Jane Emerick
Special to The Chief
Brennan Park Recreation Centre hosted some talented skateboarders over the weekend.
The Karma and Kaos skate camp gave Squamish youth the opportunity to show that talent, said District of Squamish, recreation program coordinator, Marne Bourbonnais.
The three-day event included a skate competition, hair design contest, bands and prizes. Although the nice weather saw a smaller turnout for the skateboarding portion of the event, Bourbonnais still considered the weekend a success and said about 70 kids showed up to see bands like Hack Saw, Steal Harmony and Genocide perform.
"Events like this promote youth appreciation," she said. "It gives kids the chance to show their talents."
Suzanne Thoms at the Squamish Youth Resource Centre echoed that and said the event was important for allowing young people to illustrate their skills.
"It is a great opportunity for them to perform in front of their peers" she said. "They work so hard and it is nice to have a chance to showcase that."
She also said it provided a positive social event for youths.
The event was the second of its nature to take place at Brennan Park and Bourbonnais said she is hoping to do more in the future. "It's fun, it's the one time of year kids can actually skate in here," she said. "We want to do more for the alternative youth culture in Squamish."
Coordinated by the District of Squamish and the Squamish Youth Resource Centre, the skate competition had four parts.
The highest ollie (a skateboard jump trick) was by Gurdip Bering, who ollied over four, stacked skateboards. Phoenix Mossey was the winner of doing the most kick flips in a row, at 25 repetitions. The longest manual was won by Omar Salazar and the best two-minute free run was won by Josh Ainscough.
Several t-shirts were donated for the event from Squamish's newest skate shop in the Garibaldi Highlands, Stuntwood. Bourbonnais is planning to do a similar event next fall when the weather is poor and the youth can't skate outside.
