After multiple delays that left the Canberra skateboarding community questioning whether they’d get their promise, the Belco vert ramp finally opened in July 2024.
A vert (vertical) ramp is a piece of skateboarding infrastructure that’s described as a “bloody big halfpipe” by the Canberra Skateboarding Association (CSA).
This new ramp stands at seven metres tall, which not only makes it a spectacle to look at, but also makes it competition standard.
While the skate community is pleased to see this new structure, this isn’t the first time the Belconnen skatepark has been home to one.
The skatepark, which is over 30 years old, has seen many changes throughout its lifetime. Canberra Skateboarding Association President, Tony Caruana, reflects on the changes of the park.
“The original Belco park had a vert ramp there,” he says.
“When the park was refurbished around 2011, the design of the new park at the time included building a new vert ramp where the new one is now.”
“I think they [the government] ran a little bit over budget, and that vert ramp was never built.”
Prior to the 2020 ACT election, members of the skateboarding community decided to make their concerns for Canberra’s skateboarding facilities heard.
Mr Caruana says that through advocating, the CSA were able to get the ball rolling.
“Some of the elders, if I can use that term, were keen to write to the MLAs because they saw a vert ramp was something lacking in Canberra.
“There’s one [vert ramp] in Tuggeranong, but it’s not quite as big, or competition spec [standard].
“It’s not really well maintained.
“So they provided an initial draft of a letter, we redrafted it and shifted our focus to the need for a skate strategy in the ACT
“We penned an open letter that went out to the MLAs.”
The open letter details the history and richness of skateboarding in Canberra. It also detailed the need for better maintenance of existing skateboarding infrastructure.
Mr Caruana says the CSA received some positive responses from their open letter.
“We got some good responses from a few different politicians. The Greens committed to doing something in Dickson, but the major thing out of it was the response from ACT Labor.
“The letter was focused on a skate strategy, but we made mentions of the lacking vert ramp.
“To our surprise a response came back from Minister Berry which said they’ll go ahead and build it.”
Throughout the COVID pandemic, and rising supply costs, the project ran into multiple delays.
Mr Caruana says despite the delays, the CSA wasn’t in the dark.
“I guess there’s a little bit of frustration that it was taking so long, but at the same time we were kind of aware of what was happening in the background.
“When the project went out for tender, the successful tenderer went into administration, which meant the government had to go back out for tender again. That delayed the whole process, which took it four years to get built.
“We had updates from the ACT government along the way, so we knew the promise wasn’t being abandoned.”
The Belconnen skatepark usually has groups of skaters using it at any given time. One of these skaters, Zach, says the inclusion of a vert ramp adds a new element to the park.
“It’s pretty cool. It’s a big drop down and I probably wouldn’t use it but it’s cool to see it there,” he says.
“You see videos from skate comps where people are dropping in and doing tricks, so having it here with the bowl lets skaters do all kinds of things in the park.
“It’s cool to know there’s people who care about bettering our skateparks.”
With the ACT election fast approaching in October, the current Labor-Greens government have already made some election commitments if they’re re-elected.
One of ACT Labor’s election commitments is to build a new skatepark at Kippax shops and upgrade the skate bowl in Charnwood. Labor has also pledged to upgrade the much needed Tuggeranong skatepark.
Mr Caruana says the CSA appreciates the commitments already made.
“Skateboarding is, in many ways, usually a good news story. Everyone loves a spectator sport, and with the (skateboarding) community, I’d like to say it’s at least contributed to a positive one in the ACT,” he says.
“You’ll always have naysayers from outside the community that say, ‘why are you spending money on that for?’
“With the physical and mental health benefits of skateboarding, and the positive contribution it makes to the community, it’s money well spent if you ask us.”
Photos by Brad McIntosh