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Posted June 22, 2009 by TeenSkate
The longest day of the year were even longer to some Police officers of Calgary stuck dealing with a rash of mischief during Sunday's Go Skateboarding Day, an international annual event that promotes skateboarding.
Hundreds of skateboarders met up on the city's 17th Avenue S.W. strip and at Olympic Plaza across from city hall to celebrate the sport, causing problems for the police.
"It was resource intensive and included the use of the helicopter," said Duty Inspector Vic Trickett. "We had skateboarders going the wrong way on avenues and streets, going through traffic lights and causing a great deal of disruption to the regular traffic flow. In my opinion, they were endangering themselves and others."
"They actually closed an intersection and used that as an area to skateboard in," Trickett said. "So an investigation will happen and we will look into all of these situations."
Some skateboarders took over a downtown intersection with makeshift ramps, halting all traffic on all sides.
According to a city report, more than 10,000 people skateboard in Calgary, greater than the number who play hockey.
"Almost everyone has a Great attitude, because it only hinders our sport when kids go out and do bad things," he said. "But when you get a caravan of 300 kids together, it's anyone’s guess as to know what will happen."
Go Skateboarding Day was created in 2003 by the International Association of Skateboard Companies to promote the sport. Calgary skateboarders have celebrated the event every year since its beginning, but have had a rough time shaking the stereotype that goes along with the sport because of a small group of unruly skaters, said Christopher Ludwig, a sales associate at The Source Skateboard and Snowboard Shop, who helped promote the event locally.
Hundreds of skateboarders met up on the city's 17th Avenue S.W. strip and at Olympic Plaza across from city hall to celebrate the sport, causing problems for the police.
"It was resource intensive and included the use of the helicopter," said Duty Inspector Vic Trickett. "We had skateboarders going the wrong way on avenues and streets, going through traffic lights and causing a great deal of disruption to the regular traffic flow. In my opinion, they were endangering themselves and others."
"They actually closed an intersection and used that as an area to skateboard in," Trickett said. "So an investigation will happen and we will look into all of these situations."
Some skateboarders took over a downtown intersection with makeshift ramps, halting all traffic on all sides.
According to a city report, more than 10,000 people skateboard in Calgary, greater than the number who play hockey.
"Almost everyone has a Great attitude, because it only hinders our sport when kids go out and do bad things," he said. "But when you get a caravan of 300 kids together, it's anyone’s guess as to know what will happen."
Go Skateboarding Day was created in 2003 by the International Association of Skateboard Companies to promote the sport. Calgary skateboarders have celebrated the event every year since its beginning, but have had a rough time shaking the stereotype that goes along with the sport because of a small group of unruly skaters, said Christopher Ludwig, a sales associate at The Source Skateboard and Snowboard Shop, who helped promote the event locally.
Tags:
go, skateboarding, day
