100 Boards, 100 Kids, One Day: Canada Skateboard’s First Newcomer Initiative
When 100 newcomer children arrived at a Toronto venue this fall, most had never stood on a skateboard. By the end of the day, they were cruising around a custom-built skate park—and they got to take their boards home.
The initiative, a partnership between Canada Skateboard, Sport for Life, and Bell Canada, marked Canada Skateboard‘s first dedicated effort to engage newcomer communities. The result was a single high-impact day that introduced young Canadians to a sport that could stay with them for life.
A Partnership Built on Shared History
Canada Skateboard CEO Adam Higgins had worked with Sport for Life on previous projects and knew where to turn when planning this initiative. He reached out to Carolyn Trano, a former Sport for Life director who had run a newcomer program in Winnipeg, looking for insight into a community Canada Skateboard hadn’t yet reached.
“This was our first attempt working directly with newcomers,” Higgins explained. “We were looking for insights into a community we hadn’t reached yet—best practices, how to communicate most effectively, how to build trust so people come away with a great experience.”
With funding already secured from Bell Canada and a tight fall deadline, Higgins connected with Sport for Life in July. The organization delivered training for Canada Skateboard’s coaches and volunteers, focusing on creating welcoming first experiences for participants unfamiliar with the sport.
“When an organization like Canada Skateboard comes to us wanting to reach new communities, that’s exactly the kind of work we want to support,” said Kabir Hosein, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at Sport for Life. “They already had a welcoming culture—our role was to help them think intentionally about how to extend that welcome to families who might not know what to expect from a skateboarding environment.”
Why Skateboarding, Why Now
Skateboarding carries a reputation for being dangerous or difficult to start. Higgins sees an opportunity to change that perception—and to find the next generation of skateboarders.
“It’s such an accessible activity that not many people think about,” he said. “This was an opportunity to provide equipment, provide a safe space, and provide instruction on how to do it properly.”
For newcomer families, cost and access are real barriers. This program removed both: every participant who needed equipment received a complete skateboard, helmet, and pads—theirs to keep.
Building 100 Skateboards by Hand
The boards were supposed to arrive assembled. They didn’t.
A screen-printing delay meant the skateboards showed up unbuilt, days before the event. Canada Skateboard scrambled, pulling together pro skaters, skate shop employees, and volunteers to hand-assemble all 100 boards in time.
“Building 100 skateboards is a massive undertaking,” Higgins said. “We had pro skaters building skateboards for kids and setting up a skate park. Nothing but great things to say about the skateboarding community when they come together to make this sort of thing happen.”
A Day of First Pushes
About 50 participants were under 10 years old, with another 40 spread across older age groups—mostly under 16, with a few older teenagers. Small groups rotated through the program throughout the day.
Each child was sized for safety gear, then chose their own skateboard from a selection of colours. The first lesson? How to fall safely.
“Really important in skateboarding,” Higgins noted. “They learned how to use the pads we gave them, and how to take risks safely.”
From there, participants learned to stand, push, roll, and turn. Then they got loose in a custom skate park Canada Skateboard had built for the event, complete with beginner-friendly ramps.
“Once their time was up, they could continue to hang out and try the ramps, work with the instructors, or push around with their families,” Higgins said. “I had to kick people out of there. Nobody wanted to leave.”
The Moment It Clicked
Some children didn’t realize the equipment was theirs to keep.
“They were so excited when they learned the board was theirs,” Higgins recalled. “‘We get to keep it?’ And then I got notes afterwards—the next day, some of the kids were already going to skate parks. That really meant a lot to me.”
One family has since signed up for ongoing lessons with a local skateboarding group—their dad has been taking the kids to skate parks regularly. With winter approaching, Higgins is realistic about immediate follow-up but optimistic about long-term impact.
“It’s shifting seasons right now, so it’s hard to continue skateboarding,” he said. “Hopefully next year, we see a lot of these boards out at skate parks around Toronto.”
The Weight of a First Impression
Sport for Life’s training gave Canada Skateboard’s team a framework for thinking about newcomer engagement—though Higgins notes the skateboarding community already trends welcoming.
“Skateboarding is typically a more open activity. Everybody’s welcome,” he said. “This was another opportunity to learn how to improve interactions and understand how they could have such a lasting impact.”
For Higgins personally, one lesson stood out: the weight of a first impression.
“If you don’t walk away happy—if negative things happen—you’re going to have that negative association with that activity or organization forever,” he said. “We really wanted to make sure we made a good impression, so skateboarding could become something these kids grasp onto. Skateboarding has changed so many lives. If it could help one of these youth in the future, that’d be amazing.”
What’s Next
Canada Skateboard plans to run two to three similar activations next year, including both smaller community events and larger-scale programs like this one.
Higgins had set a modest internal goal going in: if 25 of these kids kept skateboarding, it would be a job well done. With winter setting in, the long-term numbers are still to come—but the immediate response exceeded expectations.
“The smiles in the room? That was through the roof.”