Over 40 athletes flocked to the Northland to participate in a sport that you may have never heard about.

“It’s just fast. It’s fun. It’s hard. It’s just a cool course. It’s fun. It’s 30 seconds long. So you’re gassed by the bottom of it, but it’s awesome,” said Jordan Sewczak, one of the racers.

The sport is ice cross.

Over 40 racers came to Mont Du Lac this past weekend, and not only sweat about Thursday’s temperatures melting the track, but were finally able to lace the skates up and get out there.

The event at Mont Du Lac fosters a community and more importantly, growth for the sport.

“New athletes get involved in the sport, making sure that everybody has a great time, and essentially gets hooked on the sport, so that we can continue to have events like this, and grow the sport that way, and continue to have bigger, better tracks,” said J.T. Aubrech, another racer.

The event being in the Northland has impacted some racers in fact.

“I grew up here. I actually went to college in Duluth at UMD, said Skye Hunt, a racer. “This was kind of the first race that I heard about. The one in St. Paul is always the biggest one and always was the biggest one. But, I heard about this. I was like, ‘I want to check this off my bucket list.’ I was like, ‘I got to do it by the time I’m 30’. So I did it right before I was 30. Then I was like, ‘this is amazing’. I got hooked on it immensely. I never thought I’d like something more than snowboarding.”

One of the biggest concerns for spectators of the sport though is the safety of it. After all, racers going top speed down a hill with skates and minimal equipment doesn’t make for an easy watch.

However, the safety is on racers minds as well.

“The guys that have been doing this a little bit longer, they tend to slim down some of that gear as you get more confidence,” said Aubrech. “Safety is the number one concern. So as long as you’re padded from head to toe, you’re ready to go racing.”

For results from this weekend, visit usicecross.org.