“If you ride out of your comfort zone, you will get hurt,” said apprentice boilermaker Chris Clinton, 22.

He can name 12 riders who will be there the day it opens, doing back-flips.

“It is not the safest sport, but it is a lot safer than riding in car parks,” he said.

Chris campaigned for almost eight years for the park and although he is much older now than when he began, he will be there when the first trick is staged.

The freestyle BMX rider studied skate parks from around the State and drew a sketch to show what he thought was the best plan for Port Pirie.

He was part of the design committee which presented the plans to the council.

These were used to form an impression of the park that appeared in The Recorder last year. Chris could possibly be the oldest freestyle rider in Port Pirie who can pull off some professional standard tricks, but he is close to the end of his riding days.

“I am disappointed that a playground went up on the foreshore in that short a time before a skate park that has been in the making for nearly eight years has even been started,” he said.

“The money for the playground basically fell out of the sky and it all just happened.

“There are heaps of playgrounds around, but nothing for the teenagers. It has taken too long.”

He praised some of the original people who worked to get the skate park started - Cr Debbie Devlin, Lyn Madden, Greg Broadfoot and the late deputy mayor Rita Blieschke.

“Rita didn’t know what a skate park was, but she wanted it for the kids,” he said.

Since the skate park has reached its $300,000 funding target for it to be built, the Railway Tennis Club has given $2000 to the project to spend the funds locally.