Rossland Skatepark Association needs your votes to compete for funding
By Arlen MacLaine
The Rossland Skatepark Association (RSA) needs your help. They have submitted their plans to build a community skatepark to the Aviva Community Fund Idea Competition. Winning ideas are chosen by votes, and will receive funding towards putting the idea into action. $150,000 is up for grabs in the competition, and the Rossland Skatepark Association needs everyone who can to vote vote vote!
Ideas are split into three categories, based on the amount of funding groups are looking for: Small (0-50k), medium (50-100k), and large (100-150k). The Rossland Community Skatepark falls under the large category. The top 30 ideas from the preliminary round of voting, 10 from each budget category, move on to the semi-finals, for another round of voting. Then, a panel of judges will make the final decision. There are three rounds of preliminary voting. The first round of voting started September 30th, and will run until October 14th. If, in the first round of voting, the idea doesn’t get enough votes to qualify for the semi-finals, the second round of voting runs from October 21st to November 4th. The third and final round of preliminary voting runs from November 11 to November 25th.
Interested participants can register at the Aviva Community Fund website. There is no age restriction,: anyone with facebook or an email address can sign up. Each registered participant can vote 15 times per round, and once per day. In order for the Rossland Community Skatepark to receive as many votes as possible, interested people need to sign up as soon as possible and vote every day. Votes do not stockpile or carry over, so if someone signs up with 10 days remaining, they can only vote 10 times, if they vote once a day.
The RSA has been a designated charitable organization since December of 2010, and has worked with the City of Rossland, the community, and its stakeholders, to come up with a proposal that suited everyone’s needs. The proposed site of the skatepark will be the vacant lot at the corner of Washington Street and 3rd Avenue.
“This is more than just people voting to develop a skatepark; people are actually voting to develop this industrial lot into a proper community park area, with appropriate amenities,” said Tara Howse, who is helping the RSA with fundraising and grant writing. “It will also complete the ‘recreation corridor’, linking the Community Garden and Jubilee Park, with the Arena, which is in the Official Community Plan.”
Dave Cashen, new proprietor and manager of RossVegas Board Shop, said, “I’m very supportive of the initiative the RSA is taking on trying to raise funds for the Rossland Skatepark. The Aviva Community Fund is a great way to try and acquire further money to assist in the completion of the Rossland Skatepark. The finalization of the skatepark will be a very positive addition to the community in so many ways: economically, socially and by continuing to encourage the youth to participate in healthy, active lifestyles.”
“From a community and economic development perspective, a skatepark and a larger community park actually turns into an economic development asset in Rossland,” said Howse. “The community skatepark becomes a tourism asset, where people are actually touring around, whether it’s families or individuals, and going to communities with skateparks.
The RSA has been working diligently on developing a skatepark in Rossland for years, and this is an opportunity to take a huge step forward in bringing the concept closer to fruition. Anyone who is interested in Rossland having a top notch skatepark is encouraged to sign up as soon as possible and vote every day.
Anyone looking for more information can contact Tara Howse at 250-231-9142, or Robin Strachan (Chair of RSA) at robin@skaterossland.com
