Skateboarders deliver verdict on Belconnen's colourful new 'statement piece'

It’s been more than 13 years, but Canberra’s skateboarding community finally has a giant new attraction to try out. And the first reactions are in.

The new seven-metre-high half pipe (aka, ‘vert ramp’) was craned into place like a giant Meccano set at the Belconnen Skatepark last week.

When Region visited the site yesterday (8 July), it was already a hit – echoing with the roar of skateboard and scooter wheels (as well as the chuckle of one eight-year-old boy, who may have missed the memo and was sliding down it on a towel).

“It’s a big day for Canberra’s skateboarding and BMX community,” Sport and Recreation Minister Yvette Berry said.

“It has been great to work with them to design and deliver the half-pipe … As our city and the popularity of skateboarding and BMX grows, it’s important for us to support these sports.”

The Belco Skatepark was built in 1990 and then revamped into the biggest skatepark in the Southern Hemisphere in 2011.

Since 2001, it’s become famous as host to the country’s longest-running skateboarding event, the Belco Bowl Jam, held around its keynote ‘Belco Bowl’ feature.

Every year over a weekend in February, hundreds of professionals – lured by cash prizes and social media glory – perform their daring moves in front of a crowd that, last time, numbered close to 1000 people.

The government says “one of the best parts” of the new ramp is how it will be able to host both amateur and professional skating competitions.

“It will provide an exciting new space for Canberrans to be active and learn new skills, whether that be skateboarding, scooting or freestyle BMX,” City Services Minister Tara Cheyne said.

“The skatepark scene is very popular in Canberra and I hope this encourages more of the community to get out and give something new a try.”

Pressure to upgrade Canberra’s skateboarding facilities reached a head in 2023 when two online petitions called for the government to refurbish the aged Gungahlin Skatepark and completely redevelop the Tuggeranong Skatepark.

The petitions highlighted that there had been no new skateparks built in Canberra for more than a decade, and the concrete at Gungahlin, in particular, was “worn, cracked, with steel reinforcing bars poking through the surface”.

In response, the government appointed a committee, and this recently handed down 33 recommendations, including one calling for “a strategic and coordinated approach to skatepark, design maintenance and replacement”.

The government has four months to respond.

Up to now, Canberra’s only half-pipe has been located at the Tuggeranong Skatepark.

Local professionals, like 18-year-old Katie Pike, who has even attended Olympic qualifier events overseas, previously told Region she’s had to travel interstate for practice because none of her own city’s facilities are up to it.

She described the Tuggeranong facility as “outdated and full of holes”.

Dylan Smith, aged 23, lives near the Belco Skatepark and goes out skating with his mates, Lucas Woods, 30, and Miles Cutter, 31, as often as their work and study commitments allow.

“I’m pretty happy with the new half-pipe,” he said.

“We’re very grateful to have such an awesome park.”

Dylan learned skating in school but only recently got back into it last year as a skill where “there’s no real, correct way to do it”. He loves the “creative freedom” it gives, and even if skateboarding might be “built on the idea of rebellion”, he says “everyone is respectful”.

His mates, who started skateboarding at 18, agreed Canberra’s skateboarding scene is “pretty good”, but work is needed on the older parks.

“Get them resurfaced and all up to scratch,” Miles said.

However, they wondered if the new half-pipe might be overkill.

“We can roll around the bottom, but that’s all we can do,” Lucas said.

“It feels like a sort of useless addition, to be honest,” Miles added.

“Most people would have been better off if they’d built a good mini ramp, but it will be good for professionals. It’s more of a statement piece.”

The half-pipe project also includes extra lighting and minor landscaping, and each side of the half-pipe is decorated with a mural.

The first mural, on the farthest side, was painted by James Houlcroft, who chose to represent Canberra’s spectrum of skaters with different pigeons. James said this was a nod to the tendency for skaters and pigeons to be found in similar places – public areas full of concrete.

Eddie Mo painted the second mural in collaboration with Paul Licayan (aka ‘PAW’). Their mural replicates the shape and style of the underside of a skateboard – with its mix of graffiti and stickers – and is said to represent the culture and history of the skatepark.

For the location of ACT skateparks, visit City Services.