COUNCILLOR Warren Aubin hopes to find enough support within the council chamber to bring a round of the skateboarding World Cup back to Bathurst next year.
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The Australian Skateboard Racing Association (ASRA) hosted a round of the 2017 World Cup at Mount Panorama in February this year, drawing around 120 Australian and international competitors and more than 8000 spectators over three days.
Skateboard officials and competitors hailed the meeting a success but a report to Wednesday night’s meeting of Bathurst Regional Council recommends council does not make the Mount available in 2018.
Corporate services and finance director Aaron Jones has cited a number of problems with this year’s event, including safety concerns for competitors, non-compliance with resident access requirements and an “apparent lack of respect” towards council staff.
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But Cr Aubin says it would be a mistake for council to give up too easily on an event he believes could put Bathurst in the box seat to become an Olympics venue in the future.
Cr Aubin said council needed to sit down with ASRA officials and clearly outline its expectations.
“Skateboarding is going to be an Olympics sport and Australia will host the Olympics again at some stage so we need to be taking a pretty serious look at the future,” he said.
“As a council we should be sitting down with the organisers and saying ‘this is what happened last year and we don’t want it to happen again’.
“We need to tell them what we expect and if they can’t comply then they don’t have an event. And if the event does go ahead and they don’t comply, then they won’t be back next year.”
Cr Aubin will use Wednesday night’s meeting to call on his colleagues to reject Mr Jones’ recommendation to refuse access to the Mount.
Bathurst man James Thompson – whose son Mitch is one of the world’s top-ranked skateboarders – will also use the meeting to try and convince councillors to vote against the recommendation.
Mr Thompson said Bathurst had already had an impact on international skateboarders.
“I’ve been to nearly international event with Mitch this year and everybody is saying they want to come to Bathurst,” he said.
Meanwhile, an online poll run by the Western Advocate has come out heavily in favour of Bathurst Regional Council making the Mount available to ASRA for next year’s World Cup round.
With more than 600 votes cast, 89 per cent of respondents wanted to see the skateboarders return in 2018.