the windsor scene

For a town of 217,000 the skate scene in Windsor isn't the scene it should be. We have two skate parks and only a handfull of core skaters. For what Windsor's skate scene has to offer its suprising the amount of guys that are actually as passionate about skate as you would expect. We have a handfull of events throughout the year that bring the scene together. Local brands have been trying to survive throughout the years. One brand showing huge promise is our Rose City Rabbits. We carry all their products including long sleeve t's, hoodies, t's, and decks. We at Elements try to help drive the skate scene also by carry our own team of skaters to rep us throughout town. Our team is super talented and are always found on top at local comps.

One thing about this city, that anyone that has ever travelled through will tell you, is that this place is flat. Which is ideal for our skaters because there are plenty of good spots to hit in this town regardless of slope, but when it comes to our longboard scene, we lack in this category. It seems this year that there is a rise in longboarding in Windsor. We sell a lot of longboards to kids lookin to get around the U of W campus easier and we do see a lot pushin down there in general. That said, if this place had a bit of an incline like most of anywhere else you travel through Canada, it would definately improve the scene. Lot's of local guys get out and rip the river front, even parking garages, but for the most part when it comes to longboarding in this town kids are just cruising. If we could develop the longboard scene some more in Windsor it would be great to hold events down at the water front or other spots in town to bring some attention to the sport, because even though there isn't much to offer, a lot of the local guys know whats good to hit.

On the topic of board sports we also carry skimboards at the shop. This is one area of board sports that could improve exponentially. Being surrounded by water you'd assume there would be a ton of skimmin but surprisingly no one is really out to the good spots. It could be because no one is really aware of the potential, but it could also be the changing currents. With the Detroit river we have a lot of tankers come through that really stir up the water. Spots at sandpoint that were there one day are gone the next. There are a few gems around town that do exist but usually you'd have to drive or boat to them which poses a problem. Boblo island is a little known secret for unreal flat land skimmin. Belle River is showing promise with more kids discovering the good spots out there. Point Pelee is usually a good spot for bigger wake skimmin. So if you have a Zap your laughin. This is one sport that is very unappreciated in Windsor. We would love to see this sport take off here but it definately needs more exposure.

Last but not least we have snowboarding. I know what your thinking, Windsors flat, who boards? Little known about Windsor is we have a surprisingly strong winter sport community mostly due to the fact that a lot of local guys run the boarder for day trips. Pine Knobb, Mt. Holly and Alpine Valley to name a few really good spots in Detroit. What makes those places that much better is if your a park junkie. Typically the stuff around here is pretty small but they do good with the park features and you can find yourself caught up for an entire day in their parks. For better riding most of the guys in Windsor usually make the over night trip or weekend trip to Blue Mountain. Blue is Ontario's best spot if your stuck in the Southern tip. Northern Ontario has more to offer but being 4 hours south of Toronto it's usually too far of a drive. Unknown to most, from Windsor or not, is the amount of younger kids that are really coming into the sport. We see a lot of kids start riding here but then get the itch for bigger and better. A lot do end up out west. Although the kids stuck in Windsor make the best of it. The U of W has a great club that takes over 100 kids to Quebec every year for an amazing price and unreal riding for what were used to. This is the one sport that's been really driving our shop over the years. And when it comes to the best gear and knowledge of the sport, we've got that locked down.