A new member of the community is looking to find and grow the skateboard scene in Langley.
“I recently moved here with my wife and we wanted to start a Langley skateboard community – reach out to the community that already exists,” said Langley City resident Jon Reusch.
“When I was in Surrey just a couple of months ago… in Surrey and other cities, there is an organization called Skatelife Canada. It’s a Christian faith-based organization that runs weekly clubs for youth who skateboard. Other clubs have regular indoors space they are able to use, we currently don’t have one in Langley so we’re on the lookout for that,” he further explained.
To help build those connections and advocate for skate park spaces in Langley, the 24-year-old recently hosted a barbeque and skate session on Oct. 24. The weather, unfortunately, didn’t cooperate, which saw the event move to an indoor venue at MacInnes Farms.
“My wife and I just wanted to see what the interest was in the Langley area so we could support the youth in the sport,” Reusch said.
He estimated about 20 people of various ages and skill level attend the informal session. Reusch, himself, has been engagement with the sport for about 14 years,.
“There’s definitely people of all skill levels and that’s what we want to encourage,” he said. “This is kind of a one-off event, but we would love to, in the future, have an indoor space.”
Reusch is hoping to connect with local partners about rental opportunities for the skate community.
“It would be a way to give a positive influence to people who are interested in skateboarding, or interested in starting skateboarding in the Langley community,” he said.
“We’re hoping to give youth a vision for what they could do with their lives, even just a hobby – it teaches a lot of things, building character.”
Reusch invites anyone who is interested in the sport to contact him.
“I would encourage anyone with any skill level to reach out to the LangleySkateCrew on Instagram and we’ll get you connected to the community,” he said.
“We’ll try to have semi-regular events as we get opportunities for spaces to skateboard together. We’d love to grow that community and just have a good positive environment, something that people can both make friendships in as well as grow the sport and their skill level too.”
For future events visit LangleySkateCrew online social media.
Have a story tip? Email: joti.grewal@blackpress.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.