busy with families enjoying time together,” said Cr White. “The upgrades around the Town Centre have created a renewed sense of vitality, which is evident by the number of people who came out to participate in the celebrations.”
Consultation with the local community played a key role in the design process to ensure the new facilities and infrastructure improvements met the needs of Paraburdoo residents.
Saturday’s celebrations kicked off with workshops 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 at the skate park and Youth Centre, providing great opportunity for coaching and skill development.
In addition to the opening of the new state-of-the-art skate park facility, the community also celebrated the recent town revitalisation, which has included upgrades to the main car park, picnic gazebo’s, new shade structures, landscaping and improvements to the public toilet facilities.
Balloons, tattoos, as well as the skate park and playground, kept kids and parents busy.
Rio Tinto general manager Greater Paraburdoo Operations Gabrielle Iwanow said the Paraburdoo Skate Park is having such a positive impact in the community, creating a place where people of all ages could come together and have fun.
“Paraburdoo Skate Park really has been such a great addition to our town, involving local children throughout the design phase, and creating a well utilised place for families to get together,” Ms Iwanow said. “It has had a big impact in the town, with lots of children enjoying the new facility and time with each other.”
The skate park was designed by Convic who engaged professional skaters and landscape designers along with consultations with the local community to create a facility unique to Paraburdoo. The skate park was designed to cater to all ages and skill levels with shallow elements for the younger or beginners to the deeper ramps 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.
Lotterywest Chair, Heather Zampatti said Lotterywest was proud to support the skate park with a grant to the Shire of Ashburton. “It’s always great to see the end result of people playing our Games is fantastic community projects such as this.”
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