Location: South Side Works Parking Lot (26th St. and Water St.)
Date: June 27, 28, 29 2013

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is proud to be hosting the Steel City Police Motor Unit Skills Competition June 27, 28, 29 2013. The Steel City Police Motor Unit Competition is a way for motor officers to improve their riding skills, exchange new training ideas and improve or create interagency relationships. It is also an opportunity to give back to the community that supports law enforcement.

The 2013 event will benefit the Allegheny County Special Olympics.

The event will take place over three days. The first two days are practice sessions for the participating officers to become familiar with the courses that will be set up to test their riding skills. These courses are outlined with traffic cones and are intended to test the riders ability to navigate a series of turns and maneuvers at slow speeds. There is also a second set of cone courses that will challenge the riders to complete the course for a timed score. The third day of the event is the actual competition day. The riders will compete against each other in both the slow skills courses and the timed courses. The winner will be determined by a set of standards and will combine the scores of both runs.

The entire event will be open, free of charge to the public to view. Only police officers on police motorcycles are eligible to participate in the competition. There will also be space available for various vendors to come and promote their products. Food vendors are also welcomed to come and supply those who attend with a variety of food choices while at the event.

The lot at 26th St. and Water St. is ideal for this event. It provides a large enough space to set up and complete the skills courses with out having to affect any type of traffic in the area. The lot also has the size to allow the various agencies that will attend to park the equipment off the roads in a secured area. The location provides us with ample room to allow a large number of spectators to come and enjoy the talents and skills of the many riders from around the country who will be coming to compete. It also provides numerous shops and restaurants for the families and friends of the officers who will be coming from out of town and out of state. There is plenty of onsite parking to accommodate any number of visitors and spectators that may come to the event. The location provides access to the major interstate highways for those coming from out of town.

It is the hope and plan of the Pittsburgh Police Motor Unit to turn this into a yearly event, much the same way as other police departments have done throughout the country.

Please send any comments or questions to: motorskills@pittsburghpa.gov.