Teenage wheelchair motocross star Ben Sleet opens new Tadley Skatepark
Skateboarders, scooter riders and BMX riders flocked to Tadley to celebrate the opening of the town’s brand new skatepark.
Although the Tadley Common recreational facility has been in use since early April, an official opening event was held on Saturday, June 3 and it was filled with competitions and contests to see who could showcase their skills best on the new curbs, rails and banks.
The event was organised by Tadley Town Council alongside CANVAS, the Bristol-based company which designed and built the skatepark, and it was also sponsored by notable skateboarding brands Santa Cruz, Shiner and Independent.
Tadley town councillor Jo Slimin said: “The event was fantastic. Lots and lots of people of all ages were there.
“From the very tiny two-year-olds on scooters to the 28-year-old who came on engagement sessions with us before we built it.
“I think they all thoroughly enjoyed the day. So much so that at the end, when all the prizes had been given out, they were still wanting to compete even though they knew they weren’t going to get anymore.”
CANVAS ran a scooter jam, which went on for quite a long time due to the large amount of younger scooter riders in attendance, before hosting a BMX contest and then finally the skateboarding competition.
Prizes varied from a small pin badge to a complete skateboard deck, and most contestants received a prize and were able to go home happy.
CANVAS accounts and communications administrator Chandon Gallagher said: “It was re-assuring to see all the people enjoying the park on Saturday, because that is really the true test.
“The proof is in the pudding.”
The ribbon to open the new facility was cut by teenage wheelchair motocross star Ben Sleet, the youngest person in Europe to have completed a backflip in a wheelchair and a 2020 WCMX digital world champion.
He said: “I was amazed to be asked to open the park as I’m only 13 myself. It was a great day with a big turnout, mainly scooter riders, but there were a few skateboarders and BMXers.
“I also visited the park on the Bank Holiday Monday before and the place was packed so it’s already very popular with the locals.
“The park is not very big and none of the ramps are over four feet so it lends itself very much towards younger riders and beginners which was reflected in the turnout.”
This focus on younger, less experienced riders is something the town council hope to rectify in the future with the construction of a second skatepark aimed at more advanced users.
Mrs Slimin added: “We have promised the older people that we would next look into whether we could find the money to build something similar to what they had before in addition, and that is something that I will be looking at as my next project.
“It is my view that we need to look at what we can do to provide something a little more challenging for the older teenagers and the young adults that used it in the past.”
Tadley Town Council decided to embark on the project of getting a new skatepark built in the town after the former one was condemned by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
The old skatepark was opened in 2010 in memory of two Tadley youths, Jake Burden, 18, and Lee Robinson, 16, who died in a car crash in August 2007.
