The children of Binalong have long been looking for something else to do after school.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now, thanks to the efforts of a handful of young men, a skatepark will fill that void.
“It would be good for the community and future generations,” 14-year-old Travis Pigram told the Tribune. “Heaps of kids ride scooters and bikes.”
Travis, along with Will Goode, 12, Ben Dyball, 15, Riley Arabin, 8, and Jackson Paton, 12, has been gathering support from the village to build a skatepark.
Earlier this year the boys got on their scooters and bikes and rode around the village to get signatures for a petition
The riders said the reaction from residents was really positive and the idea has snowballed from there.
With help from Travis’ mum, Belinda, they formed an incorporated committee in order to fundraise for the park.
“Out of that they would be gaining more confidence,” Ms Pigram said. “They know what it takes now to organise a committee and, it’s not easy.”
The group has been selling raffle tickets, holding kids discos and generally working hard to have already raised $22,000. With in-kind donations, the kitty is up to around $29,000.
Ms Pigram said with one major sponsor, or the approval of a couple of grants, the funding could be complete.
They now have enough funds to lay the initial slab, which could be done by February.
The Binalong project is on a much smaller scale to Yass’ new youth park but it’s just what the boys had hoped for.
“It’s a lot safer than riding around on the street,” Riley said.
Ms Pigram said there had been a couple of near-misses in the village already and by putting the park near the swimming pool and recreation ground, it would be away from traffic.
She also said boredom was a factor.
“They’ve got nothing but the pool and the tennis court [and] there’s no kids’ tennis comp running at all.”
This, compounded with the fact there was no public transport to bigger centres like Yass, Harden and Boorowa, meant children were looking for things to keep them occupied.