SKATING and BMX exponents converged on Katherine’s skate park in droves when YMCA Katherine held a school holiday drop-in evening on January 9.
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As part of the organisation’s free school holiday program, extreme sport ministry outfit JC Epidemic rolled into the Top End to engage youth in a range of activities and competitions.
Despite inclement weather threatening the put a dampener on the event, more than 150 people - including parents - turned out to take part in a barbecue and watch the action unfold on the jumps.
YMCA Katherine Youth in Communities Program team leader Tammy Frean said the event had been an overwhelming success and proved that not all youth in Katherine were “out to cause trouble”.
“With the rain in the lead-up, it was a good crowd,” she said.
“It was really good to see such a large cross-section of the community take part.
“The JC [Epidemic] boys are in town to do a lot of safety stuff, as well as teach skate park etiquette when everyone is using different equipment.
“Everyone was well behaved and they’re all still trying to do positive things, the majority of them are.”
A swag of prizes, including bicycles, skateboards, helmets and accessories, were offered to participants on the night, and Mrs Frean said it had been a tremendous way to engage youth during the school holidays.
“They like doing [stuff at the skate park] already, so this event just builds on those existing interests,” she said.
To see more photos from the event, grab a copy of the January 14 edition of the Katherine Times.