Beating the heat — and rain
Annual skateboard competition brings out the crowds and awe-inspiring tricks
A few instances of varying amounts of rain Sunday didn’t stop skateboarders from across the country from showing their best at the 10th annual Beat the Heat skateboarding event.
The event ran all day at the Kinsmen Skate Plaza with dozens of skaters competing a wide-variety of competitions.
“It’s our 10th anniversary this year and we’re hoping it’ll be a good year,” said head co-ordinator Curtis Windover. “There’s a lot going on throughout the day, and right now it’s the bowl competition, but we changed things up this year a bit.
“We created an additional event this year, and we’ve called it the Carnival of Carnage, in an attempt to get more skaters out this year.”
The Medicine Hat Skateboard Association has hosted Beat the Heat every year and added food trucks and other vendors to event with the hopes of drawing in a bigger crowd.
“We want to get bigger and bigger every year,” said Windover. “We know there’s the Canada Day celebration over there, but we offer people to come out and see some of the best skaters in Canada do their thing for an afternoon.
“We have been seeing the audiences grow every year, so we’re just hoping to continue with that.”
While Mother Nature did not show complete mercy to the skateboarders, she did hold off long enough for the group to get everything done.
“It’s always a worry with the rain, but we’ll go rain or shine,” said Windover. “This is something that a lot of people look forward to every year, so a little rain isn’t going to stop us from having a great time.”