Latest news with #Hawk
Toronto Sun
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Tony Hawk, Mark McMorris help open skateboard park expansion in Smithers, B.C.
Published May 30, 2025 • Last updated 4 minutes ago • 3 minute read Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk high-fives young fans during the grand opening of the expanded Smithers Skate Park in Smithers, B.C., in this Thursday, May 29, 2025 handout photo. Photo by handout/Erica Chan / THE CANADIAN PRESS Tony Hawk and Mark McMorris wanted their presence at the Smithers Skate Park expansion unveiling to amplify skateboarding's importance in the remote, northern B.C. community. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Skateboarding icon Hawk and Canadian snowboarding star McMorris travelled to the town of 5,000 people for Thursday's opening. They lauded the community's pluck in raising $1.8 million to increase the size of the street park and build a bowl for skateboarders next to the Yellowhead Highway that runs from Winnipeg to the West Coast. 'I don't go to many grand openings, to be honest, but this seemed like a really unique situation,' Hawk said. 'I don't want to say it's the most remote area, but in remote areas, skateboarding is still a valid option for kids to choose, and they want to do it. We need to provide facilities for them.' McMorris, a three-time Olympic slopestyle bronze medallist whose 24 X Games medals is the most among snowboarders, has a special place in his heart for skateboarding. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The first board I ever got on was a skateboard,' McMorris said. 'It's been so important in my life. That's how I made a lot of friends. It's where I spent a lot of time at the skate park in Regina. 'I can just only imagine what it would be like if Tony Hawk came to Regina to open a skate park when I was a kid. Some kids' minds are going to be blown, and some new skateboarders are going to be born from this event.' Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk stands in front of fans during the grand opening of the expanded Smithers Skate Park in Smithers, B.C., in this Thursday, May 29, 2025 handout photo. Photo by handout/Erica Chan / THE CANADIAN PRESS The expanded street park cost $1.2 million and the bowl another $600,000 to build, said Smithers Skate Park Society vice-chair Christy Sawchuck, who is also known around town as 'Rad-Mom' because of her love of skateboarding. 'We don't have the municipalities that can fund something like this. We're doing it all on our own,' Sawchuck said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We had local non-profits and foundations that got us started with large donations. We had many local companies that gave us discounted materials and services.' The Power To Give Foundation contacted McMorris, who in turn reached out to Hawk. The two men have crossed paths in the action sport community and in Encinitas, Calif., where both have homes. 'He is an extremely large figure. Larger than life, larger than the sport itself, so for him to agree to do this is very special,' McMorris said. Hawk's Skateboard Project in the United States helps build parks for underserved communities, so what Smithers has done aligns with his beliefs. 'To see this in Canada makes me feel inspired. I hope that the city takes pride in a project like this,' Hawk said. 'A lot of times facilities like these are uphill battles and there are tired stigmas that are associated with our sport, skateboarding especially. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I feel like skate parks can save lives and they can enhance a community beyond anything that they might imagine. I feel like Smithers will be an example of that.' More improvements are in the works for the Smithers' park including a pump track that's easier for beginners, lighting and accessible washrooms. Admission to the skate park is free. 'For free unstructured play that reaches everybody and every demographic, I think it's imperative to have,' Sawkchuck said. 'Not everybody can afford to do huge recreational sports and have parents that can travel.' Sawchuck also believes travelling families will see the park from the highway and make it a stop for rest and recreation. 'It runs right along Highway 16. We have a lot of people that travel the North, anywhere from the Lower Mainland, from the United States, travelling up to Alaska,' she said. 'It ends up being like a rest-stop station and a central hub for people to let their dogs out, grab something to eat, go to the skate park, chill out for a little bit and carry on on their travels.' Check out our sports section for the latest news and analysis. Crime Sunshine Girls Toronto Maple Leafs Sunshine Girls Toronto Raptors
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Tony Hawk, Mark McMorris help open skateboard park expansion in Smithers, B.C.
