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Summer competition draws skaters PAGE 16
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Hippie Mike skates into Burnaby Wheel teacher:
Skateboarder expands popular competition
Hippie Mike teaches confidence on four wheels.
Jacob Zinn staff reporter
If you’ve never heard of Hippie Mike, you probably don’t skateboard. The dreadlocked skater, whose real name is Mike Faux, is a familiar bearded face in the Lower Mainland skateboarding community, having run Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey – a five-date skateboard contest – over the last 10 years. Now he’s expanding his annual competition to other cities with his first ever Supertour, and one of the stops is Burnaby’s Bonsor Skatepark. “I always heard a lot of kids talking about the Tour de Surrey and not showing up,” he said. “They wanted to come and knew a lot about it, but it was difficult for them to travel to Surrey. “I figured if I brought the contests to where the kids are, that’s
Jacob Zinn/ burnaby now
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going to make them feel like it’s less of a nuisance to travel.” While the Tour de Surrey had five dates, he’s starting the inaugural Supertour with three. The tour kicked off in July at
the brand new Cloverdale Youth Park, with Bonsor as the next stop on Saturday, Aug. 23. “I’ve run competitions at this skatepark before, but not for at least eight years,” said Faux.
“This park’s a really good park all around – it’s attractive to every type of skateboarder, and it’s always busy.” Faux picked Bonsor for its central location in the Lower
Mainland and proximity to the Metrotown SkyTrain station, but also its versatility. There are sections of the park that are suited Contest Page 8
No school? City looks at extending day camps Christina Myers staff reporter
With news that longtime mediator Vince Ready is wading into the education dispute, it’s possible that classes will begin on schedule after labour day. In the meantime, local organizations are preparing for what may be an extended strike into the fall. “We know that we’re probably going to have to do something, but what exact-
ly that is, we’re not certain,” said Dave Ellenwood, director of parks and recreation with the City of Burnaby. The department runs day camps and specialized programming through the summer, and Ellenwood says some of those may be brought back in September for parents looking for activities for children who would otherwise be in classes. “We’re discussing the possibility of extended day-long activities, and we also have some drop-ins that will pick up some
of the slack,” he added. Ellenwood notes that they have auxiliary staff and contract instructors that can be brought in as required, but the challenge could be finding the space. “The issue for us, if that happens, is availability of facilities – many of the spaces at our community centres are used during the day for seniors’ programs.” But, right now, it’s all wait-and-see, he notes. “Of course, we’re not sure yet what
will happen. … We can probably react on an ad hoc basis. There’s not a fully developed plan because there’s so much uncertainty.” Ellenwood says parents hoping to make plans can check out their local community centres closer to September, but that the fastest way to get information is through the city’s website (www.burnaby.ca) or through their social media accounts on
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