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Skateboarding, BMX event aims to honour memory of slain South Surrey teen

Dario Jam, named for Dario Bartoli, scheduled for Aug. 28 at South Surrey skate park
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Dario Bartoli, 15, died on Dec. 13, 2014 after being attacked in Bakerview Park. (RCMP handout photo)

A skateboarding event in honour of teenage murder victim Dario Bartoli is set for later this summer, and organizers are promising it will be “even bigger and better” than the previous events.

Dario Jam was first held in 2015 – a year after the South Surrey teen was murdered – and has been held another three times since. Previous events were also fundraisers for local non-profits, in addition to serving as way for participants and organizers to honour the memory of their friend.

This year’s event, scheduled for Aug. 28, 2-6:30 p.m. at the South Surrey Athletic Park’s skate park (adjacent to the rec centre, 14601 20 Ave.), will also raise money for a registered charity, noted Jacob Sawatzky, president of the Semiahmoo Peninsula Rotaract Club, which is helping organize the fundraising aspect of the event. However, a recipient has not yet been selected, he said.

Bartoli was killed Dec. 13, 2014, after an early-morning altercation in or near Bakerview Park left him with critical injuries. Bartoli was transported to Peace Arch Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries later that morning.

No one has ever been charged in the murder.

This year’s Dario Jam will include both amateur and advanced divisions for both skateboarding and BMX, with Sawatzky noting that “some big names” from those worlds will be on site, either as participants or judges.

Among those expected to take part are pro skateboarders Joe Buffalo and Chad Dickson, as well as Canadian skateboarding legend Kevin Harris – one of the organizers of Cloverdale’s World Freestyle Round Up.



editorial@peacearchnews.com

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