It's been a long battle, but the end is in sight. Or is it?

The Wakatipu Skateboard club has succeeded in getting a proposed 1100m2 skatepark into the draft plan for the Recreation Ground, and the community has been asked to make submissions on this draft plan. Submissions end on December 9th, after which a public hearing will be held and people who submitted, and wish to, may stand and have their say.

If there is a positive decision, Queenstown skaters, bikers, rollarbladders and scooter riders will finally have a safe, modern, well-maintained and visible park in which to practice their sport. If it's a no, then it's back to the drawing board and the park may never get built.

The debate has focused around a number of key issues. One is that skaters don't 'deserve' to have $300,000 spent on them. Another is that bringing a skate park into the town will increase crime in the area. The third issue is that the park encroaches on those who already use the recreation ground, like rugby players.

The Wakatipu Skateboard club has invested huge amounts of time over the last seven or eight years pushing for the park, and presented a 4000 signature strong petition to council this year.

Cr. Chris Blackford has been the most outspoken opponent of the park, and has said that a skateboard park on the rec ground will be 'over my dead body'.

Mayor Clive Geddes has been supportive of the park, and has stated that he favours the rec ground because the impact on the surrounding area will be 'very low'.

Queenstown.com sat down with John Stapleton, treasurer of the Wakatipu Skateboard Club, and involved in the push for a park for a number of years to get his take on the issue. He's 34, a local business owner, and a skater.  Stapleton represents the new generation - people who've grown up with change and technology and sports that foster individual expression, like skating, surfing, skiing and mountain biking. While he's busy running a motel, a shop and about to get into venue managing, he also cares passionately about skating. You'll often find him out at the Glenorchy Park, or Arrowtown Park, skating with kids half his age.

What follows is an abridged transcript of this conversation:

Keep checking back, as queenstown.com hopes to talk to more people involved in this issue, including Cr. Blackford, and skaters. We'll post stories as we write them.

This issue has been on-going for a long time hasn't it?

It has, probably for seven or eight years - some of the original guys involved have left town, because that's the nature of the population here. We've been pushing for a new park because the one in the Queenstown Gardens is outdated, dilapidated, remote and outdated, the push has been to get a bigger, better, safer one.  When the council started looking at the future of the recreation ground, we saw an opportunity. Clive actually pointed out it would be a good site, because we've worked quite closely with Clive and Paul Wilson, the parks and reserve manager, over the years. They're really positive because they can see the need, and the benefits to the community, and it's great to have them on board.

So how did the idea of the rec ground come up?

We started lining up the rec ground about two years, when we heard they were going to start reviewing the future of the ground. Isthmus, an Auckland based consultancy group, was employed by the council to do a case study on five different skateboard park sites. Three of them were on the rec ground, and the other two were the botanical gardens and one was up on Mann Street where the old camping ground was. Their report named the southern end of the rec ground as the most suitable site.

Why do you support the rec ground?

Skateboarders are drawn to social hubs and they want to be seen. They practice so much that they want someone to appreciate their sport. It's like the rugby players who play on Saturdays, if no one ever saw them play, it would be a bit pointless. That's why we think the rec ground is a good location. It's accessible, it's so visible, it's surrounded by mainly commercial activity, the site is drop down so it's below the street level and noise won't be a factor. Cr. Blackwell is very active at the moment. He's been the to Fire Hall, to the rugby ground, he was at the touch rugby on Sunday asking people to make submission against the park. As much as we are pro-active, he's going the other way. We don't want to remove anyone, we just want to re-jig things so there is a little bit of space for us. We worked out that the park would turn 6% of the rec ground area turn into concrete, but we would add terracing that would increase the surface area, and create seating for the touch sevens.

Why is Cr. Blackford so opposed to the park on the rec ground?

It's because he's very old guard he demands respect - he doesn't work the other way and earn respect and give respect. Because of this, a lot of the youth around here don't give him the respect he demands, and so he dislikes them immensely, and that's where he's coming from. He really wants them posted away from town so that they won't cause any trouble. But really, he's created a lot of that animosity because of the way he is. We've tried very hard to get other important people around town to help out on our campaign, but because of the crossover of Mr. Blackford being a police officer and a councilor, not many people are willing to step up. We thought some of the other police officers might buy into it as a kudos-earning event for themselves to help the youth, because there doesn't seem to be any support coming from that side. Over in the UK the police work together with the youth to create the parks because it gets them alongside with the youth they're trying to help and if they break down the barriers and help these guys then they are going to get more respect and less hassles.

