Photo: Mat Hanson

With COVID-19 forcing everyone to limit their close contacts, many people have taken to the outdoors
for amusement.

A Kelowna group wants to make sure their members have something to do when they are outside, so they have started fundraising for their own skatepark.

The Kelowna Skateboard Association, founded by Anna Zeitner with local business person Jason Skogland and community organizer Mat Hanson, are hoping to raise $10,000 for an interim skatepark in the Mission area of Kelowna.

The City of Kelowna has a skatepark on the docket for the area, but it's still years away and the KSA says the need is now.

"This initiative is in response to a petition started by local youth that are desperate for somewhere to skateboard in the Lower Mission," Mat Hanson tells Castanet.

The group intends to use the money to build a self-contained three-foot tall mini ramp and a tent to cover the area. The idea is to keep it portable so it can be moved.

"At a time when group organized sports are on pause, individual sports like skateboarding offer our youth a healthy physical outlet as well as improve their mental health at this challenging time. Please consider donating as your donation will help build a stronger more healthy community in Kelowna's Lower Mission," Hanson says.