Skateboarder Revives Plan for Indoor Ramp

By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: May 5, 2012

Almost a year after the Britannia Beach ramp was dismantled by the Ministry of Mines, a skateboarding advocate in the community is hoping to revive the idea.

But this time, the venue would move from Britannia to Squamish.

Michael Kenneth Quesnel, owner of Stuntwood, wants to work with the district to construct a protected new ramp at the Brennan Park Recreation Centre.     

He said he proposed the idea to Tim Hoskin, the new recreation director, at the Parks and Recreation Open house.

It was well received, he said.

“The district is on board with the idea,” Quesnel said.

One reason for Quesnel’s advocacy for a new skateboard park is the absence of a place where youth can skateboard when it’s raining.

The Britannia Beach ramp filled that gap, but it that gap reopened after the ramp was dismantled.

“The kids have no place to go skateboarding if it’s raining,” Quesnel added.

Word travels fast in the tight-knit world of skateboarders, and so it did when volunteers rebuild a dilapidated ramp in the barn on Britannia Beach.

Skateboarders all across the Lower Mainland zipped to the Britannia Beach barn to play on the newly build 50-ft ramp set again the backdrop of the ocean and the mountains.

It was one of the best places to skateboard in BC, says Quesnel.

Dave Rouleau, a Whistlerite and an avid skateboarder agrees.

“For me, the ramp added richness to the local scene. We live in a wet zone. There are a lot of skaters in the region, and a covered ramp of this nature is highly coveted,” he said.

On weekends, it attracted more than a few dozen teenagers and adults, Quesnel said

“That place was really popular,” he said.

But it wasn’t legal.

It was dismantled by the Ministry of Mines a little less than a year ago. Its fate was foreseen by skateboarders when they were building it, but Quesnel said they took their chances because there had been skateboarding ramp in the barn before.

“We knew were probably going to get in trouble, but we still rebuild it because there was precedence for it,” he added.

But now, he wants to work with the local government to create a skateboarding ramp that would be protected from the elements.

“I’m really excited by the idea,” he said.