“The idea came from learning that Ruth Inch was closing and me not being able to let go of the fact that it could be an indoor skate park.”
Yellowknife’s old swimming pool closes for the final time on Sunday after just over 35 years of service.
Laura Stott has a vision for the next chapter of its life. She has formed a group – the Territorial Action Sports Association, or Tasa – to pursue her idea.
“I have been following a skate park in Winnipeg for a long time. It’s called Pitikwé and they have turned part of an old mall in downtown Winnipeg into an indoor skate park,” Stott said on Wednesday, explaining where the concept came from.
“Winnipeg and Yellowknife can be very similar, both winter cities. I just think it would be a shame to see it not be something to make the city better.”
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The City of Yellowknife has said it intends to repurpose the Ruth Inch Memorial Pool after it closes down, so an indoor skate park – which the city does not possess – isn’t out of the question.
City staff are committed to maintaining the building once it stops being a pool, and an assessment of the structure has concluded it’s in good-enough condition to be redeveloped into something else.
The process for deciding what that “something else” should be isn’t yet clear.
“I’ve heard it could be a library. That would be amazing, too,” said Stott.
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“We’re not tied to the pool. If it works out, great. If it doesn’t, where else can we hunker down?”
Action sports association formed
Stott only learned to skateboard four years ago but has rapidly become passionate about the sport.
Skateboarding “was something I always wanted to do but I was a teenager in the 90s, and it wasn’t a very inclusive time,” she said.
“I will say that skateboarding has evolved a lot to be incredibly inclusive. There’s a ton of female-led collectives out there that will come to your city. ‘Here’s 100 skateboards, 100 safety kits. Let’s do a big group lesson for women, girls and people that identify as such.’
“That’s really where my heart lies, is in getting more women involved.”
More: Take a look inside Yellowknife’s new aquatic centre
From 2020: Who was Ruth Inch, the name behind Yellowknife’s pool?
While Tasa begins lobbying for an indoor skate park, Stott must make the most out of what’s available outside.
“I would say the parking lot of the legislature is a great spot and in between the multiplex and the fieldhouse,” she said.
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“With that, I will say there are always insane amounts of gravel. I don’t know who this dad is, but I’ve seen a dad with a leafblower cleaning up the gravel for his children so they can bike and skate a little more safely.
“I just think having an indoor space, especially in the winter, and not having to worry about that cleanup all the time would be incredible.”
Tasa now plans to approach businesses and Indigenous governments about its plan to develop an indoor facility.
You can contact Tasa by email or follow the group’s activities via Instagram. The group also has a survey available for people interested in an all-season action sports park.
