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As the Montreal scene seems to have taken about a decade or so off, things are starting back up again. Long gone are the days of Nicky Adams and Jon Bergeron sporting X-Games gold with huge corporate sponsorships at the ground zero of the evolution of rollerblading for a few years: Tazmahal Skatepark.
As the Montreal scene seems to have taken about a decade or so off, things are starting back up again. Long gone are the days of Nicky Adams and Jon Bergeron sporting X-Games gold with huge corporate sponsorships at the ground zero of the evolution of rollerblading for a few years: Tazmahal Skatepark. With an overabundance of top amateurs such as Ian Frenette, the Montreal scene was stacked from the bottom to the top at the turn of the century. However, something seemed to happen when Tazmahal shuts its doors due to the city not renewing its lease at the beginning of this decade. The former Tazmahal building on Rue Berri is now a library. A former skate Mecca is now basically its polar opposite.
With the absence of Tazmahal, the true spirit of the Montreal rollerblading scene came out. While there is no doubt the skatepark was a major blow to the rollerblading community, the upcoming years left plenty of room for IMYTA to blow up like it did at Olympic Stadium in 2002 when Shima and friends killed it. Even with the absence of the park, some serious street edits started to come out from the likes of Adams, Bergeron, Ian Frenette, Charles Nantel, and Matt Donald. Things started to get on track when Battle My Crew came out. Everything began to look as if the scene was about to blow up, but then things just never really seemed to go the way they were supposed to. There was a lack of parks, and without parks it is damn near impossible to skate in the frigid weather that is present in winter months in Montreal. This, in turn, really stifled the progress of the Montreal scene.
The next chapter of the Montreal scene would have to be the reemergence of the skatepark scene with South Parc and the Montreal Classic. South-Parc and D-Structure teamed up to run a solid competition that put together a solid amateur contest with a pro contest that brought out some of the biggest names in rollerblading. Especially in 2006, I noticed that the scene really started to pick up again when Erik Bailey came in and completely destroyed it. Behind the scenes, some Montreal ams such as Julien Deschamps really had a chance to show that the infamous base of rollerbladers that previously existed at Tazmahal in the late 90’s was back again. With two parks to go to during the winter months, rollerbladers now had a place to keep things going while the hand rails were coated with ice (literally).
Now, it looks as things are going to come full circle. I want to make one thing clear: the original Tazmahal always was and always will be a rollerbladers park. Yes, skateboarders were present, but the rollerbladers had the spotlight at the park when they threw out true spin grinds long before true spins became the standard. The other parks that rollerbladers have used in Montreal are decent, but are solely aimed at the likes of skateboarders. With the new Tazmahal Skatepark funded by the city set to open on March 28, 2009, be ready to see the rollerblading talent come flying out of Montreal. Several of you have seen and warmly welcomed the edits from Mathiew Ledoux on rollernews.com. I believe that you will continue to see such edits as the new Tazmahal is back to its old ways with fast transitions, fly boxes, spines, and big rails rather than knee high rails and an overabundance of small obstacles. Montreal has always been a hybrid of not quite being European and not quite American. With that in mind, expect big things and endless creativity to flow out of Montreal in the upcoming years…I know I do.
- Mike Barcomb
Interview with Julien Deschamps
What does TAZ provide for the rollerblading community in Montreal?
Julien: It provides a new kind of environment for rollerbladers to practice their sport. It is a clean and open environment that is safe for everyone to come to, including young kids. It also provides many opportunities for rollerbladers to go beyond just skating in a park. Through being part of the team at TAZ, I have been involved in traveling to places as far as China during the 2008 Olympics to promote rollerblading. So, the park provides endless opportunities. Even though TAZ has not been an official park for the last eight years, it has still be providing opportunities. It is something that the establishment is very serious about. It also provides a place for people to keep their minds occupied. I have seen skaters who were well respected and sponsored end up in jail. I believe if they had TAZ during that time, they would have continued to focus their efforts on rollerblading instead of drugs and crime. It is sad to lose people who were really important to the rollerblading community.
Do you see traces of the old TAZ in the new TAZ?
Julien: Outside of the environment that it provides, the park is completely new. It is wide open and it offers endless lines. The old TAZ was more of a back and forth type of park, but this one allows you to flow from side to side without many restrictions. The park is acclimated to the change that has taken place in skating over the last eight years. It is also special because the park is broke up into sections. The rollerbladers, skateboarders, and bikers all seem to stay in the section of the park that is geared towards their own respective discipline. Besides that, the size of the ramps (this is a big and fast park) and the endless amount of coping provide a myriad of ways to grind and flow.
Can rollerblading in Montreal get back to the days of Bergeron and Adams?
Julien: First, I want it to be known how much respect I have for those guys. There is no doubt that TAZ helped those guys get to the next level, but they were also very talented individuals. The way the new TAZ provides a safe environment for young kids to come practice rollerblading, we are hopeful that we can produce a new generation that can get back to that level. It is a long road, but developing the youth is heading in the right direction.
Are there plans for any major competitions in the next year?
Julien: It is uncertain whether the Montreal Classic will be at TAZ or Southparc. It would be really nice to get the Classic here, but we are waiting to see how things work out. Besides that, we only have plans for amateur events and some things in the works to have a contest sponsored by Guillaume Roy’s Boutique Lylac, a small skate shop in Montreal.
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