Mr. Blackford always fires personal shots and it's been hard for us to get the kids to understand and not to retort, and to get them to bite their lips, because they would love to give him a barrel full, but that just plays into his hand, because he thinks we're all upstarts anyway. In reality, the kids aren't. The kids are very cool and cruisy, they just want to enjoy themselves - this is not the North Island, there are no gangs or overtones in this town. Queenstown has more issues through alcohol than it does through skaters.

Where does this impression of skateboarders being drugged-taking, crime-committing youth come from?

A lot of it dates back to the '70s when skateboarding was outlawed in the states and there was nowhere to skate so kids were on the streets, in the city, and breaking into people's houses to skate empty pools, because that was the style of skating in those days. That's when there was a very rebellious stage and it's grown from there. There are guys my age in town who skate, and we manage businesses and have responsibilities and the beauty of the sport is that it crosses over so many ages, you can skate with people twice your age and it leads to positive outcomes because the younger skaters see us as role models and the older ones regulate the younger ones. Plus, if you go to school in the morning, you'll see how many kids show up with skateboards and bikes, it's a mode of transport for them.

What is the population of skaters in town?

It's difficult to gauge because of the nature of the sport - which is why kids like it - they don't have to belong to a club, they don't get told what to do, they don't have to make the team, they don't have to turn up to practices, they can do it whenever they want. They just have to pick up their skateboard and go. Kids like that sort of thing. It's something they can practice in their own time with their friends. I would imagine at least 200 just in Queenstown, but of different levels.

Do you think that part of the problem is that for some parts of the community, skating is not a sport as such?

They are just a bit outdated and not as close to the coalface as they need to be to make an educated comment - a lot of them slate it because of the minority that ruin it for us. But that would be the same as drink drivers ruining it for drivers - there will always be a minority. Some youth are rebels without a cause, it's what you do when you're growing up - you push the parameters. But there is nothing free to do in this town except for Frisbee golf, walks and swims. If kids are out there skating and enjoying it, then they are doing good things. But if they have a lot of energy, and they have nothing to do, then they get up to mischief, it's obvious. That's where a lot of youth crimes comes from, too much time on the hands.

Is there an economic spin-off to the community from the skateboard park?

It's not a commercial venture, but there is potential there, Wellington has the Vodafone X air, Auckland has the X games coming. We're an international city with a great backdrop. We're not fighting on that strength, but it is something to consider. Our fight is for the community, to create something safe that will benefit a huge amount of people - not just the skaters but BMXers, rollerbladers and bikers too.

What's wrong with the current site?

The rec ground is made for energetic activities, whereas the gardens has lawn bowls, lawn tennis, Frisbee golf and walking. Skating is recreation - it belongs on the rec ground. Friends of the Park love the park as it is and they don't want a lump of concrete going in there so it's unlikely that we'd ever see that happen. The best thing that could happen there is that the current skate park is removed from the gardens.

Why is skateboarding so polarizing?

It's because skaters have had no-where to skate and they have skated in town, occasionally knocking someone over or creating a disturbance and people have told them off. And you know how the youth are today - they have an attitude on them from birth, so when they get told what to do by someone they don't know, they answer back.

Why is it important for kids to have somewhere to skate?

Skating is more than just a sport for kids. The skate scene crosses over into music culture and into clothing too; it's a multi-million dollar industry. Kids like being part of it because they belong to a bigger group, and there's safety in numbers - it gives them an identity. Kids go around in groups until they get to about 20 or 23 when they tend to not need the group anymore. As a whole, for the 20 and under group, they have a nice sense of belonging and camaraderie without having to belong to an affiliated club. There is so much talent here, with the snowboarding crews in town, the BMX crew, the downhill crew, plus there is international talent that comes through town. It's good for the kids to be somewhere safe and to mix with older people too. There will be a large amount of people using it, and that will police the idiot factor because none of us are going to tolerate anyone ruining something we have worked so hard to get. We want to grow that through so that the younger kids take ownership of the park. If you're out in Arrowtown and someone starts being a muppet, they get regulated very quickly. It doesn't happen that often, but you'll have the minority creeping through.

Final words?

A skatepark is a no-brainer in many ways but we are fighting the old guard mentality and it's very difficult to get past that because they are very stuck in their ways. We're doing this for the love of the sport. We've all grown up as skaters, and we turned out alright. I don't think the kids get a fair go in this town and they don't have the confidence to push their case forward on their own, and I want to help them by doing what I can. I believe in helping other people, because good things will come from that.