Kihana Ogawa

Sky Brown

 Photos via Vans Park Series

The Vans Park Series Women's Continental Championships Asia was dominated today by Hosoi Skateboards team rider, Kihana Ogawa who took first place with a score of 86.26.  Nine year old Sky Brown took second with a score of 80.98 and Sakura Yosozumi came in third with a 77.94.

Kihana is now qualified for the VPS World Championships that take place in Shanghai, China in September!   Congrats!!

The Vans Park Series (VPS) takes to Singapore for the first-ever official park Asian VPS Continental Championships on Aug 18 and 19, boasting the best park terrain skateboarders from around Asia and serving as a gateway for regional talents to break into the VPS World Tour circuit. 

Held at Xtreme Skatepark along East Coast Park, the event will see a men’s and women’s category where the prospective winners of the competition will be seeded to compete in the World Championships held in Shanghai on Sept 23. 

There will be a vert bowl, combination bowl (park terrain) and street course linking together handrails, steps, hubbas, banks and organic terraces to form a comprehensive skate plaza.

Nine year old, instagram sensation, Sky Brown, will be one of the competitors you'll want to watch for. If she places first here, she will be included in the VPS World Championships in China on September 23. 

Stay tuned!

Images via Elle Magazine / Photos Mark Seliger

Elle Magazine's September Issue was chock full of fashion as usual, but when we started flipping through the "Taking it to the Streets" layout we were seriously bummed to just see the models  standing/posing while guys skated near them, but then we got further in and were super stoked to see the girls from The Skate Kitchen featured! Nice to see legit girls like Rachelle Vinberg, Dede Lovelace, Ajani Russell,  featured on the pages of a well-known fashion magazine!

In case you missed it, Rachelle Vinberg and crew will be featured in an upcoming movie starring Jaden Smith and directed by Crystal Moselle about skater girls. Knowing Crystal's previous work filming/directing the Miu Miu spot (below) with Rachel and the Skate Kitchen crew this is going to be a rad movie you won't want to miss.

Great to see skateboarder, Quinne Daniels, in this new commercial and series of ads for Airwalk - and getting to film at her home park was a plus!

This new Macy's "Back to School" commercial is hands down one of the best mainstream commercials featuring female skateboarders we have seen! Plus, who doesn't want to skateboard through a department store?  Sign us up!!

Skaters featured are:  Fabiana Delfino, Beatrice Domond, Hyo Joo, and Dee.

 Photos Tiffany Williams  / Skater Sari Simpson

Not everyone has Thrasher or Transworld Skateboarding beating down their door to do photo shoots with them, so we think that encouraging girls to create their own media in skateboarding is key.

One of the best ways to make this happen is to find a photographer with a common interest,  whose style you like, and who is willing work with you.  Have them team up with you and your friends to create some imagery that you can all post on your social media sites.  Most skaters also need shots quite often for their sponsors, so this is a great way to accomplish that.

Australian skateboarder Sari Simpson, has been teaming up with her photographer, Tiffany Williams, for a couple years now. Tiffany has shot Sari at practice sessions, comps and they also collaborate on doing shots that are still skate related, but a bit more editorial in feel (like some of the shots above).  They seem to have a bond, work well together, and each of them gets somthing out of the day that helps their respective careers.

Tiffany even shot the Bowl-a-Rama comp for us this past year because we loved the shots she had done of Sari, and it helped us feel comfortable that she came complete with a great skater recommendation! 

Show us who you team up with, by tagging your photos #girlisnota4letterword on social media - we'd love to see them!

 Brighton Zeuner Winning Run

Bryce Wettstein  2nd Place Run

Nora Vasconcellos 3rd Place Run

Did you miss the women's event today? Watch the top three girls and their top runs of the day.  Brighton, Bryce and Nora - killing it!

Videos via Vans Park Series 

Brighton Zeuner Wins Again!!

