Skate park builder Jason Parkes, of Auckland, arrived in Wanaka yesterday with some good news for skateboarders.
Not only will work on the major extension to the Pembroke Park skate park be completed in about 16 weeks, the skate park will stay open while the work is being done.
''We're going to keep it open. It won't be affected at all,'' he told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
Mr Parkes has the contract to design and build the $344,000 two-part extension.
His first step will be to mark out where the new cloverleaf-shaped bowl will go. He will then dig a test pit to see how deep he can dig before hitting groundwater.
''Then we're just going to start digging a hole and making the bowl.''
Wanaka skateboarders have been waiting months for Mr Parkes to arrive.
He explained the Wanaka extension was his sixth project this year and he was so busy because local authorities realised young people needed ''places to go''.
''There are lots of playgrounds for younger kids but there's not a heck of a lot of stuff for teenagers, so skate parks seem to fill that gap.''
As with snowboarding and surfing, skateboarding and skate parks were continuing to evolve, Mr Parkes said.
''Skate parks are not just grey pieces of concrete.
''There are lots of different materials and coloured concrete and stuff that makes them really pleasing to the eye.''
Mr Parkes said the extension would be suitable for a world-class competition.
Asked what new aerial manoeuvres the new park would enable skateboarders to try, Mr Parkes said the goal for some would be to complete a ''1080'' - a spin of three full revolutions and regarded as the ''holy grail'' for skateboarders.
Mr Parkes said a new trend in skate parks was for people to build pools in their backyards that could be used for swimming in summer and skateboarding in winter.
The main funders of the Wanaka extension are the Queenstown Lakes District Council ($146,000), the Central Lakes Trust ($140,000), the Otago Community Trust ($40,000) and Wanaka Skate Club members ($18,000).
Club president Eddie Spearing said ''ideally'' another $125,000 would be found to complete further stages of the skate park.
