Each time I visit Oliver it is a different experience from the other; this why I go without any expectations from myself or of others. I have often wondered how many visitors really take the time to get to know the locals.
It seems that locals have a compelling story to be told. From the history of gold mining, the talent of the young adults at the skate park, the hard working and loving volunteers at the “Gleaners,” to Audrey, the manager of “Murphy’s Pub” who truly cares about the welfare of her clientele, the new “Amore Pizza Factory” and yes, I can go on. The community is made up of so many different attributes and all that came to mind with each person I met . . . the core is down to earth.
One of the places I visited to take photos was the Oliver skateboard park dedicated to Joel Michael Waines. After taking photos on Vancouver Island of BMX riders I realized how much I loved taking photos of action.
People often have many misguided illusions of what these athletes are actually about. The true athletes shine above the rest, whether they are just starting out or have been doing it for years. You can see the hunger for the sport in their eyes and their attack on their next trick. The problem is some people don’t really take the time to appreciate the sport or know how difficult the maneuvers really are and that some athletes may potentially receive sponsorships to compete.
One of the riders told me how “vehicles move close to them to bump them with their side mirrors so they fall.” A young man named Zak was one of the athletes at the park, one of the few people who helped get the Oliver skateboard park and the dedication to Joel Waines. He showed me Joel’s plaque in the park. Zak was filled with sorrow and sudden anger, and upon viewing the plaque I then understood his anger. Somebody had defaced the plaque by painting on it.
Apparently these are the people that have no respect towards the departed, the ties between true friendships, family and bonds that are unbreakable.
The people who respect the park are the ones picking up after people’s careless garbage or broken glass and putting it in the garbage cans provided. They are the ones using the park for what it is intended for. However, anyone that hasn’t been to the park would not see this but see them as the people making the mess, which is a shame.
I asked a few young men why the skateboard park wasn’t painted like all the other parks I’ve been too? The answers were pretty simple and similar, basically that all the surrounding skate parks have a generic paint job and they are not allowed to paint them.
Every park that I’ve seen has painted logos of sponsorship businesses and incredible local art. (I am not talking about the unintelligent swear words and hearts). The art I talk about is the same art that those riders perform in the skateboard park, the pure love towards what they are doing, the freedom and a sense of accomplishment.
The sport can be hazardous since you are riding on cement and steel railings, but these are the risks that these athletes are willing to take for the love of the sport!
The one frequent hazard I watched was a basketball constantly rolling into the rider’s path. I realized that they had built a basketball court right at the end of the rider’s recovery path. Some of the young men on scooters had to swerve to avoid the ball, leading them to sometimes wipe out. The basketball bounced right in the middle of a rider’s trick and forced him to make a quick decision on how bad the fall was going to be.
The location of the basketball court seemed to be the number one hazard. However, no matter what the certain downfalls of the park are to these riders, these athletes are dedicated to their sport and they appreciate having the skateboard park.
What is that old saying? “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” It is amazing what experiences you can have when you actually slow down and take the time to talk to someone or see something extraordinary.
In memory of Joel Michael Waines (1982-199). The plaque reads: “SK8 Forever Joel.”
Madonna Patraroia
Special to the Chronicle