The Vans Park Series Women's Pro Tour Global Qualifier prelims were a battle until the end. Bryce Wettstein wowed the judges and the crowd with her jam packed run, which included an awesome 50/50 to fakie ,  Grace Marhoefer from Florida made it into the finals shaking up the status quo with smooth style, and back to back tricks. Kody Tamanaha surprised everyone with how much she has improved this past year and had OG legend Christian Hosoi at her side giving her calming advice.  The sad moment of the day was when Kisa Nakamura made the finals but had to pull out due to an injury. Lizzie Armanto came up from 9th place to take Kisa's place in the finals. Brighton Zeuner stayed in first place the entire time and Jordyn Barratt who is usually pretty consistent, bounced around score wise, but ultimately made the finals. Nora Vasconcellos always says she isn't a comp skater, but she showed that she was today - she looked calm and like she was having fun, run after run. Hanna Zanzi barely rode at the practice sessions this week and still showed us why she really doesn't need to, by making the finals easily.

The finals were just as exciting to watch with upsets happening right and left. To be sure, the old guard in women's skateboarding is changing fast. Jordyn picked herself up from 8th place to 4th and Bryce Wettsetein was hot on Brighton's heels every run. Nora placing 3rd was nice to see as we usually don't get to see Nora on the podium enough. Brighton took it away and is now officially on a roll, winning everything from the World Championships last year, to the X-Games, and now the Vans Park Series Global Qualifiers at age 13! 

Congrats to all the girls, and thanks to Vans & The Boardr for a great event!

In the end the results were:


Brighton Zeuner - 1st
Bryce Wettstein - 2nd
Nora Vasconcellos - 3rd

Jordyn Barratt- 4th
Hanna Zanzi - 5th
Kody Tamanaha - 6th
Grace Marhoefer - 7th
Lizzie Armanto - 8th

A little reminder from Vans and pro skater Brighton Zeuner to tune in today at 2 PM PST and watch the women's VPS Pro Tour Global Qualifiers coming to you LIVE from Huntington Beach. The girls are ripping and it promises to be quite the showdown!!

See it all go down at Vansparkseries.com

This Thursday, August 3rd, the Vans Park Series hits the hot sands of Huntington Beach where the world's best female park terrain skaters will be shredding the custom built park under the blazing Californian sun.

Last year Hanna Zanzi came out of a long hiatus to upset the field and take it all, this year she's back for more and who knows how this will all play out. Brighton Zeuner, Jordyn Barratt and Poppy Starrr Olsen are fresh off the podium at the X-Games and are hungry for more. Young upstarts like Grace Marhoefer, Bryce Wettstein and Kody Tamanaha will be showing what they got and pushing the veteran pros - this should be an intense contest - one you don't want to miss!

The top women from this event will be invited to compete at the World Championships in Shanghai, China in September - so there is more than just a podium finish prize money at stake.

Get down there early and grab a good seat to see these female skaters battle it out:

2017 Women's Select Pros: 

Brighton Zeuner 
Jordyn Barratt
Kisa Nakamura

2017 Women's Tour Pros:

Poppy Starr Olsen
Nora Vasconcellos
Yndiara Asp
Nicole Hause
Hanna Zanzi
Hunter Long
Allysha Le
Arianna Carmona
Bryce Wettstein
Fabiana Delfino
Grace Marhoefer
Kody Tamanaha
Lizzie Armanto
Julz Lynn

Can't make it to Huntington Beach in person?  Don't worry, you can catch all the action from the
VPS Women’s Pro Tour, Prelims + Finals LIVE via the Vans Webcast!

THURSDAY, AUGUST 3rd  - 2:00 PM - 5 PM PST  WATCH THE LIVE BROADCAST ---->  HEREvansparkseries.com



MORE INFO:   The Vans Park Series returns to Huntington Beach, CA in partnership with the largest action sports festival in the world, the Vans US Open of Surfing. With thousands of spectators descending upon the festival, the highly-anticipated summer event will feature an exceptional entertainment experience, filled with world-class surf, skate and BMX competitions, in addition to the interactive Van Doren Village, which will host art exhibitions and hands-on creative workshops for attendees. Visit www.vansusopenofsurfing.com for more information.

Bella Kenworthy

Nicole Hause

Sarah Thompson

Hunter Long

Minna Stess

Lea Taylor

Paige LeBare

Spencer Breaux

Zoe Safanda

Dora Varella

Sierra Kerr

Pauline Branom

Maria Rojas Benavides

Jordan Santana

1st Dora Varella  2nd Spencer Breaux  3rd Minna Stess

 Photos Ian Logan for Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

Today's Vans Park Series Women's Continental Championships was fast and furious. There were three heats of girls which were quickly narrowed down to the 8 girls who made the finals plus the 3 girls who won in their respective countries (Brazil, Chile & Columbia) joining them.

