Jerome Scott has fond memories of gliding along the ice in front of a cheering crowd in his first Silver Skates race about 15 years ago.
Scott, 57, didn’t come out on top, but the experience stayed with him, and he’s attended the event nearly every year since, turning it into a family affair. His 11-year-old daughter, Tirzah, has skated in the competition along with him for the last four years.
“I like just racing around and being able to skate,” Tirzah said. “I also like winning.”
Gabriel Brown, left, and Tirzah Scott, 11, race. This is Tirzah’s fifth year competing. “I like just racing around and being able to skate,” she said.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Tuesday night, Tirzah and her father joined a handful of other skaters at the rink at Midway Plaisance Park as the Chicago Park District kicked off this year’s Silver Skates competition. The free event has been held in Chicago for more than 100 years and is part of the city’s rich speed-skating history.
The park district will hold five other Silver Skates events this month across the city. Youth skaters, ages 6 to 17, who qualify from the neighborhood races will be invited to compete at the citywide competition June 21 at McFetridge Sports Center. Adults can race in June without having to qualify in the local races.
The crowd at the park Tuesday was small, but they still cheered with enthusiasm as skaters completed laps around the rink. Scott said crowds used to be bigger and even families with no relatives in the competition would show up to watch.
“The brackets were tighter, and just to see the kids on the ice is really fun,” Scott said, adding that COVID “might have taken a bite” out of the crowds in recent years.
Speed skating, Humboldt Park, eight skaters, one skater looking down, standing on frozen lagoon in 1902.
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Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
A 1902 view of racecourse marked with flags on the frozen lagoon in front of the fieldhouse in Humboldt Park. Spectators gathered on the side of the lagoon and the porch of the fieldhouse are visible in the background.
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Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
Full-length portrait of speed skater, Halverson, standing in skating posture, with a race official, wearing a suit and shoes, standing on the frozen lagoon in Humboldt Park in 1902. Spectators, standing in front of the park fieldhouse, are visible in the background.
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Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
Full-length portrait of speed skater, ACG Anderson, standing in skating posture on the frozen lagoon in Humboldt Park in 1902.
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Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
Full-length portrait of speed skater, Langley, skating near a race official on the frozen lagoon in Humboldt Park in 1902.
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Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
Image of unidentified speed skater in starting position on the ice rink at Humboldt Park in 1903. A man, wearing a suit and holding a coat, is standing nearby.
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Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
Three speed skaters lining up in starting position on the ice skating rink in Humboldt Park in 1903.. A policeman and other people are standing nearby.
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Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
Speed skater in starting position near officials on the ice skating rink in Humboldt Park in 1903.
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Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
Informal full-length portrait of ice skater Wallace Fee wearing ice skates, skating on a frozen body of water in or near Chicago in 1918.
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Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
Informal full-length portrait of ice skater Art Staff wearing ice skates and leaning forward, skating on a frozen body of water in or near Chicago in 1918.
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SDN-061672, Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
Far view of race officials, wearing badges, hats, long coats and shoes, standing on the frozen lagoon during a speed skating tournament held in Humboldt Park in 1902.
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Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
Two race officials standing on the frozen lagoon at a speed skating tournament at Humboldt Park in the Humboldt Park in 1902. Three unidentified men, one wearing ice skates, and spectators are visible in the background.
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Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum
In its heyday the Silver Skates competition attracted thousands of spectators, back when Chicago was the center of the speed skating world.
The competition was created by the Chicago Tribune in 1917 and was the most important speed skating event in the United States. Up to 60,000 fans showed up to watch the races during its peak in the 1920s and ’30s, according to the Chicago Historical Society. The city took over sponsorship of the event in the 1970s.
Competitive speed skating began to take hold in the city in the 1890s, especially among Norwegian immigrants in Humboldt Park, who formed the Northwest Skating Club in 1890, according to the historical society.
The sport spread into the schools, and by the 1920s high schools, the Catholic Youth Organization and the Chicago Park District were running formal competitions.
More than 600 outdoor rinks popped up around the city during the winter by 1923, which led to the development of many home-grown champion skaters. Silver Skates competitors like Shani Davis went on to skate in the Olympics.
In 2006, Davis, who grew up on the South Side, won a gold medal in the men’s 1,000-meter track speed skating event at the winter games in Turin, Italy. He was the first Black athlete to win an individual gold in Winter Olympics history.
A small crowd of children and parents watch four adults competing. In years past, speed skating was a big sport in the city, especially among Norwegian immigrants in Humboldt Park.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
The competition Tuesday at Midway Plaisance wasn’t as fierce as an Olympic heat, but Gabriel Brown, 11, still enjoyed getting to skate against other kids his age.
“I like competing and trying to win the medals,” said Gabriel, who got into skating when someone recommended it to him. He’s added it to a long list of other sports he enjoys.
Gabriel’s mom, Shannon Callahan, said they have attended the Silver Skates event every year since he was about 4 or 5 years old. “It’s a wonderful free event and generally generates a lot of community spirit,” she said. “It’s easy fun.”
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