Skateboard competition comes to Antioch

Skateboarders of all ages will head to Lake County on Saturday for the fifth annual Antioch Skateboard Competition.

The action begins at 4 p.m. at the Antioch Skatepark on Williams Street, behind the Antioch library.

Hosted by LoLo Skate Company, the competition will be broken down into three levels: beginner, intermediate and expert.

Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded to the first, second and third place winners respectively. The winners will also get LoLo Skate Company products and products from sponsors such as Monster Energy Drink.

The age competitors will range from 5 to skaters in their mid-20s.

There will also be a best trick competition where all the skaters put $5 in a hat and then try to land their best trick. The crowd votes and whoever wins receives all the money in the hat.

“It’s cool to see the younger generation. I think they are a lot more crazier then we used to be at the tricks. They progress so fast these days,” said Lou Perez, president and CEO of LoLo Skate Company.

The event will also feature a performance by a local rap artist from North Chicago named Quarter Key.

All the money from the competition is donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Perez, who grew up in Antioch is the power house behind the skateboard competition. At age 16, he and his friends went before the village board to request a skate park be built in the village. The skatepark was built and a few years later Perez came up with the name of his business and the skateboard competition followed.

Perez said when he first brought the idea of a skateboard competition to village officials, they were a little apprehensive, but eventually liked the idea once they saw the turnout.

“The competition was so big that the village came up to me and said ‘we need you to do this every year and we will help you out with whatever you need just as long as we keep the event going,’” Perez said.

He said he hopes new skaters will come out and compete as well.

“We are just hoping for the best, that everyone comes out and we put on a good show. And what we really want is a lot more new beginners. It would be cool to see a bunch of new faces,” he said.

The competition is open to any age group, but a parent signature is required for participants under the age of 18. A $10 registration fee will also be required.

“It (the competition) just gets bigger and better every year. More people want to be involved every year. And when it comes to tricks, even the tricks have evolved. Now these kids are doing back flips,” Perez said.