A Lake Country teen has created a petition to try and save the FlowRider.

Jonathan Hintz, 17, is a flow-boarding champion who hones his skills on the H20 Adventure and Fitness Centre害羞草研究所檚 flow-boarding machine.

The Grade 11 student at George Elliot Secondary School earned a bronze medal at the 2017 world flowboarding championships in Cancun, Mexico in November.

Last week, Kelowna city council decided to look into alternative options to use the space that houses B.C.害羞草研究所檚 only FlowRider, a machine that creates artificial waves which allow users to ride a board.

Hintz created a asking city council to keep the machine, which has allowed him to practice three or four times a week, he said.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 posting my own thoughts and opinions to say to the city, 害羞草研究所榠t may not service multiple people at one time while they害羞草研究所檙e riding, but the people that show up repeatedly that fall in love with it, they害羞草研究所檙e constantly coming back to ride and they love it,害羞草研究所� he said.

But the machine has also been costly. A mechanical repair will cost $200,000, so city staff suggested looking at alternate options before deciding to repair it.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e at the point with the FlowRider that the mechanical system needs to be redone,害羞草研究所� said director Jim Gabriel, with the city害羞草研究所檚 active living and culture department.

Before replacing the expensive parts, Gabriel is asking 害羞草研究所渁re there other uses that could be serving the broader facility as well?害羞草研究所�

Gabriel said the FlowRider has also been out of service for a number of months in 2016 and 2017 because parts have to come from overseas.

害羞草研究所淲e wanted a bit more time just to explore (different options,)害羞草研究所� he said. A training pool was suggested to assist with swimming lessons and Aquafit.

Ridership on the FlowRider is also one at a time, so 害羞草研究所渉ow long are you going to wait in line before you get your turn?害羞草研究所�

Council voted to use up to $50,000 to research the costs of alternative options.

Hintz says with the petition, he wants the city to understand that people use and love the FlowRider. There are both locals and people outside of the city that use it, some who travel up to four hours to surf, he said.

害羞草研究所淲e care about this, it害羞草研究所檚 not just me害羞草研究所� we have multiple people that really care about it. It draws a lot more people in than the city would imagine.害羞草研究所�

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carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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