The Town of Sylvan Lake has assigned a city employee to be their Skate Park Ambassador, who will be on-site to help provide a safe and welcoming skate/action sports park experience for all users.

The pilot project will run until September, with the ambassador there Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 am until 7:30 pm. They will help answers any questions users may have, along with helping to maintain public health protocols through daily maintenance, as well as undertaking a supervising role.

Communications Coordinator for the Town of Sylvan Lake Joanne Gaudet said the ambassador’s role will be more about engagement than enforcement.

“So the ambassador is basically there to engage with users, help foster healthy relationships with our sports community, and in some cases, they will certainly be responsible for some daily maintenance of the facility especially with those health and safety measures. And, where permissible, the ambassador might even help educate park users with some skate techniques or proper park etiquette.”

Gaudet says through multiple public engagement sessions and general feedback from the community, they heard about ongoing issues regarding safety, as well as providing a fun and appropriate experience for everyone, regardless of their age or skill level.

“Having a supervisor or just some sort of individual down there at the skate park is part of the solution to an on-going discussion with safety and having that good experience. We have users that range from beginner to pro… from toddlers or young children to adults. Having someone down there who can kind of foster relationships and provide a good experience for everyone, kind of came up as a potential solution, and I think we are just looking forward to seeing if that resonates with people and if it becomes an on-going program then we’ll have more clarity there at the end of the season.”

The pilot project includes the addition of a mobile tent/speaker system to play all-age-appropriate music.

Music being a contentious issue between age groups was something that was also identified through previous public engagement sessions.