2023: The Year of Sassy Spott

Picking a Fight with 'Canada's Most Patriotic Town'

Earlier this year I was sitting out in my yard after the kids had gone to sleep, enjoying an adult beverage, when I got an email notification about a comment on this blog. 

It Read...

While I am always happy to have an update on a park or an explanation for why something was done a certain way (in this case, the crushed gravel), what rubbed me the wrong way was the assumption of what I like. I like skateparks. I'm disappointed to see communities work so hard and get taken advantage of due to their lack of skatepark knowledge(I've since created a free skatepark consultation service).  I'd followed the Arthur Skatepark Project for a while so I was bummed when I found out it was going to be pre-fab. One highlight was the inclusion of the CRC 'Snap' obstacle.

This ramp was notably missing on my first visit. Additionally, the budget for this project is public record so I know what they paid and what they could have gotten for the same price in concrete.

Having consumed a strong sour, I was feeling sassy and replied...

The next morning I re-read my message and found it was not as sassy as I remembered. It was actually quite fair. 

I have been back and there is grass to the edge of the park and the new feature is there. I wouldn't say it's worth the trip. It's a just steep bank with extension in the shape of a 1/2 skateboard and the supports are rusting.  The whole Park Review & Comments can be found HERE.

Here's the Video

Tamworth

Tamworth is a park in Rural Southeast Ontario and it is riddled with problems. In short; it was not built by skatepark professionals. 

Check out the whole post HERE or the video below.

There's a bit of sass in the video tour and the blog post.

When I posted about the park on my IG, I mentioned that I did have fun despite the poor quality of the park. Most of the commenters agreed with my assessment of the park. Except one, and given the post was focusing on the quality, I replied...

Before I had acquired the skate skills I now have, I could go to great skateparks and not have fun. It wasn't the park, it was me. I cut my teeth on bowls so if a park didn't have a bowl or QP I could rock n roll, I didn't like the park. As my skills grew, so did my appreciation for other skatepark features. I've also been to some terrible parks and had fun (Port Lambton & Old Corunna come to mind).

You can also have a ton of fun in an empty parking lot with a single waxed curb. Does that make it a good skatepark? 

I replied...

Again, I think I'm pretty fair with my sassiness.

The Mural Fiasco

TLDR: There's a mural and it made the spot too slippery to ride. Check the post HERE.  It comes into play later.

This is about the aftermath.  The Mural was unveiled on Friday. Overnight Sunday into Monday the spot was vandalized with 3 tags. F*** YOU!

That afternoon, I was able to cover the most prominent tag with leftover paint. The other two were more hidden so I left those for the city to handle.

Three days later, the city painted over the tags and had the spot temporarily closed. The IG post comment section was full of 'told you so's' & 'I knew this would happen'.  

Super guys, thanks for saying something earlier...to the city...in writing.

fun fact- winter did NOT make the park more ridable.

 Lots of bowls and skateparks are painted and it doesn't effect the surface when done right.  The Vanderhoof bowl gets a fresh paint job before Hoedown at the Hoof and they don't have to wait a winter to make the park skatable.  Stanley Greene got some murals and it didn't affect the traction.

Anyways, this guy pops up a few times in the comment section. I don't know who they or where they came from but they've never been involved in anything in Pickering (at least not under this IG handle).

Nice use of 'Culpability'.

I do delete messages on occasion. Not this time. This blog, which is linked from the IG, is evidence of my involvement. The blog post outlines my concerns about the mural to the city and how I was ignored at every stage.  I never got a reply so maybe this d.no.saur.us gone extinct.

PS. Advocacy got the mural removed.

I would like to see these ads😜

I get a lot of bot comments on here but the accidental posting of the unfinished message has me scratching my head.

I can only imagine what Anonymous was seeing, especially since I don't have ads. Lemon Party fan perhaps (IYKYK, Don't google it!)

It's Sass Time!

I got a message earlier in the year that I missed. Once I read it over, it made no sense.

Here's the spot.

And here's the message.

90's Disney comedy reference. 

This one was from the year before.  Strathroy was a major disappointment due to poor construction, design changes and going way over budget.  I posted this to a Strathroy Locals Group and got no comments.  Sometimes, silence speaks volumes. 

Built by SKATERS!

The Frankford 'Mini' was an on site addition to the plans by experienced skatepark builders/skaters. It's tight, really tight(see below).  I didn't mean for my sassy reply to be anonymous, but I stand by it!

The year 2023 was really good. Took 4 trips to the States, hit over 30 parks and continued to see the effects of skatepark advocacy. I've been Burnt Out in the past, now I'm Sassy!

Peep this years edit. I'm already working on next years.