Community Issues

Flip, Twist and Ride

a Skatepark for Sai Kung?

When a young man, all of 13 years old, gave us a tip as to what would be good for the economic development of Sai Kung – we sat up and took note! 

 

Tristan Clegg, a serious and determined Sai Kung resident, filled Explore in on the Mei Foo Skate Park (opened in June 2004) and said that he and all of his friends went there as often as they could.  But – “it’s an awfully long way to go” and it would be good for us, and for the district, if there was a similar park right here.

 

The Mei Foo “Skateboard Arena” is one of the broad range of recreational facilities within Lai Chi Kok Park. The whole park was “reprovisioned” by the KCRC in cooperation with the LCSD to accommodate construction for the West Rail project. In addition to the skateboard and BMX facility, it includes gardens, courts for various sports, playgrounds, a soccer pitch, a roller skating rink and jogging trails.

 

Planning for this first government sanctioned skate park started in 2000.  Sai Kung resident, Mark Ashton, who was the engineer in charge of the project (and a skateboarder himself), brought in the experts.  Originally just slated for skateboarders, Warren Stuart (who started skateboarding in HK in the mid 80s) brought in Rex Lau; the co-owner of X-Dream, a BMX pro shop, and both offered their knowledge and experience to the project.  Mark says that the actual engineering work was relatively quick - just a couple of weeks for the design and one week for construction.  To ensure that the park was what everyone wanted they marshaled fellow hobbyists of all ages and levels to try it out before it was declared ready to open.

 

The park was actually completed by January 2003 but it took 5 months for it to open, presumably so that LCSD could get approvals from other departments and ensure adequate liability protection.  Some frustrated athletes (some of whom reportedly tried to climb the 8ft high fence to get in) rallied together that March and gathered 465 signatures, petitioning the LCSD to open the park.  It officially opened June 28, 2004. 

 

Since then, there have been various events for both skateboarders and BMXers (bringing in out of town competitors) and, when operable, the park is often at capacity.  There is a fair amount of downtime due to wet weather, however, since it is not covered. According to Ashton, downtime can be as much as 30-40%. An indoor or covered park also has the advantage of providing UV protection in the summer months.  

 

Explore has talked to a few skaterboarders and BMXers in the community who hope to reactivate the enthusiasm that saw a petition for a SK skate park drawn up last year.  It sounds like the enthusiasm wasn’t followed up by concrete action so it’s a positive sign that they (and parents in the community) are keen on the idea of investing some time into looking at the options for Sai Kung. For a public venue, interested persons would have to lobby the LCSD and wait for government approval and funds. The other option is to build it as a private, community project (which would require land and financial resources as well as time but would be operationally faster). Whichever way it is done – a committee of interested persons (parents, teens – skaters, BMXers) would be required to work through the options.

 

The explosion in the number of skate parks around the world affords a wealth of information to a local group. Guides are even available on the internet for everything from organizing volunteers to petitioning local government to design, construction and management. Regional associations have sprung up to share experiences and address issues common to all skate parks (whether under discussion or in operation).  Such issues as quality control, safety and liability are universal.  Locally a Sai Kung group has already been offered support and assistance from those involved with Mei Foo and the YMCA King’s Park Skate Park. 

 

Local BMXer Alex Hunter says there are “lots of little kids who want to go to the skate park but it’s so far away that they end up riding in Sai Kung town”.   Zach Stark, a local skateboarder, says that having a local park with ramps and rails would not only allow for more challenging skateboarding but users could stay closer to home as well as avoid disturbing residents and visitors.  A local park would also allow the kids to practice in a safe environment – perhaps one day our BMXers could represent HK in the Olympic Games (BMX becomes an Olympic sport in 2008, Beijing).

 

Mark Ashton agrees with Tristan – “a park would serve as an attraction (for Sai Kung) rather like the ice skating rink in Festival Walk”. 

Have your say....