Stunt Park Opens in Port Moody, British Columbia
September, 2001
Our September visit to British Columbia included the opening of North America's first City Trials/Stunt Park right in downtown Port Moody.
Parents, kids, and the NORCO demo team were on hand to sample the park. Top riders included Ryan Leech, Keith Howitt and prodigies Stevie and Jason Baia.
Before the action began, announcements and a ribbon cutting ceremony took place. Mayor Trasolini spoke on his goals to promote Port Moody as a youth-friendly city. Various sponsors added their enthusiasm on how this project has strengthened the community by bringing people together. We spoke on behalf of IMBA, emphasizing the park as a model partnership that can be shared with other cities throughout the world. Partners and sponsors included the Rotary Club of Port Moody, the City of Port Moody, Parklane Homes, Youthworks, Pacific Coast Terminals, Kal Tires, Lees Marine, IMBA, NORCO and the West Coast School of Mountain Biking.
The project started with a chance meeting between the Port Moody director of leisure services Gaetan Royer and young trials rider Derek Rohde. Derek was bouncing around on the stairs of the city building one day as Gaetan was going to work. Gaetan struck up a positive conversation finding out that Derek and his friends wanted a trials park to practice their sport. Derek suggested his middle school teacher Jeff Tvergyak as a possible leader. Jeff has been to several IMBA Trailbuilding Schools, is the founder of SPOKE (Students Pedaling Onto Kreative Education), creator of Youthworks, Lactic Acid Racing and is a mountain biking icon for the children of BC.
Jeff's wheels started spinning as he came up with a plan, locating sponsors and finding ways to keep costs low. The city offered some land under an overpass neighboring Lee's Marine. Parklane donated boulders and logs from recent developments. Concrete barriers and other obstacles were recycled from city holding areas. Using a maritime theme, Jeff laid out the design with ideas and input from local kids. Joan Jones, director of WCSMB acted as a spokesperson for the trials community. Within a few months, construction began with city maintenance machinery and Jeff leading Youthwork volunteers.
Jeff's vision was a trials park with structures under18-inches high that would include high skill and low risk. The Park offers attractions for all levels of riders starting with an easy perimeter pathway and advancing to log balance beams hung in mid-air with chains.
While the park is built with safety in mind, even Ryan Leech found obstacles that demanded his world-class skill. Ryan nailed a seemingly impossible 180-degree, 6 ft lateral leap from one barrier to another. The young Baia brothers pedal kicked and wheelie dropped everything in sight, wooing the crowd. Other stunt riders launched a formidable table-top, impressing parents with their acrobatic skills.
After the NORCO team demonstration, a swarm of children engulfed the stunts and obstacles. It was better than candy. Bicycles were everywhere and never have we seen so many smiles in one place. Port Moody proved to us that dreams do come true when people work together.
Thank you to everyone who worked to create the Port Moody Stunt
Park. For more information on how to develop a similar park in your
community, please contact Jeff Tvergyak;
Joey Klein and Lisa Cramton
Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew
To check out a slideshow of the Skills Park Opening Ceremony, click a picture below.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