We saw some hard slams today, but every single girl (even after a visit to the med tent) was right back out there skating their hardest. Some of the youngest were pushing the envelope by hitting almost every element in the park and varying up their runs every single time. Hard to do even if you're a veteran skater.

Great contest to watch - congrats to all the girls!

In the end, the results from the finals looked like this:

1st    Dora Varella - Brazil
2nd   Spencer Breaux - USA
3rd    Minna Stess - USA

4th     Nicole Hause  - USA
5th     Bella Kenworth  - USA
6th     Jordan Santana  - USA
7th     Sierra Kerr  - USA
8th     Lea Taylor   - USA
9th     Zoe Safanda  - USA
10th   Ana Marie Falla Toro - Columbia 
11th   Maria Rojas Benavidas  - Chile


Dora Varella will head off to China in September to compete in the Vans Women's Pro Park Series Championships!


Huge shout out and thank you to Vans and The Boardr for having us! 

Leah Ho

OG Legends Dennis Martinez and Jim Gray with some of the skaters

Tisa

Kala Fernandez

Dalia Lundquist

DJ Krza

Tracie Garacochea

Zara Percy

Quinne Daniels

X-Games Silver Medalist Jordyn Barratt

Cheryl Jumao-as

Seylah

Amy Bradshaw

Collette

Jazzmen  Chavez

Vianez Morales

Nicole Noller

Elle

2016 Vans Pro Park Series Huntington Beach Champion Hanna Zanzi

Under 14 - 1st Stellla Reynolds, 2nd Vianez Morales, 3rd Dalia Lundquist

15 and over - 1st place Nicole Noller, 2nd place Leah Ho, 3rd place Amy Bradshaw (not pictured)

Photos by Ian Logan for Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word 

*Please be kind when sharing pics - tag/credit Ian Logan x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

It was such an awesome day at the Venice Annual Ladies Jam at Venice Skatepark. It was a warm, clear day at the beach and girls came from all over to skate and have fun with their friends and takeover Venice skatepark!  There was a skate jam, contests, give-a-ways, prizes, food from Naugle's Tacos and more happening throughout the day.

2016 Vans Pro Park Series (Huntington Beach) winner Hanna Zanzi as well as X-Games current silver medalist, Jordyn Barratt were on hand to watch the girls skate, sign autographs and give encouragement.

OG legend Jim Gray took to the mic to announce throughout the day, and OG legend Dennis Martinez was one of the judges for the ladies events.  DJ Krza was spinning tunes all day long to keep the energy up and  1960's female skateboard legend & icon, Patti McGee,  was in the Juice Magazine booth signing the new issue with her interview in it.


Huge thanks to The City of Los Angeles, Venice Parks and Recreation, Heidi Lemmon, all the volunteers, companies who donated goods,  photographers, parents, the girls who showed up & skated, and the skateboard legends in attendance - you all made this happen, and it was amazing!


* Please let us know in comments the names of girls we missed  mentioning to we can caption your pics!

Venice Ladies Jam / Photo Ian Logan for Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

Amelia Brodka at Supergirl Pro / Photo via Supergirl Pro

Get ready - so much going on this weekend in women's skateboarding - pick an event (or 3) and get out there!! We have all the info below on what is happening around Southern California.

VENICE SKATEPARK   Saturday, July 29 / 10 AM - 4 PM - head to Venice Skatepark to skate with a ton of other girls at the Venice Annual Ladies Day Skate Jam - anyone can enter the age range comps, or just skate for fun. DJ Kyrza will be spinning tunes, food by Naugles Tacos, and there is a rad vendor village with cool skate brands. Juice Magazine will have  OG Legend Patti McGee giving out the current isue of the mag and signing autographs on her feature inside. Pro skateboarder and X-Games Silver medalist Jordyn Barratt will be skating and signing autographs during the day as well.

What could be better than an entire day at the beach with your friends skateboarding the iconic Venice Skatepark? Oh yeah - tons of give-a-ways and prizes will be given out from the sponsors listed above on flyer - See you there!

