Penticton

The conduct of a professional skate board team in Penticton may have made it harder for similar future events to get booked at the city’s youth park.

Plan B, a professional skateboard team, demonstrated their skills to young boarders at the Penticton Youth Park Thursday afternoon. Several hundred youth and families arrived, some as early as 10 a.m., to see the demonstration, which was scheduled by the city to run from noon until 3 p.m.

The team didn’t arrive until nearly 3 p.m., by which time, many people had gone home, due to the extreme heat. The group also didn’t wear helmets during the demo, even though the booking agreement signed by the group’s sponsor required them too.

City Parks and Recreation Director, John Kirbyson, says the team’s unprofessional actions may make it harder for other such acts to get booking space in the future.

“It’s very unfortunate they weren’t more professional. The situation has caused us to re-evaluate our booking procedure for events like this should a similar request be received,” says Kirbyson.

He says the city acted in good faith when booking the park and by not wearing helmets, the team showed a real disrespect for the safety message city council is trying to instill in young skateboarders.

“Since they were so late to their booking, most of the actual skating took place after their scheduled time,” says Kirbyson.

He was unable to comment on the possibility of seeking legal action against Plan B.

The sponsor of the event, Penticton's Freeride Board Shop, did not return calls for comment.

Link: Helmets Reconsidered Link: Skateboard Event Concerns