Tony Hawk and Mark McMorris wanted their presence at the Smithers Skate Park expansion unveiling to amplify skateboarding's importance in the remote, northern B.C. community. Skateboarding icon Hawk and Canadian snowboarding star McMorris travelled to the town of 5,000 people for Thursday's opening. They lauded the community's pluck in raising $1.8 million to increase the size of the street park and build a bowl for skateboarders next to the Yellowhead Highway that runs from Winnipeg to the West Coast. 'I don't go to many grand openings, to be honest, but this seemed like a really unique situation,' Hawk said. 'I don't want to say it's the most remote area, but in remote areas, skateboarding is still a valid option for kids to choose, and they want to do it. We need to provide facilities for them.' McMorris, a three-time Olympic slopestyle bronze medallist whose 24 X Games medals is the most among snowboarders, has a special place in his heart for skateboarding. 'The first board I ever got on was a skateboard,' McMorris said. 'It's been so important in my life. That's how I made a lot of friends. It's where I spent a lot of time at the skate park in Regina. 'I can just only imagine what it would be like if Tony Hawk came to Regina to open a skate park when I was a kid. Some kids' minds are going to be blown, and some new skateboarders are going to be born from this event.' The expanded street park cost $1.2 million and the bowl another $600,000 to build, said Smithers Skate Park Society vice-chair Christy Sawchuck, who is also known around town as 'Rad-Mom' because of her love of skateboarding. 'We don't have the municipalities that can fund something like this. We're doing it all on our own,' Sawchuck said. 'We had local non-profits and foundations that got us started with large donations. We had many local companies that gave us discounted materials and services.' The Power To Give Foundation contacted McMorris, who in turn reached out to Hawk. The two men have crossed paths in the action sport community and in Encinitas, Calif., where both have homes. 'He is an extremely large figure. Larger than life, larger than the sport itself, so for him to agree to do this is very special,' McMorris said. Hawk's Skateboard Project in the United States helps build parks for underserved communities, so what Smithers has done aligns with his beliefs. 'To see this in Canada makes me feel inspired. I hope that the city takes pride in a project like this,' Hawk said. 'A lot of times facilities like these are uphill battles and there are tired stigmas that are associated with our sport, skateboarding especially. 'I feel like skate parks can save lives and they can enhance a community beyond anything that they might imagine. I feel like Smithers will be an example of that.' More improvements are in the works for the Smithers' park including a pump track that's easier for beginners, lighting and accessible washrooms. Admission to the skate park is free. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'For free unstructured play that reaches everybody and every demographic, I think it's imperative to have,' Sawkchuck said. 'Not everybody can afford to do huge recreational sports and have parents that can travel.' Sawchuck also believes travelling families will see the park from the highway and make it a stop for rest and recreation. 'It runs right along Highway 16. We have a lot of people that travel the North, anywhere from the Lower Mainland, from the United States, travelling up to Alaska,' she said. 'It ends up being like a rest-stop station and a central hub for people to let their dogs out, grab something to eat, go to the skate park, chill out for a little bit and carry on on their travels.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Tony Hawk, Mark McMorris help open skateboard park expansion in Smithers, B.C.
Tony Hawk and Mark McMorris wanted their presence at the Smithers Skate Park expansion unveiling to amplify skateboarding's importance in the remote, northern B.C. community. Skateboarding icon Hawk and Canadian snowboarding star McMorris travelled to the town of 5,000 people for Thursday's opening. They lauded the community's pluck in raising $1.8 million to increase the size of the street park and build a bowl for skateboarders next to the Yellowhead Highway that runs from Winnipeg to the West Coast. "I don't go to many grand openings, to be honest, but this seemed like a really unique situation," Hawk said. "I don't want to say it's the most remote area, but in remote areas, skateboarding is still a valid option for kids to choose, and they want to do it. We need to provide facilities for them." McMorris, a three-time Olympic slopestyle bronze medallist whose 24 X Games medals is the most among snowboarders, has a special place in his heart for skateboarding. "The first board I ever got on was a skateboard," McMorris said. "It's been so important in my life. That's how I made a lot of friends. It's where I spent a lot of time at the skate park in Regina. "I can just only imagine what it would be like if Tony Hawk came to Regina to open a skate park when I was a kid. Some kids' minds are going to be blown, and some new skateboarders are going to be born from this event." The expanded street park cost $1.2 million and the bowl another $600,000 to build, said Smithers Skate Park Society vice-chair Christy Sawchuck, who is also known around town as "Rad-Mom" because of her love of skateboarding. "We don't have the municipalities that can fund something like this. We're doing it all on our own," Sawchuck said. "We had local non-profits and foundations that got us started with large donations. We had many local companies that gave us discounted materials and services." The Power