THUNDER BAY — City police are looking to engage local youth by rolling around on a different set of four wheels, partnering with Our Kids Count to run a skateboarding camp at the city’s waterfront.
The "Sk8 Collab” program launched this week, teaching 20 local kids aged 8 to 12 years some boarding basics. Another round of the camp will be held in August.
The police force calls the initiative a chance “to engage with at-risk youth in a positive and active manner.”
The camp, held at the skate park at Prince Arthur’s Landing, was offered free to families involved with Our Kids Count and the Big Brothers, Big Sisters, with registration later opened to the broader community.
Margaret Hajdinjak, a program manager with Our Kids Count, said the sessions generated significant interest and filled up quickly.
“People are still calling and [asking], ‘Can I still register?’” she said. “So it’s a very successful program. We’d love to run it more often. We can always look at that next year.”
Thunder Bay Police Service Const. Greg Bago pitched the project to his superiors, and helped recruit instructors from the local skateboarding community.
“I’ve been skateboarding my whole life and it’s been my passion forever,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to have an opportunity to pass on my love of skateboarding to the community and do it through the police, to kind of show that we’re regular people too.”
Since Tuesday, he’s been teaching participants some basics around skateboarding stances and balance, how to push properly and ride small ramps alongside other instructors.
Only one or two of the children had been on a skateboard before this week, he said.
“They’re very receptive to learning, and watching them persevere through the challenges — skateboarding’s very difficult, [and] when you fall, it’s not very forgiving on concrete. But they get back up, they dust themselves off, they’ll take a break and then they’ll get right back to it.”
Hajdinjak was similarly impressed.
“I was here on Tuesday morning, the first day it started, and all of the kids were just walking around and watching. Even coming today and seeing some of them flipping their boards and on their boards — the progression in two days has been amazing.”
Participant Kaija Reilly, whose previous experience consisted of limited time on a beginner’s penny board, said she jumped at the chance to learn new skills, and plans to continue boarding after this week.
Asked what advice she’d pass on to other kids considering the sport, Reilly called persistence the key.
“It’s fun. You’ve just got to learn your beginner stuff,” she said. “If you fall, just get back up, don’t give up – that’s not going to get you anywhere.”
First-time skateboarder Isla Maxwell, 9, called it “a little bit harder than most sports” to learn, but reported that hadn’t stopped her from having a great time.
“You’ve got to put effort into it to get it right — it takes practice,” she said. “Just take the chance and see if you like it… keep trying.”
While she said she’s not quite ready to launch into the park’s large bowl on a skateboard, having the chance to climb in and experience it for herself was a highlight.
Her younger sister, Lindi, had similar words of praise for the program.
“I like it because you get to meet new people and meet new friends, and it’s just fun to learn to skate,” she said. “I got to learn a new thing.”
Our Kids Count secured a $5,000 grant from the city through its Community, Youth & Cultural Funding Program to run the camp, as well as support from the Thunder Bay Police Services Board, which purchased equipment.
Participants will be able to keep that gear at the end of the week to continue pursuing the sport.
Bago called the camp a chance to build trust in police among youth.
“I think they’re going to see me not being in uniform, being from a skateboarding background… and knowing they can approach me, ask me questions – it’s less intimidating without a uniform,” he said.
“We want to build that trust with the community. It’s a cliché, ‘To serve and protect,’ but that’s really what we want to do.”
Asked if the police presence could keep some families away from the camp, given the force’s troubled recent history with Thunder Bay’s Indigenous community in particular, Bago called that “possible,” but said the program is meant to bring positive change.
“I look at it as, the end goal would be to have everybody come together as one big community, but it’s going to take time,” he said. “I think this is one step we can take… one thing we can do to show the community that we’re here to support them, break down any barriers.”
Hajdinjak said Our Kids Count had no hesitation in working with police on youth outreach projects, citing previous successes.
“We’ve worked with them before on different projects – Project Prevent was a big one… that was very successful,” she said. “No hesitation at all.”
“It was a great way to bring the partnership together and show people how you can work as a community… We couldn’t have done it on our own, and they couldn’t have done it on their own.”
