The skating rink and paddling pool at Memorial Park in the 1950s. Photo / S A Free, Manawatū Heritage
The skating rink and paddling pool at Memorial Park in the 1950s. Photo / S A Free, Manawatū Heritage
Memorial Park in Palmerston North is a popular place to splash and soak.
A group of skating lovers also want it to be a popular place to have a wheely good time.
The Memorial Park Sports Trust’s wish is for more skaters, more members, more events, and more excitement.
OnSunday mornings, it runs public skate sessions at the rink with skate hire for $5. Experienced skaters are on hand to provide basic teaching and guide novice skaters as they get more confident.
The Sunday the Manawatū Guardian visited, Lee Porteous was taking care of things from the hire shed with its Palmy-green shutters. It’s the former caretaker’s shed and has been expanded.
She is a member of Swamp City Roller Derby and the New Zealand Women’s Rink Hockey Team.
Jayden Smith helps Anabel Romero Gemmell at a learn-to-skateboard session at Memorial Park. Photo / Supplied
Also inside the shed are the portable skate ramps used by the Jedi Skateboard Academy and OnBoard Skate. In term four, they ran six consecutive Saturday morning learn-to-skateboard sessions.
OnBoard Skate chief executive Steve Hodges says the rink is ideal for teaching entry-level riders the fundamentals, as it is flat. At the skate park in Church St, they would be competing with older kids and scooter riders.
OnBoard Skate’s primary goal is to build the capability and capacity of the community and schools through learn-to-skate programmes.
Statistics say children are gravitating towards non-traditional, non-competitive, participant-led activities like skateboarding, scootering, surfing, rock climbing and parkour, Hodges says.
People can do these activities at their leisure, they are not seasonal and don’t need a designated venue.
Skateboarding is an “open church” - anyone can do anything at any time, by themselves or with friends.
Memorial Park has facilities for parents and other activities for siblings.
“It ticks so many boxes in terms of a family facility,” Hodges says.
Trust acting chairwoman Sandy Nimmo’s goal is simple. She wants more people to know about the rink.
Volunteers help with the rink resurfacing in 2017. The small dark patches are holes on the uncovered surface after the original scraping. Photo / Supplied
It’s been five years since the rink surface was upgraded. Nimmo was part of that process and has vivid memories of the work that was involved. About 70 sacks of concrete dust were collected as the rink was sanded to remove 65 years of what Mother Nature had deposited.
The trust asked the city council for $40,000 for the upgrade and it provided $50,000.
It was discovered the rink had “measles” - the surface was covered in thousands of holes. As Nimmo puts it, the contractor dealt with the big holes and volunteers the little holes.
The trust has purchased lights and a sound system using a grant from Central Energy Trust. It is talking to the council about getting them installed.
The skating rink at Palmerston North's Memorial Park as it is today, just waiting for more roller enthusiasts to chase those shadows. Photo / Judith Lacy
The final phase of the rink upgrade will be the development and installation of see-through rink boards. This will mean inline hockey can be played - currently, there is no way to control the puck.
The trust is also keen to start encouraging speed skating. It is an umbrella group for wheeled sports and is in discussions with the city council about leasing the rink.
Keep an eye on Swamp City Roller Derby’s Facebook page for details of the public skating sessions. Or have a go yourself any time.
