The skateboarding community will be celebrating its history in late-summer, while dealing with the challenges of the present, at its Queen's Park facility.
This marks the 25th anniversary of the skate park and Barrie Skateboard Association (BSA) president Cory Henderson says there’s something worth celebrating for the 75 to 100 people who use the ramps, slopes, rails and barriers every week.
“I think it’s important because it’s kind of that multi-generational piece of infrastructure in the city,” he said. “It was the community that came together to build it.
“You’ve got to put yourself back then, when skateboarding was seen as a fad sport at the time," Henderson added.
Henderson said the capital costs to build the skate-park structure were fund-raised, although it is on city land.
The 25th anniversary of the Barrie skateboard park’s opening will be celebrated Saturday, Sept. 21, with a rain date of Sept. 28, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Queen's Park skateboard facility, located behind the Barrie Armoury.
But there’s more going on at the skate park than just boarding, in-line skating and BMX riding.
“It’s being used as a hangout for people who really shouldn’t be hanging around there, causing trouble,” Henderson said. “It’s a little intimidating. A lot of parents don’t want to bring their kids down because of this.
“We’re working with Barrie police right now, trying to get some more patrols. They have the bike cops out there right now, they kind of roll by, every so often," he added.
Peter Leon, communications co-ordinator with the Barrie Police Service, said its community safety and well-being unit provides high visibility policing and engages in community interaction in the downtown and surrounding area, which includes Queen's Park and specifically the area around the skate park.
“I am not aware of any specific concerns with the skate park,” he said. “The request may have come now that school is out for the summer, and the children in the area will be utilizing the skate park more regularly than they did before, given that it is summer and they are on vacation.”
“We’re trying to bring it back to life, trying to push that stuff away from it,” Henderson said of any trouble at the skate park. “It kind of keeps people away who want to use it for its intended purpose there. They’re unfortunate social issues. We can’t solve those problems.”
Barrie’s homeless have long had a presence in Queen's Park, and there are some tents as well.
At the June 19 financial and responsible governance committee meeting, city councillors heard a presentation from the Barrie Skateboard Association about the 25th anniversary of the Queen’s Park skate park — to include open skates and food trucks.
The association asked for $10,000 from the city, for temporary stages and fences, tents, power generation, audio equipment, food and beverages.
But Henderson says the association should be able to fund-raise most of that money, but could use funding for its Learn to Skate program, which takes place Sunday mornings.
“There are free lessons. We have about 30 kids every Sunday and we teach them how to skateboard, get them into the sport,” he said of the program, which was started by Dan Bokma of Souldiers skate shop on nearby Toronto Street.
“We kind of have all our ducks in a row for Learn to Skate; we just need the money to do it,” said Henderson.
He said the BSA has applied for $10,000 through the city’s 2024 recreation and sport community grant, which provides funding to enhance access to recreation and sport opportunities in Barrie.
Organizations can apply for funding in two categories: programming to support new or innovative recreation and sport opportunities, or capital improvement projects.
The BSA is an incorporated not-for-profit organization, representing approximately 100 skateboarders in Barrie, has a board of directors with six members and has existed since Jan. 1, 2024, Henderson said.
