For those of you who shudder at the thought of going near the Barrie Skatepark, it might be time to revisit your perspective of the park.
The little concrete jungle near the Barrie Armoury has been a staple of the community for over 20 years and, for some, it has been a home away from home.
Dan Bokma is the manager of Souldiers Barrie, a skate shop located at 67 Toronto St. Bokma has spent his whole 33 years in Barrie and says the majority of that time was spent at the skatepark at the southeast corner of Queen's Park in downtown Barrie.
“I spent every single day there for, I would say, 15 to 16 years,” said Bokma. “I still skate when I can, but less and less as it hurts a lot more these days than it used to. But it’s definitely the healthiest aspect of my life.”
The Barrie skatepark boasts an interesting past. A lot of the funding to create it was raised by some people who ran a skateboard deck company in 1999.
“The funding was raised by a few local skate legends in the late 1990s and, in the early years, it was one of the bigger parks in the area,” said Bokma. “Obviously every town has a skatepark now, but back then it was a pretty big deal. Things were good there for a while, we had contests and competitions ... it was full of life and all-around happiness.”
Then the dark period came.
From approximately 2010 to 2013, there was a high crime rate and rowdiness associated with the park - an association that Bokma felt was unfair and unwarranted.
"To be honest, and I’m not saying it was completely outsiders, but I was there all the time and I’d say it was 80 to 90 per cent people who had no business being there," Bokma explained. "That stigma really stained skateboarding in this town and anyone from that era will remember the dark time at the skatepark, no matter how short-lived it was.”
To battle this image, many skaters would give lessons to anyone who wanted to learn. They also chose days to go clean the surrounding areas.
One of the main issues that plagued the park was a lack of proper lighting, and it was something Bokma feels the city mismanaged.
“Lights went out in the park in around 2010," he recalled. "We petitioned the city and went to city council meetings to have it fixed, which it eventually happened, I think, in 2017,” said Bokma.
“The lights they put in are very dim, nothing you could skate in and barely lit up the park. Funny enough, the argument we heard for a long time was they don’t want to put lights in the park and attract the dangerous element," Bokma explained.
"Most of us argue though that the lights are what kept the skaters in there and the wrong people out. We’d come in and find broken bottles and garbage in there, all because the park isn’t lit up. It’s dark and fenced off, so its easy for some people who don’t want to be seen to stay hidden," he said.
Many people have a bad image of skaters that isn't based in fact, argued Bokma.
“We skate all over because it’s fun and it is a passion that we were able to afford when we younger,” said Bokma. “Hockey is so expensive and when it comes to where we can skate, no one ever complains about the 30-plus baseball diamonds in town.
"But one kid goes down the street on a skateboard and people get upset. It's frustrating, and I know it's not everyone, but I don’t get it," said Bokma with frustration.
"Skateboarding is one of the most welcoming and inclusive sports around and everyone just wants to get along. It's people on the outside who are seeing it as a bad thing.”
Bokma invites people who don’t understand the skate culture to come down to the park when a few kids and adults are using it and see the happy energy that prevails.
“It is a fun thing and a fun place,” said Bokma. "I would love to see it get as busy as it was when I was younger, everyone was so happy and supportive of each other.
"With a little understanding and maybe some good lighting, we can get it back there again.”
