Everything has actually run smoothly since the then 10-year-old Siep and his friends collected eight hundred signatures for a skate park in Wijk aan Zee a year and a half ago. And all signals now really seem to be green: there is a plan, a place and recently there are also spikes. Expected delivery time: in about six months.
“In advance we thought: such a park will be ready in five or six weeks”, says Siep’s mother, Mirjam Durge. “And that is true, but there is much more to it than just the construction.”
There can the Amstelveense Tijn (17) and Sem (15) talk about it. After three years, the municipality has finally designated a piece of land for this and the skating rink seems to be coming.
In recent years, it sometimes made them a bit despondent: “For long periods it seemed hopeless, because we heard nothing from the municipality,” says Tijn. “Is something going to come? You kind of have that feeling.”
From signature collection to ollie
Fortunately, the initiators in Wijk aan Zee did not feel that way. The whole route has from the autograph collection of Siep and his friends, until their first ollie (a jump with a skateboard) lasted ‘only’ two years. Despite an eager Siep, the Durge family also fully understands this.
Mirjam: “It’s actually going very well, we haven’t really had any setbacks yet. That skate park wouldn’t have been there within this time, if the municipality of Beverwijk hadn’t been so sympathetic from the start.”
So it was not a matter of good will, on the contrary. The municipality contributed ideas and quickly found a suitable location for the park, on a sloping piece at the entrance of Wijk aan Zee.
“The intended location is more or less fixed,” says Durge. “There are not really any other options in our small village. It is only important to work out well with the nearest residents. The municipality has taken that upon itself.”
A ‘global’ design by skate park designer SkateOn is also ready. “In terms of size, you can compare it a bit with the skate park in Castricum. I think it is about 400 square meters.”
One hundred thousand euros is in
The biggest problem was simple, and the municipality was honest about that from the start: money. And so Siep and his mother, supported by enthusiastic fellow villagers, set to work themselves. With success, Mirjam says: “It’s good now, we have all achieved the hundred thousand euros†
This was partly due to generous contributions from Tata Steel, Rabobank and other entrepreneurs from Beverwijk and Wijk aan Zee. And via a GoFundMe page, ‘ordinary’ Wijk aan Zeeërs also contributed in large numbers.
‘Build it, that bite’, you might say. But it’s not that simple anymore.
Skating before the weather gets really ugly
“After a busy period in November and December, we are now having a quiet time,” says Mirjam. “Then we had the money and we handed over the project to the municipality.
“But such a park has to meet all kinds of conditions. Quality requirements, it gets a quality mark and such.. so that also takes some time. Sometimes something like this takes two, three months, and sometimes longer.” Not that that bothers her. “Well, that’s how it goes!”
Fortunately, son Siep still skates just as fanatically as he did two years ago, says Durge with a laugh. “And just before the weather gets really ugly, we hope that the children will be able to skate in the new park during the autumn holidays.”