Words & Photos: Dan Kelly
Skaters from across the country gathered to enjoy an unforgettable weekend of camping and racing at the third annual #SQURLnation Race and Freeride event in Gays Mills, Wisconsin. Despite some severe thunderstorms at the start of the weekend, there was hardly any downtime on the hill—reminding everyone why #SQURLnation is truly one of the Midwest’s best.
Unlike many events that rely heavily on the donations of sponsors in the industry for raffles, prizes, and swag, #SQURLnation keeps it real with strictly cash prizes for the open podium. The event is fueled entirely by rider registration fees and the promotion efforts of La Crosse, WI based skate shop, Black SQURL Skate and Midwestlongboarding.com
Word seemed to have traveled far, because this year’s event brought riders from all over the country into the deep woods of Wisconsin for some downhill action, even the Omen #MobileRuckus van was spotted on the hill.
The #SQURLnation racecourse features quick acceleration from the start, leading riders into a dropping left hairpin. After the left turn rockets you up to speed, there is a straight section that dumps riders into a hard left sweeper (the kink), followed by a right 90 degree turn.
Many riders chose to begin their slides early and actually pre-drift the left kink, while some were going for the full-on grip and rip, like Braden Boards team rider Chase Hiller. Riders embraced the variety of riding styles and racing strategies throughout the weekend, which made for some extremely close heats.
As a photographer, it is thrilling to watch the progression of riders at Midwest events like #SQURLnation year after year.
Rain wheels for the morning wet. Photo: Dan Kelly.
Big thanks to Wynne Williams of Black SQURL Skate and all the riders and volunteers who were responsible for another fun and safe weekend of riding on a closed road.
#SQURLnation 3 Open Podium
1st Chase Hiller
2nd Harper Knight
3rd Jason Reimann
#SQURLnation 3 Grom Podium
1st Dylan Mills
2nd Julien Faro
3rd Isaac Hall
