Team rider Zoe Herishen is at it again - this is her 3rd year of heading up this awesome "Chica de Mayo" event that she created! Mark your calendars as you don't want to miss it!
Team rider Zoe Herishen is at it again - this is her 3rd year of heading up this awesome "Chica de Mayo" event that she created! Mark your calendars as you don't want to miss it!
Brett Wilhelm/ESPN - Skater Yndiara Asp
X-Games has updated the list of the women's skateboard park invited athletes, and there are a few new faces on it! This year the newcomers to qualifiers are;
Kisa Nakamura
Grace Marhoefer
Sabre Norris
Kody Tamanaha
Sakura Yosozumi
This will be the first time we've seen Sabre Norris compete here in the USA, and after what we saw from her at Bowl-A-Rama in Bondi - including 540's that were SO dialed in - it will be interesting to see what tricks she throws down in park.
Skateboard Park is the discipline going to the Olympics in 2020 (along with Street) so that is the event all these girls - who normally skate bowls/vert - need to focus on mastering - if making the Olympic team is on their agenda.
Road to X: Boise Qualifier, taking place June 15 - 16 at Rhodes Skate Park. The Park events serve as an official qualifying event for the X Games Minneapolis Park competitions.
The top four Women’s Skateboard athletes, not already invited, will qualify into the X Games Minneapolis Park competition.
Here are the girls who received invites to Boise, Idaho for X-Games qualifiers.
SKATEBOARD PARK WOMEN
Lizzie Armanto
Nora Vasconcellos
Nicole Hause
Allysha Le
Kisa Nakamura
Yndiara Asp
Arianna Carmona
Hanna Zanzi
Bryce Wettstein
Grace Marhoefer
Sabre Norris
Minna Stess
Kihana Ogawa
Dora Varella
Kody Tamanaha
Hunter Long
Sakura Yosozumi
Shanae Collins
Julz Lynn
Zoe Safanda
(Automatic invites to X Games Minneapolis 2018: Brighton Zeuner, Jordyn Barratt, Poppy Starr Olsen)
Female Athletes to watch include:
* Lizzie Armanto (Santa Monica, California) – The first female skater to be featured on the cover of Transworld Skateboarding and the first female in 24 years to land a Thrasher cover, Armanto turned pro with Tony Hawk’s Birdhouse team in 2017. Armanto is a two-time X Games Skateboard Park medalist with gold and silver in three appearances.
* Nicole Hause (Stillwater, Minnesota) – After narrowly missing the X Games Minneapolis podium with a fourth place finish in Skateboard Park 2017, Hause is on fire this season. She will come into Boise hot off wins at the Vans Combi and Vert Attack competitions.
While the events at Rhodes Skate Park are free and open to the public, tickets for bleacher seating to view the Park competitions at Rhodes Skate Park will be sold separately. Visit cityofboise.org/XGames for more information in the coming weeks.
The schedule of Women's Events is as follows:
Friday, June 15, 2018
9 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. Women’s Skateboard Park Practice
10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Women’s Skateboard Park Elimination
Saturday, June 16, 2018
9 a.m. – 10 a.m. Women’s Skateboard Park Practice
12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. Women’s Skateboard Park Final
The event will also be streamed live June 15 – 16 through the X Games Facebook page and YouTube channel.
In addition to the live stream, fans can catch the Boise Park Qualifier coverage on ABC as part of the World of X Games content on June 23, as well as coverage across X Games digital and social platforms.
STREET
The final list of the invited athletes for women's skateboard street is now up as well - these ladies go directly to Minneapolis to qualify and compete.
Qualifiers are on Friday, June 20 in Minneapolis
Finals are on Saturday, June 21 in Minneapolis
WOMEN'S SKATEBOARD STREET
Lacey Baker
Samarria Brevard
Julia Brueckler
Leticia Bufoni
Mariah Duran
Meagan Guy
Candy Jacobs
Gabi Mazetto
Aori Nishimura
Pamela Rosa
Alexis Sablone
Alana Smith
Hayley Wilson
Jenn Soto
A fun short film by Frankie Louise, featuring some of the Aussie skater girls - Poppy Starr Olsen, Amar Hadid, Gracie Earl, Liv Lovelace, and Sari Simpson. Love hearing them all sit around talking about the gnarliest falls they've ever had.
Give it a watch!
All info + photos via The Boardr
The other amazing news is that the women have 3 stops (the men have 4) + World Championships this year - which means more skate time, more opportunities to make money, and to be visible for their sponsors.
Here's how it all works:
Dates: May 30 - June 2, 2018
Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil
For the women, the Prelims at Global Qualifiers stops are open for anyone to enter and you can register and save your spot HERE at The Boardr.
