BOOST FOR SKATE KIDS

Jamberoo residents Winton and Kieran Brooke Smith putting the finishing touches to the Jamberoo skate ramp.

A skate ramp in Jamberoo is now closer to reality with the organising committee receiving a further grant of $25,000 from the Department of Sport and Recreation towards the project.

Stage One is well underway with four of the 12 sections making up the initial 4.8 metre wide ramp complete.

The extra funding will allow volunteers to finish the first stage of construction meaning if council passes the parks development application then the initial ramps could be in place within a few weeks.

We are very hopeful of getting it underway quite quickly, Skate Park Fundraising Committee member Winton Brooke-Smith said.

Although we were disappointed in not being able to get the park up and running before the school holidays there is still plenty of summer left and we hope to have the kids out there soon.

The park is already basically signed off on because it was put down as part of the plan of management for the upgrades to Kevin Walsh Oval so we are quite hopeful if everything is all right with the plans the park should be passed by council in the very near future.

Despite relying on volunteer fundraising and labour to get the project rolling, the proposed skate park has come a long way over the past 12 months with the community helping to raise $52,000 towards the ramps.

Jamberoo can certainly feel proud with what we have achieved so far but there is certainly more to go, he said.

Its amazing the support we have received. Take a resident like Kevin Carson who doesnt have any kids in the skateboarding age group himself but he has done 98 percent of the construction of the ramps because he does not want to see the kids of Jamberoo locked up in a room playing an X-box all day.

The whole community has really jumped behind the cause.

Although stage one of the ramp is nearly complete Mr Brooke-Smith is hopeful of being able to receive further funding from council in order to complete the whole park.

Stage two and three of the proposed facility will see a box jump, pipe ramp and grind bars all of which could start to prove costly for the committee.

Now we have received this money from the DSR we are very hopeful council will be able to open their coffers and provide the kids of Jamberoo with some serious money towards this project in the next financial year, he said.

Council has already provided us with $10,000 but as we get into stage two and three of the park we are certainly going to have look at getting a lot more funds.