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Iqaluit skate park open for business

"Call the hospital in advance," enthusiastic dad jokes

SARA MINOGUE

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Jaymi Kakee, 6, and Daniel Akavak, 7, wearing face paint after a trip to the Canada Parks Day picnic, were fearless on rollerblades.

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It's a bright, sunny day in Iqaluit but all afternoon, kids are filing out of the dark arena to grab a free hotdog and head back indoors.

Inside the Arctic Winter Games complex, about 10 kids, mostly six to eight years old, are strapping elbow and knee pads onto skinny arms, and climbing onto a skateboard, or buckling into roller-blades — some for the first time.

Red and black metal ramps, platforms and rails are laid out like an obstacle course on the arena floor, and kids are slowly coasting their way up a long, low ramp, and sliding down the other side.

Braden Jackson, 8, clomps around in a giant pair of rollerblades. He and his sister have been coming to the park "as much as they can," says dad Stephen Jackson, who's watching from the sidelines.

"Call the hospital in advance," says Koalie Attaguyuk, as he prepares to demonstrate his rollerblading skills to seven-year-old Daniel Akavak. "I tried it once eight years ago."

The Iqaluit Skate Park has been open since mid-June, but the park's organizers saved its grand opening until Saturday, July 17, when there were enough kids to show off new skills in a skateboarding and rollerblading competition.

About 30 kids showed up for the free skate session, first for kids aged five to 12, and later for kids aged 13 and up.

Iqaluit youth co-ordinator Amy Elgersma and skate park staffer Benoit Alain loaned free equipment to kids all day.

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The latter age group included Luke Wilman, 28, a municipal by-law officer who volunteered to hand out skateboards, and to show kids what to do with them.

Amy Elgersma, Iqaluit's youth co-ordinator, and Benoit Alain, staff skateboarder, also handed out equipment and enforced the number one rule: no one is allowed in the park without a full set of safety gear.

Iqaluit got its first indoor skate park at the end of last summer, when the last sea lift brought in two sets of portable ramps purchased from the municipality of Caledon, Ontario.

Elgersma did her homework before spending $60,000 on two sets of Flipside skate park gear.

A permanent municipal skateboard park can cost upwards of $500,000, and is typically built outdoors, out of concrete .

The Flipside equipment comes in two trailers, and can be set up by just two people in about 15 minutes on any paved surface. It can easily be stored in the winter, or packed up to accommodate other events in the arena, Elgersma says.

The portable gear is the result of a municipal initiative in Caledon just northeast of Toronto, which asked local skateboarders to design their own park. Caledon now uses its own traveling skate park at multiple sites, and manufactures and sells the same equipment to other municipalities.

The Iqaluit Youth Council, an elected group that includes Elgersma, purchased 14 skateboards and a pile of rollerblades for park users. Rentals cost $3 a day for a full set of equipment, or $2 if you have your own helmet, pads, skateboard or rollerblades. The youth council hopes the rentals will be a source of fundraising.

Rollerbladers can also take home a free pair of skates if they can find a pair that fits from three tables piled with donated gear.

With equipment covered, operational costs are roughly $2,000 plus one or two staff members. "Lots of skaters come and help out," Elgersma says.

Skateboarding isn't totally new to Iqaluit — Elgersma had heard of people skating around Upper Base — but the park does present a new opportunity.

Alain, who learned to skate while growing up in Montreal, says the park has already attracted about 20 regulars.

Rollerblader Michael Innualuk, 18, has mastered three new tricks in just two weeks.

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Michael Innualuk, 18, is one of them. He's new to rollerblading, but in just two weeks, he's mastered 180s, 360s and a stylish kick performed in mid-air. When he's not at his job with Nunavut Catering, he spends as much time as he can in the park.

Asked whether he has a shot at winning the contest, a sweat-soaked Innualuk doesn't hesitate: "Yes."

The Iqaluit Skate Park is open throughout August. Kids 5 to 12 can go Monday to Friday evenings from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 2 to 5 p.m..

Kids over 13 are welcome from 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; from 8 to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday; and from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday evenings. A teen skate (13 to 18) is held every Friday night from 8 to 10 p.m..

Family skates (where kids must be accompanied by at least one parent) are Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 12 to 2 p.m..

Admission is $1.50 for kids 12 and under, $2 for kids 13 to 18 and $3.75 for adults. Monthly passes are available.

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