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Youth driven

A proposed in-town ski and snowboard park is being supported in principle, but will need to be youth-driven to make it happen.
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Kobe Russell rides the rails behind the Fort Forum on Oct. 13. Russell and some friends were enjoying the pre-ski-season practice thanks to the arena's zamboni slush.

A proposed in-town ski and snowboard park is being supported in principle, but will need to be youth-driven to make it happen.

The local youth council at Fort St. James Secondary School is doing some background work in support of an idea brought to them by Councillor Riley Willick.

The idea is to help develop an in-town ski and snowboard park next to the arena, consisting of a small number of boxes and rails on the short slope between the arena and the curling rink.

The idea was not exactly Willick's own, youth in the community have been placing boxes or rails in the corner behind the arena for years, taking advantage of the early season opportunity the location affords them, by using the ice dumped by the zamboni to build an approach and dismount for the obstacles.

Eager skiers and boarders can be seen there on many weekends and evenings, shovelling ice into the necessary shapes.

Willick just wants to help those youth build on what they are doing.

So Willick brought his idea forward to the mayor and council, and they have voted to support the idea in principle.

The idea so far being to look at lighting for the location, ensuring municipal insurance and proper signage would be in place, and perhaps to have public works store the boxes and rails over the summer each year.

The youth council has also agreed to partner with the district on the project, but is not yet sure what will be involved.

They believe they will need to find skiers and boarders who would be willing to manage the project, and the youth council could help research funding opportunities to get it going and determine the logistics of whether they would need to form a society or not.

A new Facebook page titled "FSJ New Terrain Park" had already generated lots of response and expressions of interest last week, after only being online one day.

The page had so far generated nearly 30 likes in its first day, and Fireweed Youth Coordinator Jana Gainor said she already had a number of people volunteering to get involved.

Willick said he hopes to see something in place by next fall.

Facebook page for FSJ New Terrain Park