SKATEBOARDING will feature at the Olympics for the first time in 2020, but a prominent skating identity says there's no chance Australia's next gold medallist will hail from Albury.
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Tim Goddard, owner of Dean St skate shop Timmy G's, has been lobbying Albury Council for a number of years to upgrade the David Street skate park.
A Change.org petition, which says the park is out of date and becoming unsafe, is approaching 1000 signatures.
“A lot of countries, cities and towns are doing what they can to provide opportunities and funding for skateboarding, Albury is getting left behind,” Mr Goddard said.
“The Albury skatepark is over 20 years old and hasn't had any legitimate upgrades or extensions in that time.
“It's becoming unsafe for skaters in a lot of ways, a lot of cracks are starting to open up in the concrete.
“The local skate community has voiced their concerns on many occasions over the years, but it constantly falls on deaf ears.”
With the Wodonga skatepark booming after upgrades completed in 2015, Mr Goddard said young skaters in Albury were missing out on the opportunities a better facility could provide.
“It's getting to the point where it's unsafe to skate there, there's a lot of cracks opening up,” he said.
“A lot of the older skaters are able to just drive across to Wodonga, but the young skaters don't really have that option.
“The Border used to be a big drawcard in the skating industry, our location between two capital cities meant a lot of professional teams would stop in and host clinics and demos, but not any more.”
