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Sun Peaks Skate Park moves ahead after public consultation 

The long-awaited Sun Peaks Skate Park is in the design phase after a May brainstorming session with the community.

Plan of the Sun Peaks Skate Park. Photo by Bill Fell.

Sun Peaks Skate Park is one step closer to reality, following a public consultation in May. 

Having acquired land for the project last year, vice president of the Sun Peaks Skate Park Foundation Sonya Nasilowski said this next step was key in getting the ball rolling. 

“We’ve been a grassroots initiative,” Nasilowski said. “The public consultation is a really necessary part for grants and to make sure that everybody feels included.”

While no final decisions were made during the public consultation, it offered an opportunity for folks in the community who contributed to fundraising to brainstorm ideas for what the skate park could be. 

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“We are a world-class resort,” Nasilowski said. “We need to stand up to that. Hopefully, we’ll have features that will allow competitions in the future. We’re keeping the Olympics in mind.”

A project this big comes with its own challenges. Funds, grants and land were the biggest. 

“We’re still in the middle of the process,” Nasilowski said. “It’s taken a lot of time to get enough funds. Also, getting the land was a very long process. It’s quite complex. We just got the land last year and that’s pretty big for us.”

The next step in the project is getting the design for the park. After that, the ideas and brainstorming from the public consultation session will help contribute to applications for grants. Currently, the design team is working on concepts. 

“There are factors that come into design,” Nasilowski said. “The land is a big part of it. Lucky for us, the land is in great shape. There was supposed to be a previous project there that never happened.”

Construction on the Sun Peaks Skate Park is expected to break ground in summer 2026. 

“We’re getting closer and closer.”

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Author
Girl with dark hair stands in front of a bench with a black blazer and white tee shirt. She is wearing black pants and there are plants in the back ground. It is sunny and cloudy.

Aibiike Alymova enjoyed telling stories her whole life, though she first dreamed of a career in film directing, she found herself in Kamloops, pursuing a journalism degree. 

Her journey in journalism started in 2021, when she moved from Kyrgyzstan to pursue her education. For the first two years, she walked past the office for Thompson Rivers University’s student newspaper, The Omega and pull the doorknob, but every time it would be locked. In her third year, she heard The Omega was back, applied for the sports editor position and got it. She worked closely with the TRU WolfPack and the Kamloops Blazers, learning the basics of journalism. 

Growing up in Kyrgyzstan, Aibiike started skiing when she was a kid and she’s looking forward to experiencing winter at the resort. She is not only excited about the colder seasons, but also eager to see what summer at Sun Peaks has to offer and get involved in the community all year round.