Skate Pōneke is back for 2024 with three pop-up skate installations to celebrate and encourage skating in the city.

Wellington City Council’s first We Skate Pōneke campaign in 2022 sought to challenge negative stereotypes around skateboarding by showcasing the people who skate in Pōneke and the reasons they do it – whether that be for transport, creativity, community, identity or health.

This year, the campaign is all about making space for skate in the city, and celebrating the positive benefits that skating brings to Wellington.

The three pop-up skate installations are designed to bring more energy and vitality to popular central city spots:

o Queen’s Wharf (by the heli-pad): This space features a triangle kicker, blast ramp box and manual pad.

o Te Ngākau Civic Square: This space features a blast ramp, manual pad, and a grind rail.

o Michael Fowler Centre car park: This space features skate-friendly edging on temporary seating.

Councillor Teri O’Neill says this campaign aligns with many of the Council’s priority objectives including Paneke Pōneke, the Play Spaces policy, Te Whai Oranga Pōneke and the Children and Young People’s strategies.

“Skating is a creative, healthy and social activity that makes Pōneke a more interesting and vibrant place. It brings vitality and energy to public spaces, sparks creative pursuits like filmmaking and photography, builds diverse communities, and influences fashion, music, art and design around the city.”

Council has worked with the skate community to demonstrate simple and cost-effective ways to invest in skate and other active recreation in the city to improve the well-being, culture and connectedness of our communities.

The installations have been designed and built by local skate legend Kyle O’Regan from Tiki Construction, with costs estimated to be under $10,000.

Max Olijnyk from the Wellington Skateboarding Association has been skating for 33 years and says it's really exciting to work with the Council to make Wellington a more skate-friendly city.

“Skateboarding is a fun and creative activity for an ever-broadening demographic, both for participants and spectators.

“It's great that the Council has collaborated with the skate community to produce these obstacles and set them up in prominent public spaces – it's something we never would have imagined possible 10 years ago.

“We hope this campaign leads to more collaboration and integration of skateboarding in Pōneke, as well as upgrades to our existing facilities.”

There is a revamped skatepark as part of the upgrade at Pukehuia Park, formally Newlands Park.

Tawa skatepark was upgraded last year as the first skatepark to be redone out of the Council work programme which was short-listed for the Sport New Zealand Community Impact Award.

A Destination Skatepark in Kilbirnie is also in the works with skatepark specialist company CONVIC confirmed as designers, and design consultation in progress.

The pop-up skate spots will be available for public use throughout the campaign from 26 March until early May 2024.

For more information check out wcc.govt.nz/weskateponeke

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