Peterborough Group Revitalizing Skateboarding With Skatepark Upgrades

After several coats of blue paint, the West49 skatepark gets a facelift from the Peterborough Skateboard Coalition and volunteers on Sunday.

Dan Post (left) performing a grind known as a “tailslide.” Post moved to Peterborough in October and met several coalition members and friends at the West49 skatepark. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The group is made up of skateboard enthusiasts that want to improve skateboard spaces, events and programming through advocacy, fundraising, partnering and engagement in Peterborough.

The paint was supplied by the City of Peterborough with help from Cassandra Babcock, Facilities Manager and Coun. Lesley Parnell according to coalition member Dan Post.

Several members and volunteers painted the McDonnel Street skatepark and spray-painted “tags” of the coalition’s logo. The concrete was patched by skateboarder Riley Wilkins before the park was covered in blue.

Coalition member Geoff Rix performing an “Indy” grab while airborne off a launch ramp. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Built in 2002, the 8,400 square feet skate park was painted as one way of reinvigorating skateboarding back into Peterborough.

The sport has gained popularity in recent years as a new sport in the Olympics, the rehashing of the popular video game series “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” and veteran skaters that can be in skateparks again from the COVID-19 pandemic according to Post.

Sparo Lindsay rides the ramp vertically. Lindsay is the owner of beauty salon Union Studio in downtown Peterborough, Photo by David Tuan Bui.

He wants to grow the Peterborough skateboarding community of all ages and skill levels and wants the city to help foster and accommodate.

"We gave it a bit of revitalization to inject some more energy back into the place, to create a sense of pride,” he said.

Coalition member Aiden Finn performing a “kickflip” while going gap-to-gap from a higher level to a lower one. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The group is seeking help from the City of Peterborough to make more upgrades to the facility such as high-wattage LED lights for nighttime skating, exterior seating, more garbage and recycling bins, a water fountain and a sunshade.

"It's all part of bringing this park back up to a community standard that's more welcoming, more accessible and more inviting," said Post.

The coalition is lobbying the city to build a second skatepark to accommodate the skateboarding community’s growth in Peterborough. The proposed park would have a design that would cater to skaters of all skill levels.

"This design of this park comes from an era it was built," explained Post. "Skateboarding has no rules and so it is constantly evolving. The terrain we skate also needs to evolve alongside it."

The Peterborough Skateboard Coalition is always openly looking for new volunteers to help grow the skateboard community. Photo Courtesy of the Peterborough Skateboard Coalition.

Expanding skateboarding accessibility in Peterborough can foster Olympic-level athletes since the city already displayed elite hockey and lacrosse players in the past according to Post.

“There is a need to start training and for younger kids to start training, as some of them are going to have Olympic aspirations,” he said. “We have an opportunity to produce some high-level elite skateboard talent here as well that could one day make it into the Olympics.”

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Local Author Releases Book Excerpt of Tony Hawk's Peterborough Appearance

Local author Tony Cosgray released excerpts of his upcoming book, “Tales From The Dead City” which references legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk and his Peterborough appearance over 30 years ago on Tuesday.

Cosgray’s book, written for his children, tells his life of growing up in Peterborough as a metalhead in the 80s and 90s.

Hawk made an appearance at M&J’s Skatetown in Peterborough in December of 1989 skating with Ray Underhill and local skateboarders. Below is the excerpt of Cosgray’s book describing the legendary skateboarder’s appearance from local witnesses.

I first met Norm Macdonald at Trent Radio. I think he might have been playing Black Flag or Beastie Boys. His music tastes immediately grabbed my attention and we started chatting. First thing that set Norm apart from everyone else at the radio station is that he was much older than the rest of us. He looked like someone’s father. We talked about music for some time. I remember him telling me about Led Zeppelin playing at The Rock Pile [Masonic Temple] with Teegarden & Van Winkle in 1969.

Norm had a couple of shows on Trent Radio. One was an album rock show ‘Never Made it To Top 40’ and another was ‘Sessions - Skate Music’. He explained to me that he was mostly doing the Sk8 show on Trent Radio… where he would play bands like NoFx and Bad Religion to help him market his indoor skate park. At the time, I didn’t even know that we had an indoor skate park in town. My first thought was ‘cool another spot for shows’. Turns out Norm was in fact someone’s father. His two sons Mike and Jamie were heavily into skateboarding so to encourage them Norm decided to open up M&J’s Skatetown [Named after his children] at 810 Rye St. sometime in 1988.

From what I remember… When you went into M&J’s the walls were filled with skate decks for sale. Even after the park closed Norm continued on with the distribution of decks. There was a counter where they sold trucks, wheels, stickers and ‘Thrasher Magazine’. A television sat on the counter which played Sk8 related videos. After the waivers would be filled out, to the left behind the counter there was a hallway that led into the first room in the park. On the right was a couple of back-to-back pipes they called ‘bigtime’. First time I walked past that I saw a kid on a bike come down straight on his neck. I don’t know how Norm didn’t have a heart attack every day watching that stuff.

Further down the hall and through a door was an even larger room with a vert ramp at the back and a few smaller ones closer to the entrance.

In December of 1989 eighteen-year-old legend Tony Hawk and 27-year-old Ray Underhill skating for Powell & Peraltas ‘Bones Brigade came up from California to skate at Norm Macdonald’s M&J Skatetown. There is some various youtube footage of them skating there. An amazing video exists of Tony Hawk clearing the gap between the backroom vert ramp over to the middle ‘playland’ one.

Norm Macdonald remembers:

“...I paid $3,500 appearance fee plus accommodation, food and airfare for Tony [Hawk]. Ray was paid for by Powell Peralta. What are icons and legends to some are guys I have known since they were young. Ray Underhill and I were close right until the day he died…”

Etienne Rene remembers:

“...The first spine ramp in the first room was called bigtime! The back ramp in the second room was a nine-foot vert ramp and the spine ramp that Tony [Hawk] transferred to was called playland. There was also a hip ramp next to playland and a 6 foot next to the hip ramp. Plus a 3 foot as well. The park did change the layout a few times but that was the layout when Tony [Hawk] was there…

Norm Macdonald remembers:

“...Only one Vert ramp, but a series of mini ramps. First Spine ramp was Playland in the back room. Big Time had two spines one which was cut to make the first deck spine in Canada…”

Norm had a loud sound system hanging above the halfpipes that would pump out Ministry, Faith No More and Nirvana.

Norm Macdonald remembers:

“...Tony [Hawk] turned me onto Ministry and Ray [Underhill] to Sisters of Mercy…”

“Although I never skated, I knew enough to be aware that this place was a really, really big deal. M&J’s Skatetown had gone all out, making the spot one of North America’s leading indoor parks.”

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