Yellowknife (May 07/03) - Each spring Yellowknife youths head to the skate park in droves and each year the park has suffered a little more wear and each year it is a little more crowded.

That's why Shawn McCann and the 10-member board of the Yellowknife Boardsport Association are lobbying the city for a new park.

McCann, volunteer coordinator of the youth-run association said the Williams Avenue park has almost outlived its usefulness. More and more kids are skateboarding and it is worn out to the point of being dangerous.

"The current park isn't big enough for what's needed," she said. "There's no room for more obstacles, the obstacles that we have aren't lined up to do runs back and forth, there's no flow to this park."

The association has raised about $16,000 for the project so far, but McCann said it would be a lot easier to raise money if council could find them some land to put a park. She guesses they will need over $100,000 for the park and a lot of labour donated in kind.

They recently presented a petition with several hundred names to council asking for land for the park.

Coun. Robert Hawkins, said he would like to see the city provide land as soon as possible.

"The skateboarders are very motivated fundraisers, I have no doubt the land is the biggest obstacle right now," he said. "The kids want to do the work, they want to pound the pavement and they want a facility we can be proud of."

Hawkins said he's heard from various business owners, council members and residents that they would like a bigger park for the skateboard community.

"The will is definitely there," he said. McCann and Hawkins both believe that a facility like this is particularly important because skateboarders don't typically use other sports facilities.

"In some ways they fall through the cracks," said Hawkins. "I think everybody wins if we give them a place to go."

Yellowknife community services director, Grant White, said its simply a matter of finding appropriate space to accommodate the group.

"Their presentation to us was that if we give them the land then they'll build a park," he said.

The association had a site picked out near the tennis courts by McNiven Beach but the idea was opposed by the owner of the nearby mini-golf course who worried the park would bring more vandalism.

"Unfortunately we're up against the 'not in my backyard' feeling," she said.

Another problem the association faces is the buckling permafrost.

Skateboarders need a smooth surface to safely perform their tricks and the current park is warped.

Skateboarder Brad Poulter, who works with the Boardsport association said the park needs to be flat and be designed so skateboarders can flow from end to end picking different lines of tricks.

"We'll design it and make sure its the park we want."