Pushing for positive change

A chance sighting of a dangerously degraded skatepark while on a visit to Dili led to Nick Oats (OW1996) setting up Timor Skate, a for-purpose organisation that aims to empower Timorese youth through skateboarding.

Nick started skateboarding with a group of Wesley College friends while in Middle School, and credits it as developing his resilience, creativity and sparking many of his social connections. Decades later, he found himself a regular visitor to Dili, leading public sector knowledge exchange programs through a partnership between the Victorian and Timorese governments.

‘It’s hard to visit Timor-Leste without wanting to find some way to contribute. While my work has allowed me to share public service skills and experience, I wanted to make a more personal connection,’ he said.

Nick asked around about an old skatepark that he’d driven past and was introduced to Ba Futuru, a youth-focused non-government organisation that supports peacebuilding, education and gender equity.

Ba Futuru had facilitated a volunteer project to build the skatepark in 2007, providing an outlet for youth otherwise drawn to anti-social activities in the aftermath of the 2006 crisis. While a great community effort, without design knowledge and construction experience, and through years of harsh Timorese heat and rain, the park had become both dangerous and difficult to skate. Still, the local community loved it, and it was clear that with a little support, Dili’s skateboarding scene could thrive.

Nick formed Timor Skate in 2017 with a group of friends – including Wade Trevean, a professional designer with over 100 skateparks to his name, and a suite of international voluntary projects in Iraq, Nepal, Afghanistan, just to name a few. They started small, taking over equipment, running small-scale fundraisers and working with the local community to prepare a design for a new park.

Supporters got behind them, including ‘Decks for Change’ and the ‘Goodpush Alliance’, allowing them to hire a skateboard program officer based at Ba Futuru. ‘This made a huge impact. Ba Futuru had built up a stockpile of skate gear, but hiring a skate officer meant it was available when the community wanted it, and we soon had more than fifty kids coming for regular free lessons.’

That, in turn, attracted further support. With funding for materials from ‘The Skateroom’, ‘Wonders Around the World’ and the Australian Embassy in Dili, a team of professional skatepark builders from Australia, England, Germany and Denmark flew over at their own expense in October 2023, giving up four weeks of their time to build the new skatepark, get the local skaters involved and teaching them new skills in the process.

‘It was the hardest build anyone had been involved in, with COVID sidelining half of the small team and long days in brutal heat. But everyone agrees it’s their favourite project yet, with incredible connections formed with the community. And it was great seeing the kids dive in as soon as the concrete dried.’

With the park now built, Timor Skate has no shortage of ideas in store to keep helping the sport grow. For more information, follow Timor Skate on Facebook and Instagram, or go to timorskate.org

Check out a short video of the building process: