Winnetka Skaters Keep Wheels On Pavement Despite Snow

Skateboarders from all across the Chicagoland area including the North Shore joined together in December during the annual Chicago Sports Fest presented by the Mayor's Office of Special Events. At the event, skaters were given the rare opportunity to skate within the confines of McCormick Place, a multi-million dollar space typically reserved for trade shows and conventions.

Numerous skaters from the North Shore area made the long journey downtown to attend the festival, including several skaters from the Winnetka-Glencoe area. Hailing from Winnetka, Kevin Hassim, 18, and Tyler Chiu, 17, had to organize carpools with their group of friends in order to make it out to the event. They were anxious to skate all day and film each other performing tricks as is typical among cliques of skaters.

"I've been looking forward to this all week," Chiu said, "it's not everyday you get to skate inside a convention center for free, especially when it's 12 degrees outside."

Skateboarders were provided with a large section of the floor littered with ledges, rails, quarter pipes, gaps, stair sets, and various other obstacles. With hundreds of skaters of all ages in attendance cruising around performing maneuvers, it was a spectacle of organized chaos.

Hassim and Chiu are regulars at the various skateparks in the North Shore area, frequenting parks in Northbrook, Glencoe, Glenview, and Wilmette. But with the onset of winter weather, there are now fewer opportunities to skate outside. Luckily, there has been an increasing amount of indoor facilities opening to provide solace from the snow, such as The Office Skatepark in Schaumburg and Asylum Skatepark in Lake Bluff.

"It's really cool having all these parks so much closer to us now," Hassim said, "but those have admission prices. It's still totally worth it though when it's freezing cold for months and months."

Sports Fest was free for all attendees and featured a host of giveaways provided by sponsors. Local Chicago companies such as Affiliate Skateboards and Character Skateboards organized booths to promote and distribute products. Tech Deck was also there to host a best trick contest, which drew a considerable amount of participants putting their ankles on the line while the audience cringed at each failed trick. The community feeling among Chicago skaters was palpable amongst the crowd as successful tricks were greeted with shouts of excitement and high-fives.

The afternoon of skating drew to a close as the collective crowd gathered at the Tech Deck tent for the illustrious product toss of free t-shirts, DVDs, and skateboard decks. Hassim and Chiu made sure to position themselves amidst the sea of hungry skaters for their chance to snag some free goodies. Luckily, the two emerged from the chaos with free product in hand, and a big smile across their faces.

"It was a really, really good day." Chiu said with a satisfied look on his face. "Nothing better than skating with your friends."