(Photo courtesy of Jessica Spafford via Facebook)(Photo courtesy of Jessica Spafford via Facebook)
Chatham

Scooter competition coming to CK

It's time to dust off those scooter wheels as the inaugural Chatham-Kent Scooter Festival and Competition makes its way to the area.

The Chatham-Kent Scooter Competition is an all-ages competition that will allow scooter enthusiasts to show off their skills and possibly win some prizes.

The event is presented by the Chatham Kinsmen Club and being organized by a group of parents whos children frequent the Chatham Skateboard Park. In previous years, similar competitions have taken place in Tilbury.

Jessica Spafford is one of the organizers and said the group came up with the idea after hearing that Tilbury would not be hosting their events this year.

"We thought with Tilbury not running their event this year and with Chatham having one of the best skate parks in southwestern Ontario, that we would like to see something hosted locally in Chatham for all of the kids that use the park," she said.

Spafford said the skate park welcomes scooter riders of all different skills sets, from those who can do simple bunny hops to those who can launch off of ramps. The competition itself will also be open to all skill levels.

"Kids can come in with any level of scooter abilities and with any scooter that they have," said Spafford. "They're able to use the park to do simple basic tricks and then work their way up to some of the bigger ones."

Riders will be placed in separate categories depending on their ability and Spafford said the competition will be judged by professional riders.

"They're going to be doing some demonstrations and showing off some of their pro skills," she explained. "Then they'll be three judges that will judge the different categories. We're going to have a beginner category, an intermediate category and a professional category."

According to Spafford, the scooter community is one that continues to grow in size locally. She said her son originally started with skateboarding and then found a knack for scootering and since then they've seen many other kids get involved in the activity.

"You can drive by the skate park on any given day and they'll be 15 to 20 riders," she said. "We've been out there in the winter, shovelling snow to make paths for them. We're out there in 110-degree weather riding. It is a really big community in Chatham."

The competition takes place on Saturday, September 7 starting at 11:30 a.m. at the Chatham Skatepark on Grand Avenue West. Pre-registration is $15 and registration the day of is $20. Spafford also encourages spectators to come out for free and watch the competition. Click here to register or to get more information about the event.

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