Everyone in Rossland is pitching in to help build a skate park for Rossland. On Saturday, Feb. 7 while it was raining and foggy at the ski hill, a group of kids who are passionate about the skatepark project, skied down from the t-bar in nothing but their tighty whities!
During the month of December when the Rossland Skatepark Association (RSA) hosted their 30K in 30 days fundraiser challenge, locals posted various challenges to the Yodel website which were then funded by a network of their supporters. By asking their local networks to pledge them online, members expanded their fundraising pool outside of Rossland to across the world.
Mark Impey, a RSA board member, was able to reach his network of friends from across the globe to support the construction of Rossland’s skatepark. “I received donations supporting my challenge from Australia, Scotland, England, Ontario, Alberta and all over B.C. If I had asked these people to donate to help build a skate park in Rossland, they wouldn’t have given it much thought but they wanted to support me in my challenge so they gave (to the cause),” Impey said.
Local Rossland children Finn and Blaise were fulfilling their Yodel skatepark fundraiser challenge on Feb. 7 by skiing the T-bar slope in only their underwear. They raised the stakes when they skied through the terrain park side of the t-bar and even jumped some of the features set up in the park.
RSA aims to break the ground in summer of 2016 with construction of the skate park at the old Emcon Lot on the corner of Washington and Third Ave. The association is on a roll and has the project shovel ready — all that is missing is a small portion of the funds to construct the park. RSA have the designs drafted and approval for the site. They hope to raise an additional $100,000 to accomplish the project.
RSA began back in 1996. By the time the funds roll in to construct the skatepark, it will have been 20 years that the community’s desire for a skatepark has become formalized.
“We’ve been working towards this for a long time,” stated RSA board member Robin Strachen. “With the help of the community and matching funds we were able to raise over $61,000 in December (2014). With this momentum we are confident about getting a skatepark built next year,” he added.
Expect to see more events and fundraisers for the skate park soon including the Rossland Rotary Valentine’s Dance being held this Saturday at the Miners’ Hall. Tickets are $20 each and are available from Powderhound.