To Give Foundation contacted McMorris, who in turn reached out to Hawk. The two men have crossed paths in the action sport community and in Encinitas, Calif., where both have homes. "He is an extremely large figure. Larger than life, larger than the sport itself, so for him to agree to do this is very special," McMorris said. Hawk's Skateboard Project in the United States helps build parks for underserved communities, so what Smithers has done aligns with his beliefs. "To see this in Canada makes me feel inspired. I hope that the city takes pride in a project like this," Hawk said. "A lot of times facilities like these are uphill battles and there are tired stigmas that are associated with our sport, skateboarding especially. "I feel like skate parks can save lives and they can enhance a community beyond anything that they might imagine. I feel like Smithers will be an example of that." More improvements are in the works for the Smithers' park including a pump track that's easier for beginners, lighting and accessible washrooms. Admission to the skate park is free. "For free unstructured play that reaches everybody and every demographic, I think it's imperative to have," Sawkchuck said. "Not everybody can afford to do huge recreational sports and have parents that can travel." Sawchuck also believes travelling families will see the park from the highway and make it a stop for rest and recreation. "It runs right along Highway 16. We have a lot of people that travel the North, anywhere from the Lower Mainland, from the United States, travelling up to Alaska," she said. "It ends up being like a rest-stop station and a central hub for people to let their dogs out, grab something to eat, go to the skate park, chill out for a little bit and carry on on their travels." This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025. Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Fighter pilot 'Hawk' takes charge of German Air Force
A 56-year-old fighter pilot, Lieutenant General Holger Neumann, has been appointed as the new head of the German Air Force. Neumann was inaugurated on Tuesday at a roll call ceremony at an airbase in Wunstorf, in the state of Lower Saxony. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that Neumann had learned the job from the bottom up and was held in high regard by the troops. "The tasks remain challenging or are becoming even more challenging," Pistorius said, citing the war in Europe and the goal of securing NATO's eastern flank close to Russia. The inspector general of the German military, Carsten Breuer, said that the air force had come together under its outgoing chief, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz. Gerhartz had made the air force "fit for war," Breuer said. He called Neumann a top general and a "Eurofighter pilot with a heart and soul." After seven years as the leader of the air force, Gerhartz will become commander of the NATO headquarters in Brunssum in the Netherlands. Neumann completed his basic military service with the paratroopers in 1988 and 1989. Most recently, he was commander of the Tactical Air Force Squadrons, air transport units and training facilities in the Air Force Troop Command. Neumann - whose pilot's name is Hawk - has completed 2,800 flying hours on various types of aircraft such as the Tornado and Eurofighter. The new inspector general of the Luftwaffe will help oversee the deployment of the Arrow 3 air defence system. The first parts of the system will be set up in the coming year. The Israeli system is designed to destroy incoming missiles at altitudes exceeding 100 kilometres.
The Age
4 days ago
- The Age
Melbourne construction company firebombed twice in a fortnight
A construction company's headquarters has been firebombed in the early hours of Tuesday, as a campaign of arson and intimidation continues to erupt in Victoria's building industry. The company, El Dorado Contractors, based in Melbourne's west, has now been firebombed twice in a fortnight, but Tuesday's latest attack has done more damage than the first. Fire crews and police are still at the scorched offices of the firm in Derrimut, but the attack will almost certainly be assigned to the Operation Hawk taskforce, the nascent police investigative team assigned the task of probing crime and corruption in the building industry. Last week, this masthead revealed how a campaign of firebombings and intimidation had erupted in Victoria's construction sector as underworld players seek to control pockets of an industry supposedly being cleaned up by state and federal government reforms. The campaign has intensified over recent weeks. Equipment on a Victorian government-backed social housing site was torched earlier this month and the family homes of major construction company directors were separately targeted in attacks involving arson or violent confrontation. The ongoing attacks will raise serious questions for the state government and Victoria Police, which last year failed to assign detectives or adequate resources to investigate crime in the construction industry after the Building Bad investigation was published by this masthead and 60 Minutes. In March, amid fresh reports of crime and corruption involving the building industry and the construction wing of the CFMEU, police scrambled to assign a small number of detectives to a taskforce codenamed 'Hawk'. The firebombing attacks on Victorian construction sites began about 18 months ago but have intensified since the union was plunged into administration in August after the Building Bad reports. This masthead has confirmed at least 11 arson attacks on construction firms since September 2023, although the true number is likely to be higher because some may not have been reported to police.
