Most longboarders across the world have to put up with the smooth lanes of suburban housing estates or quiet hill roads to carve it up on the asphalt, but the longboarding residents of Kamloops in Canada have just had Christmas come early. The City of Kamloops has built a dedicated longboarding park using public funds, so it is completely free to use for all longboarders who visit the park. Kamloops was already quite well known by downhill mountain bikers for its awesome terrain, and now it’s firmly on the map for all longboarders out there.
A World First
As far as we know this is the first publicly funded longboarding park of its kind in the world. The park is right next to Pacific Way Elementary, so the kids there are going to be gazing out the windows to see riders sliding down the tracks, giving them something to be excited about after school. But why hasn’t there been a dedicated longboarding park built before? Whether the sport just hasn’t reached high enough popularity levels or is overshadowed by ramp and street skateboarding is still not clear. But, now the precedent has been set it will be interesting to see whether other cities will follow suit. Switchback Longboards put together this video of the park’s grand opening…
Something for Beginners and Experts
So the park is essentially two tracks, hill runs that meet up on the same stretch of asphalt at the bottom of the hill. The easier of the two tracks features a gradual decline, with six drawn out and cruisey bends to carve around before reaching the bottom. The more advanced track offers expert longboarders a challenge, with tight corners requiring fast turns, so there’s plenty of opportunity for screeching slides and precision drifting. Check out the next video to see even more riders tearing it up.
A Safe Place to Learn
The park is not what you would call elaborate but it does offer something fresh for longboarders. There is never any traffic to worry about, the asphalt is super smooth and won’t deteriorate like on a busy road, and it can be skated non-stop without being asked to move on. The safety aspect is also important, because beginners can feel safe on a well designed track that has no cars, trucks or motorcycles zooming along it. This could lead to a boom in the numbers of longboarders in Kamloops and the surrounding area. Longboard companies should watch this space very carefully.
What to Expect
If you plan on travelling to the park go to the longboard park’s official page at the Kamloops Tourism website. Here you’ll find opening times information, safety requirements and directions to help you find the place. Go check it out!
