Dr. Vagyi Memorial Skatepark - Chase, BC
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 50° 49.232 W 119° 41.546
11U E 310359 N 5633322
Chase's Centennial Park is one of thousands built across the country to commemorate Canada's 100th birthday.
Waymark Code: WM118GG
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 09/06/2019
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member YoSam.
Views: 3
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In 1965, two years before Canada's centennial, Chase citizen George Hysop donated the land for this park to the Village of Chase. In size, the park is about 500 feet from north to south and averages less than 150 feet east to west. This measurement includes the new Skate Park, which was built in 2017 at the south end of the park. The skatepark area was previously part of the park, with an outdoor hockey/skating rink being removed to make way for the Dr. Vagyi Memorial Skatepark.

Dr. Vagyi contributed to the construction of the skateboard park; hence it was named in his honour. The good doctor contributed much more to the community a large:
Dr Mihaly (Mike) Vagyi was born on 30 March 1929 in Vasarosdombo, Hungary, and passed away on 2 April 2015 at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. When the student-led Hungarian uprising of 1956 was crushed by Soviet tanks entering Budapest in November of that year, Dr Vagyi became a refugee and fled Hungary, arriving first in France and then immigrating to Canada. Dr Vagyi arrived in Halifax on 14 January 1957 and made his way to Montreal and then Vancouver and Penticton. The early years were difficult for Dr Vagyi due to his lack of fluency in English. He worked a variety of jobs in order to gain a command of the language, the last being as an orderly at the Penticton Hospital. With sufficient English and Canadian citizenship in hand, Dr Vagyi moved to Chase and assumed Dr Mike Trelor’s practice.

> For over 40 years Dr Vagyi was the quintessential rural family doctor, routinely working 12-hour days, 7 days a week. During that time he delivered over 2500 babies and attended innumerable house calls. In the 1960s Chase still had a switchboard with a live operator, and Dr Vagyi would keep the operator apprised of his location so that he could be located if required.
From the BC Medical Journal
Work commenced on the new skatepark on Friday April 7, 2017, with many tradespeople, businesses and others volunteering much of the labour and donating to the project. The park's grand opening came about on October 14, 2017. While the idea for a skatepark in Chase came to life 10 years earlier fundraising had fallen well short of the intended goal. Plans for a $250,000 facility had been drawn, but as of 2016 the Chase & District Skate Park Society were well short of that goal. As a result, new, more modest plans for a $60,000 project were drawn and, by the spring of 2017 they felt they could go ahead with construction.

The result was this skatepark, considerably less complex that originally envisioned, but quite serviceable and being enjoyed by the village's skateboarders. When we visited there were a number of boarders improving their skills in the park.
Construction begins on new
Chase Skate Park
Kelowna Now | Apr 14, 2017
Work commenced last Friday to construct a new skateboard park in Chase, B.C. The construction of the new multi-use skate park began after the park location was approved by the Village of Chase.

The project would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the tireless work undertaken by members of the Chase & District Skate Park Society, as well as the overwhelming generosity of local contractors, tradespeople and businesses.

The news of the construction finally comes following a long journey that began over a decade ago when it was just a hopeful idea in the minds of young skateboarders.

The idea for constructing a new skate park came to the forefront last summer, when volunteers of the Chase & District Skate Park Society participated in the Kraft Heinz Project Play contest. Despite the Society finishing as a top four finalist out of a record 820 nominations across Canada, they fell short of the Grand Prize of $250,000 and walked away with $20,000 towards their recreational upgrade

The original plan for the skate park was estimated to cost around $250,000. However, after failing to secure the Grand Prize in the contest, the Society recognized they would have to go back to the drawing board and ended up devising a less expensive upgrade estimated to cost around $60,000.

The new design is intended to beautify the area and make the new skate park an extension of the existing Centennial Park.

Although the society to this date has only raised $40,000, they recently created a Sponsorship Program that they hope will be sufficient in raising the additional funds needed.

The program will offer plaques that will adorn the new trees that will be planted plus other accessories such as bike racks, park benches and picnic tables for sponsor recognition. The sponsorship ranges from $500 - $5,000+.

“We are excited to create this much needed positive and beautiful space for youth from Chase and surrounding communities such as Neskonlith and Adams Lake!” said Kelsey Snelgrove, President of the Chase & District.

Those interested in donating to the construction of the park can find out more information at the Chase Skate Park Facebook page here.
From Kelowna Now
Address:
200 Block, Pine Street
Chase, BC Canada
V0E 1M0

Are bikes allowed?: No

Saftey gear required.: no

Do you have to pay? If so whats the cost.: 0

Inside or outside?: Outdoor

Are you a skateboarder.: No
Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the skate park. and if possible include your self in the picture.
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