THUNDER BAY – Go Skate Day is one of the highlights of the year for Thunder Bay’s skateboarding community, and this year’s didn’t disappoint. The event brought skateboarders of all ages to the city’s waterfront skate park Sunday, while kicking off the King of the Bay skateboard competition.
The annual Go Skate Day event, held in cities worldwide on June 21, has helped serve as a gateway for those new to the sport, said Vanessa Bowles, who organizes King of the Bay.
“Every year it just gets bigger and bigger,” she said. “It’s such a cool event, and you see people that are just learning to skateboard and the guys that have been doing it forever, or people who haven’t skated in a long time coming back out for it.”
Bowles also coordinates the Thunder Bay female skateboard coalition, which supports girls entering the sport. She said a girls group that meets Sunday mornings has grown from five or six participants to around 20 this year.
Bowles praised the community that gathers at the park for deliberately cultivating diversity in the sport.
“The diversity here is huge, it’s really cool to see. There’s no judgement, everyone just skates and has fun, everyone’s here to help each other out.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by Eclectic Skateboard Shop owner John Kelly, who helps coordinate the Go Skate Day events and provides prizes. The shop operates as a non-profit designed to make entry into the sport accessible to all.
“When you come to this park, you’re safe,” he said. “We’re all one big family here. Whatever problems you have outside of the park, you can leave those at the door, metaphorically.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted interest in the sport – which Kelly said is more akin to “half-art, half-sport.”
“Ironically enough, this pandemic has helped,” he said. “People are looking for something because all the team sports got cancelled. Skateboarding sales have boomed all across Canada, and skateboards themselves are almost sold out – same with bikes.”
Skateboarder Mary Strain was in town visiting her brother, and staying to compete with him and two others as a team in the King of the Bay competition. The contest sees teams of four looking to complete as many challenges as possible by the end of July, with prizes awarded to top finishers. A video will compile the highlights at its conclusion.
Seeing so many people out to enjoy the day, including some newcomers, was a thrill.
“The smile hasn’t left my face today, I’m very happy,” she said. “I’m just super stoked there are so many people skating and enjoying the day.”
For Strain, the sport is a way to express creativity and challenge oneself.
“To me skateboarding is about expressing myself, feeling creative and being myself through what I wear, what my board looks like, the way its set up, the tricks I do,” she said. “It’s all about being able to challenge myself in new ways. Like trying a new trick, trying and trying and trying, and finally landing it is just the best feeling ever.”
