Australian vertical skate star Renton Millar gives new Albury Skate Park tick of approval

Australian vertical skate star Renton Millar praised the facility after he performed the first official drop-in at its opening on the weekend alongside Tokyo 2020 Olympian Hayley Wilson.

"Albury is sick, worth the drive for a weekend shred," he shared on Instagram.

"Fun times skating the Albury City Council new skate park demo."

Border skate coach Al Taylor, who owns an indoor facility in Wodonga, has no doubt the park is capable of hosting national events.

"Renton's comments were that it was up there with the best skate parks in Australia," he said.

"It's not just a community asset, it will be a drawcard for Albury and attract competitions and events.

"We've already had pro skaters coming out of Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney to skate at the park since it opened.

"Being where we are, teams will get in a van and drive down to stop in Albury.

"I know the council really wants to do events to activate the space.

"We've definitely seen an increased interest and the Albury Skate Park is only going to help that."

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Mr Taylor said the aspect he was most pleased with was the range of ages at the park.

"There was kids from two or three years old on their balance bikes and skateboards all the way through to a group of guys over 50," he said.

"My six-year-old son was dropping in at the same time as a 55-year-old.

"There's not many sports or activities where you've got a six-year-old and a 55-year-old doing the same thing at the same time.

"The fantastic thing about the design of the skate park is we have basketball, parkour, there's a pump track and the park is very progressive.

"There's small obstacles all the way through to the deep bowl and the vertical ramp, so there's something for everyone.

"It incorporates so many more park users, it's not just a skate park."

Mr Taylor said the inclusion of skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympic Games had further helped to raise the sport's profile.

"Some of the biggest comments I got from the Olympics, especially the park skating, was the fact all those guys were hanging out around the bowl and cheering each other on," he said.

"It takes some of the stigma that has been attached to skateboarding and skateparks away.

"I think that was one of the most positive aspects of watching the Olympics."

Albury Council's youth events officer Simon Watts was delighted to see so many people come to use the $3.6 million skate park.

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