OCEANSIDE  Saturday, July 29 - Supergirl Pro is here again and it takes place in Oceanside right on the sand! Pro skateboarder Amelia Brodka is heading up a rad contest & demo, with some of your favorite Pro and AM riders  - it all takes place on the Active Ride half pipe right on the beach! In between watching skateboarding, you can catch the women's surfing comps that are happening just steps away. There is a huge vendor village, food, music and lots of girl power inspiration.  More info on times to see the skate demos and comp  HERE

Kody Tamanaha  / Photo Ian Logan for Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

HUNTINGTON BEACH  Sunday, July 30  The Vans Park Series Women’s Continental Championships are taking place in Huntington Beach - watch the girls battle it out for that coveted first place finish that streamlines them directly to the World Championships in China on September 23rd!

Contest Prelims take place from 10 AM - 12 PM and finals from 12 - 1 PM.


Next up...

The Vans Pro Park Series Women's Contest on Thursday, August 3 - more details to come!

Have a great weekend!

Check out our friend Quinne Daniels in the new "Dream Big, Princess" Disney commercial! We love that for the past two years Disney has included skater girls in these spots. Congrats Quinne!!

Little rippers, Sky and Ocean in a short video for Marie Claire Taiwan. Wtach the kids shred in Taiwan, and hear why their dad feels that supporting their skating is impoartant. These two are the best brother/sister duo in skateboarding!

Absofacto's "Endless Summer" music video featuring skateboarders, Roxzi Bokolas, Alex Larson, & Chelsea Castro- beautifully done, and as always these girls rip!

Directed by LABAN.

We are so excited to see Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word team rider Zoe Herishen in this new Revlon ColorStay Commercial rocking our girls "Pretty Radical" shirt and skating on our Dusters x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word "INAP" board!

Chcek out Zoe skateboarding at the pump track, and her reaction when seeing her photos on a billboard in Times Square is priceless - it doesn't get any radder than that!

Huge Congrats Zoe!!

How far girls skateboarding has come the past couple of years - watch these three girls - all just teenagers- to see the progression! Congrats Brighton, Jordyn and Poppy! What a night!!

Brighton Zeuner / Photo Pete Demos for espn

Jordyn Barratt / Photo Pete Demos for espn

Poppy Starr Olsen / Photo Pete Demos for espn

Podium - Brighton, Jordyn, Poppy  / Eric Lars Bakke for espn

What an amazing night, that had everyone who was watching, on the edge of their seats!  With only two runs each, it was anyone's guess as to how things would shake out by the second run. Hanna Zanzi started things off by doing tricks we haven't seen from the girls before and launching herself over the boat obstacle with such height and power it was insane to watch (with a broken arm, no less) unfortunately due to a couple falls, it wasn't enough to get her in podium position - but it sure was exciting to watch. Poppy Starr Olsen came out with a solid 1st run but bettered it in round two, landing her in the silver medal position.  But Jordyn Barratt once again proved she thrives under extreme pressure, and jumped from 7th place after round one, to 2nd place, pushing Poppy Starr Olsen down from Silver to Bronze. 13 year old Brighton Zeuner held onto the lead in both rounds to make history  HERstory by becoming the youngest athlete ever to win X-Games GOLD! The record was held by Ryan Sheckler for the past 14 years, which is longer than Brighton has been alive. Ryan was 13 years and 7 months when he won gold in 2003, Brighton is just 13 years old + ONE DAY. What an amazing birthday this newly minted teenager had tonight!

Congrats to all the girls for an awesome and inspiring contest!


Women's Skateboard Park Results

1. Brighton Zuener, 88.66 (USA)
2. Jordyn Barratt, 86.66 (USA)
3. Poppy Starr Olsen, 83.66 (AUS)
4. Nicole Hause, 81.66 (USA)
5. Kisa Nakamura, 70.33 (JPN)
6. Lizzie Armanto, 69.00 (USA)
7. Kihana Ogawa, 68.00 (JPN)
8. Hanna Zanzi, 60.33 (USA)

SUNDAY 7/16  Come skate with Arbor Girls at another #Push2Progress Skate Session 1:00 PM 2:30 PM at the Small Venice Skatepark.

These sessions are so much fun!