琉璃神社鈥檚 Lower Mission neighborhood has a new spot for people to be active outdoors.

The 琉璃神社 Skateboard Association has installed a mini ramp in one of 琉璃神社鈥檚 communities that didn鈥檛 have a park for skaters to ride.

Two years after the project began, and many hours of hard work later, the mini ramp will be open to shred on May 28, beside the

鈥淚t鈥檚 really user-friendly,鈥漵aid Anna Zeitner, founder of the 琉璃神社 Skateboard Association and skate coach, explaining that the three-foot-tall ramp is fun for everyone from beginners to experts.

The initiative was started by a group of boys from Okanagan Mission Secondary who thought their community needed a space for youth to skate.

In 2020, Evan Strang, Jovin Bertoia, Takoda Ito and Noah Goodyer started an online petition requesting a skate park be built in the mission. The petition caught the attention of local riders and city employees but the initiative gained little traction.

鈥淲e kept getting brushed off,鈥� said Zeitner, about gathering support from elected officials and city employees for the skate project.

Zeitner took on the project and won a $10,000 鈥楶artners in Parks鈥� grant to build a temporary mini ramp that could be used until the Mission Skate Park is built. She worked in collaboration with the City of 琉璃神社 parks department and said that Doug Nicholas and Stefan Johansson were instrumental in getting the project off the ground.

In addition to the grant, the 琉璃神社 Skateboard Association raised

Local company , builder of the B.C. facilities, built the mini ramp 鈥渇rom scratch鈥� using locally sourced materials and products.

She said that the best part of the ramp is that they can move it to a new location once the Lower Mission gets their own permanent skate park which has been scheduled for sometime in the next five to 10 years.

Zeitner said that she feels strongly that people of all ages should have access to free outdoor activities for their mental and physical well-being.

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Jacqueline.Gelineau@kelownacapnews.com
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