Medicine Hat Skateboard Association member Connor Day performs a grab trick during the Carnival of Carnage competition during last year's Beat the Heat skate event. -- NEWS FILE PHOTO
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@MHNmocranker
Skaters from across the country will be in the Hat Monday for the annual Beat the Heat competition held by the Medicine Hat Skateboard Association.
The event is held at the Kinsmen Skate Plaza and things kick off bright and early with a 10 a.m. beginner’s competition.
“It’s a really fun day that we all look forward to,” said MHSA president Chris Nickel. “We host these every year and we really try and make them bigger and better every time.
“We’re hoping to see a lot of people come out and show support for our local skaters and for the skaters coming in from across the country.”
The event will feature a number of different competitions throughout the day with a ticket to the Am Getting Paid competition in Quebec and an automatic seeding in the semi-final on the line.
Beat the Heat will be awarding $20,000 in merchandise throughout the day as well as $7,000 in cash to event winners.
A big draw in recent years has been the keg jump, which is returning alongside a new wallride sticker slap competition.
“That one is going to be a lot of fun for everyone,” said Nickel. “I can’t even describe how big this wall is – the skaters are going to be getting a lot of speed before riding the wall.”
The event will be running alongside the Canada Day celebrations at Kin Coulee and the competition will be hosting a number of food truck options throughout the day.
