#Perspective: Parks get much needed face-lift
The skate bowl has been there for many decades and although it has been in disrepair for quite a few years, it has hosted generations of fun for our town’s young people.
I packed my boys into the car on Monday and headed down to the Ballito skate bowl in Hilary Park to check out the new jungle gym and to see how work had progressed on the bowl repairs.
The skate bowl has been there for many decades and although it has been in disrepair for quite a few years, it has hosted generations of fun for our town’s young people.
It is great to see it being revived.
Re/Max Dolphin Realtors, who are behind the ‘Spark up the Parks’ campaign, are doing all the heavy lifting in finding sponsors and hosting fundraisers to bring in enough money to see the project completed.
I imagine this is quite an organisational feat, on top of their normal day jobs.
They have brought in skate park building extraordinaire Dallas Oberholzer of Indigo Youth Camp, a stalwart in South Africa’s skateboarding scene and one of the best skaters in the country.
Dallas is a wealth of knowledge and has his own inspiring stories to tell. If you see him at the skate bowl I recommend you corner him.
Aspiring boarders might be able to coax some tips out of him too.
With his wild graying hair and Australian cattle dog puppy at his heels you can’t miss him.
Personally, I am looking forward to a demonstration of his skills once he’s done upgrading the bowl.
Lockdown has stopped Re/ Max from hosting any more much needed fundraisers but the project is forging ahead regardless.
Phase 1 sees R200 000 invested in the community parks.
They need about R60 000 to finish phase 1 – which includes the revamp of the original skate bowl with one small extension bowl and the jungle gym, as well as the planned revamp for the Townsend Park play area.
Phase 2 could see the Hilary Drive skate park evolve into an Olympic standard skate park. Imagine!
https://www.facebook.com/northcoastcourier/videos/4538041416213480/
The jungle gym alone is a play park on steroids.
It’s huge and has everything your jungle-loving tribe could desire, from rope ladders and balancing beams to a nifty climbing wall.
My boys were in love.
Although the highlight was testing out “a real skateboard”.
Sorry to all the cool skater teens but it looks like the mom brigade will be joining you at the skate bowl shortly.
Re/Max have started a donations page on Backabuddy where the Ballito community can donate anything from as little as R10.
Log onto backabuddy.co.za under the “Spark up the Park” campaign. I encourage you to help them make these projects, which are for all of our benefit, a success.
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