DOZENS of friends of late Wodonga teenager Spencer Botting have gathered for a skate competition held in his honour in Wodonga.
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The 2015 Loddon Mallee Hume Skate Park Series event saw skateboarders, and BMX and scooter riders, compete for the Spencer Botting Memorial Trophy on Sunday.
Spencer died in a car crash at Staghorn Flat in May about two weeks before his 17th birthday.
His father Lee Botting, who handed out the trophy to the overall winner at the James Scott Memorial Skate Park, said the support of Spencer’s young friends had been vital after the accident.
“A lot of memories come back,” Mr Botting said from the skate park.
“Spencer was six when we first moved up to the Border.
“He was down here at the skate park nearly every day with his brother and his mates, so I picture him being out there doing stuff.
“I can’t forget him.
“His mates remind me of him every day, which is the best for healing.”
Mr Botting said most people at the Sunday’s event had known his son.
“I really do think they’d be honoured to win the trophy,” he said.
“It was important that it had aspects of Spencer including the diamond sphere and the colour red.”
Mr Botting has been pushing for changes to road laws since the incident, with cross-border irregularities allowing Wodonga residents to travel to Albury to get their licences a year earlier.
He plans to ramp up his campaign in coming months and continue to push a road safety message to young people in the region.
Known as Lamar’s Law after his son’s nickname, Mr Botting has already seen a change in the attitude of Spencer’s friends.
“Something that’s come out of it with Facebook is those 18-year-olds and 19-year-old offering to give out free lifts,” he said.
“They want to give up their night out to go pick their mates up from the club at 2am and 3am.
“That’s priceless.”
The skate park was recently upgraded and Mr Botting said a plaque would be installed at the site in memory of his son.
The upgrades were unveiled at the site last week ahead of Sunday's competition.
The venue has been extended with a basketball court, rails and ramps, and an undercover area at a cost of $280,000.
