'She shreds': Skateboarding girls up their game at California contest
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[November 09, 2023]
By Mike Blake
ENCINITAS, California (Reuters) - In the bowls and street skating
ledges and rails of U.S. skate parks, women and girls exude pride
over their increasingly impressive skateboarding skills and say even
the guys who have long dominated the sport are taking notice.
At the 12th annual Exposure Skate competition this month in the
California beach town of Encinitas, girls under 10 and in their
teens were shredding. That's skateboard lingo for aggressive and
skilled skating.
"They are really getting good," said Cona Suganami, 16, a
Californian who has been skateboarding for five years.
"I hope girls' skateboarding improves even more and we can push each
other and beat the boys," Suganami added with a laugh.
For Exposure co-founder Amelia Brodka, long-ignored skateboarding
girls got a golden opportunity to shine when they competed for the
first time in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where she competed
for Poland.
"It was like the guys finally started watching the girls and they
were shocked at the level of skateboarding and the rate of
progression," said Brodka.
Japanese women won four of the six Olympic medals, including the two
golds, in Park and Street competitions.
When Exposure started 12 years ago, Brodka said there were few
opportunities to skate, no sponsorships, no visibility in skateboard
media. "Now they are finally starting to pay attention," she said.
Skateboarding icon Tony Hawk, who lives in the area, said "support
for women in skateboarding and their level of skating has exploded
in recent years."
"We need to highlight events like Exposure to acknowledge that
women's skateboarding is exciting, highly advanced, and here to
stay," Hawk told Reuters.
Parents of the skateboarding girls are equally stoked by the
expertise and the attention.
Lauren Wigo came to Encinitas from New York City with her
15-year-old daughter Marisol Concha.
"I think if you can shred and perform, they do take you seriously,"
said Wigo. "And she is often one of the only girls, if the only girl
in the park when she skates. So she shreds."
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Professional skateboarder Jordyn Barratt, 24, of Hawaii, competes in
the pro bowl event at the Exposure 2023 contest empowering women,
trans and non-binary individuals through skateboarding in Encinitas,
California, U.S., November 3, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
'FUTURE OF SKATEBOARDING'
Lisa Lilley came with skater daughter Ruby from nearby Oceanside,
California.
"I think more so than ever, especially in the last two years that
the men are taking the women more seriously and the women have
really stepped up their skating," said Lilley.
Mindy Johnson has four daughters who skate and came with 10-year-old
Lulu from Minnesota, who competed in advanced bowl and intermediate
verticals after starting to skate two years ago.
"I don't think there is enough girl-specific skateboarding things,"
said Mindy Johnson. "We would love to see it grow."
Her daughter said she thought they should get more respect from the
boys.
"They are missing that girls are the future of skateboarding and
girls can be good at skateboarding too," said Lulu Johnson.
Despite the progression of girls in the sport, there were calls for
more support from the skating community.
"It is still a male-run industry and I think the key that needs to
happen is supporting everything that all of these women who laid the
foundation have been doing," said Brodka.
One asset the women and girls extol is the profound sense of
community among them, even at competitions as important as the
Olympics.
"Even though we are competing, we are all friends and we all support
each other, " said Brodka. "So what you will see if you go to a
skate park or skateboarding contest, is the competitors are cheering
each other, supporting each other. They want to see each other
succeed."
(Reporting by Mike Blake; Writing by Mary Milliken; Editing by
Lincoln Feast.)
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