When summer comes to an end, the warmer weather quickly fades in Northern Virginia. But, despite less-than-ideal conditions, skateboarders in the Brambleton area push on, developing their skills through weather that would keep many people inside.
“Because it’s cold, and it hurts,” said Independence Junior Caleb McCarty, 16. McCarty said the winter weather has reduced his time skating, but hasn’t kept him inside until spring.
“It’s like everyday [when it’s warmer] so I’d say like 5 days a week. Probably like an hour each time, like an hour to 2 hours. Lately though it’s been really cold.” This shows skating can be a big challenge for skaters who have turned skateboarding into more of a hobby and less of an activity. Everybody knows getting hurt in the cold is always worse as stated by Caleb McCarty: “Because it’s cold, and it hurts.”
Considering skateboarding is an extreme sport, participants often are injured, something that becomes even more of a challenge in the cold weather.
Independence High School sophomore Nico Newman, 15 said that skating is hard enough under ideal conditions without having to factor-in the cold: “Getting your balance right and not dying and falling on the floor I think that’s like the biggest thing I’ve had to overcome.”
This means falling is just a part of learning how to skate which makes long term commitment to skating even harder. In Brambleton North Virginia the cold especially affects these skaters due to the lack of indoor skate parks.
The closest indoor skatepark to these skaters is Charm City Skate Park at 4401 O’Donnell St, Baltimore, MD 21224. This skate park is over an hour drive from these skaters. Considering a skate session is around 1-2 hours long they’d be spending over half of their time just driving.
The average temperatures in the Brambleton area are in the high 20’s to mid 30’s during the winter months. This makes it extremely hard for skaters to keep skating, especially newer skaters who have not developed the enthusiasm needed to push through skating outside in the winter.
