In the Eastern suburbs of Pretoria lies a small gem of a skate park known as Thrashers. In the early 2000's this park was utilized by almost everybody who skated in Pretoria and even today people speak of the park with great affection. As the years rolled on there were some bad elements associated with the park. Drug abuse and under age drinking sadly drove the reputation of the recreational facility straight into the ground. No longer was Thrashers just a skate park, it had unfortunately become a place where parents were wary to send their children and understandably so. With the park being totally under utilized and the cash flow running dry along came New Day Ministries with an idea to clean the park up and use the venue as a place of fellowship and christian youth activities. A big vote of thanks should go to New Day Ministries and their leadership for the work they put into the park and the feeding scheme which was housed there.
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The skate park still operated but some renovation was done to accomodate groups of worshippers and to create a family environment which exists today.
For close on 3 years a group of people have been eyeing the venue out as the ideal spot for young skaters to enjoy the skateboarding and aggressive skating but particularly for the start of the revival of inline hockey in South Africa. On the 15th of April 2012 Birrell Mining took ownership of the facility with plans to not only revive inline hockey but also to improve the infrastructure for the skaters and their families alike. The current plans include a brand new state of the art ice court with new barriers and dasher boards, skateboard rental, improved ramps and a new equipment store. Most of the improvements should be in place by end August 2012 with a potential international event scheduled for December 2012.
Keep your eyes on the MSC as it begins the revival of inline hockey in Gauteng! Gusto will be there in force!
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