Grizzled and grom skaters tell tales of much-loved Albany Snake Run at half-century Fiddy-Fiddy Festival ‘26

Skaters young and old celebrated 50 years of the beloved Albany Snake Run skatepark on Saturday, bringing members of the skating community together for the day to share their stories of the wild course. Albany Skateboard Society Inc. hosted the Fiddy-Fiddy Festival 26 which included music, a barbecue and a talented range of skaters on the track. The idea of Snake Run was first conceived in 1975 by Albany Senior High School students Steven and Graham Macaulay and is thought to be the wold’s fist community-built skate park. Local Albany skater Derrick has been skating for about 40 years and said it was great to see the track still being used today. “It’s just fantastic that it’s survived,” he said. “(Seeing) All these little groms on there just ripping it up — it’s excellent.” Derrick said he has seen many changes occur to the Snake Run over the years. “It went through heaps of phases,” he said. “It was fenced off and you had to pay and wear protection otherwise you weren’t allowed in and then they wanted to knock it down because they were worried about public safety.” “The fact that it’s heritage-listed and survived is awesome.” The Snake Run was heritage-listed in 2016, recognising its position as the world’s second-oldest surviving skate park. Matt Spence has been skating for four years and said his time on a skateboard had become a key way to unwind. “I like how freeing it is,” he said. “It gets all the stuff that’s on your mind out.”