A kind of skate park, a pump track is an undulated paved loop with many bumps and corners, and is designed for the rider to power themselves through it with momentum.

The track is the first of its kind in the Pontiac, and according to Christine Francoeur, mayor of Fort Coulonge, is one of the largest in the province of Quebec.

Members of the community were on hand to witness the track’s opening, including local skate enthusiasts, families, and mayors from Chichester, Sheenboro, Portage du Fort and Mansfield.

There was a hot dog barbecue, as well as a raffle with prizes up for grabs, including two bikes donated by Home Hardware in Mansfield and helmets donated by the Caisse Desjardins.

Francoeur said the pump track is open to everyone, but really it is targeted toward teenagers.

“We needed something to keep them occupied and certainly to get them out of the house.”

She said Fort Coulonge has play equipment for young kids, but no . . .

spaces where teenagers can go to hang out, and hopes the pump track can fill this void.

Francoeur said they got $100,000 from the province’s FRR (Regions and Rurality) funding, distributed by MRC Pontiac.

The rest was financed by the municipality and their partners, including the Caisse Desjardins des Rivières de Pontiac, DJB Transport, which helped with the construction, and Les maisons des jeunes du Pontiac, which donated the land the track was built on.

Dave Hérault, a Fort Coulonge councillor, said they had a hard time keeping the kids off the track before its official opening.

“We gave up,” he said, adding that local skateboarders, bicyclists and scooter riders were eager to start using the new facility.

Francoeur has seen the same.

“There are always kids here,” she said, adding she hopes the new pump track will help not only teenagers, but everyone, be more active.

Professional skaters Mike McDonald and Mat Lavigne came from Pembroke to give a skating demonstration and to show kids how to use the track.

McDonald, who has been skating for more than 25 years, said the track is one of the largest in the region, and bigger than the one the pair recently visited in Ottawa.

He said it’s a challenging ride and he thinks the kids will love it.

The idea for a pump track came from a consultation with Loisir sport Outaouais, which helped the town decide what kind of facility they wanted to build with their money.

Normand Veillette, a development officer with the organization, said the idea was to do something different than what other towns were doing, and also to build something that will last.

“Municipalities are having a hard time maintaining public infrastructure,” he told THE EQUITY in French, adding that a pump track requires little to no maintenance. “A pump track will last a long time.”

Francoeur said there is still some work to be done on the grounds, like putting in some grass where sandy hills currently exist.

But for the moment, she is happy the track is open and that kids can use it.

Cameron Hobbs (left) and Jackson Hobbs (right) traveled from Aylmer to celebrate the opening of the new pump track in Fort Coulonge on Saturday.

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