* Female Select Pros do not need to register. They are already seeded in the Semi-Finals. (see photos and list below to see who those skaters are)
Brighton Zeuner, Grace Marhoefer, Jordyn Barratt, Kihana Ogawa, Kia Nakamura, Lizzie Armanto, Nora Vasconcellos, Yndiara Asp
* 2018 Women's Tour Challengers - Not applicable anymore. All women’s events, even Global Qualifiers, are open at the Prelims level.
WOMEN'S SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 30
9am - 12pm: Women’s Registration and Practice
Thursday, May 31
9am - 12pm: Women’s Registration and Practice
5pm: Rider Meeting, Event Wildcards announced, and Heats posted
Friday, June 1
9am - 11am: Women’s Practice
11am - 2pm: Women’s Prelims and Semi-Finals
5:30pm: Women's Final Heat posted
Saturday, June 2 - Live Broadcast in the Vans Park Series App
11am - 12pm: Women’s Practice
12pm - 1pm: Women’s Finals
FORMAT
- 5 skater Heats for Prelims and Semi-Finals
- 4 runs each
- Best run counts
- Max 40 seconds or skate until you fall
- Top 12 from Prelims advance to Semi-Finals
- Prelims will be eliminated if participation is below 15 skaters
- They meet the pre-seeded Select Pros (8)
- Top 8 from Semi-Finals advance to Finals
- Same format
In the Finals: First wall rebate on last run only, one time only, clock resets
WOMEN'S PRIZE PURSE - * Same as the Men's!!!!*
1st: $20,000
2nd $15,000
3rd $10,000
4th $ 5,000
5th $ 4,000
6th $ 3,000
7th $ 2,000
8th $ 1,500
9th - 15th $1,000
Huge thanks to our friends at The Boardr and Vans for the info and making 2018 a great year for women's skateboarding!
Check out Nora Vasconcellos on The Nine Club with Chris Roberts during Adidas Das Days Live.
Nora's segment comes on air at 1:11:9 and is well worth a listen!
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| Photo Ian Logan |
Photos via Speedlab Wheels
Gabrielle Brownfield is not only a rad skateboarder, she is also a talented artist and a Speedlab team rider. So it was great to hear that Speedlab just released her very own wheel in their new Artist Series.
These new wheels are a limited edition - so get them quick!
Specs: 61mm/99A, color is white, $33.00 for a pack of four
Info from Speedlab:
Everyone seems to do an artist series line of decks but when was the last time, if ever, that there was an Artist Series for wheels?
This is the 7th graphic of the Artist Series and was created by our very own Speedlab Wheels rider Gabrielle Brownfield. These wheels have a classic profile, made with the best formulas in the world and perform just as good as they look. Artwork by Gabrielle Brownfield. Give her a follow on Instagram to check out more of her artwork @imjustgabs
These new wheels are a limited edition - so get them quick!
Specs: 61mm/99A, color is white, $33.00 for a pack of four
Info from Speedlab:
Everyone seems to do an artist series line of decks but when was the last time, if ever, that there was an Artist Series for wheels?
This is the 7th graphic of the Artist Series and was created by our very own Speedlab Wheels rider Gabrielle Brownfield. These wheels have a classic profile, made with the best formulas in the world and perform just as good as they look. Artwork by Gabrielle Brownfield. Give her a follow on Instagram to check out more of her artwork @imjustgabs
You can grab a set for yourself HERE or at a skate shop near you!
Please support girls skateboarding by buying products that girls are involved in and endorse, they are out there skating hard and making shit happen - lets keep that going!!
We are stoked to see one of our favorite little female skaters, Briel Weingartner, on the PopSugar site this week! Briel is tearing it up and showing the skills that keep winning her comps all over Southern California. Nice to see her video on PopSugar going viral!
Congrats Briel!
Photo of Paulina Eriksson by Ian Logan
We are hyped to have the It's Not About Pretty book mentioned in this article about girls skateboarding on fashion site LYST UK this week. Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word, SkatePal and Skate Like a Girl were all mentioned as organizations that are helping to further girls skateboarding.
Give it a read HERE
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BIG CITY KIDS
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Shanae, Gracie and Charlotte - photo via Diemen Distribution
The King of Concrete contest at St. Kilda Skatepark in Australia, had a raging girls division and they were kind enough to host a Facebook LIVE sesion so you could watch it all go down yesterday. More and more girls are showing up to contests and it's really great to see new talent emerging!
Podium Results:
1st Grace Cochrane
2nd Shanae Collins
3rd Charlotte Heath
Pro skateboarder and Vans Girl, Lizzie Armanto, talks about skateboarding, art, being creative and shares that having personal style is the most important thing.
“You have to do you. You can’t be like everyone else, it just doesn’t sound that fun.”
--- Lizzie Armanto
You can order the Vans Lizzie is wearing, or just about anything else you can think up, at Vans Custom
Santa Monica skater, Zara Percy, was invited to come check out the new Dusters California x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word GIRL POWER cruiser board before it launched in stores worldwide. Zara told us a little bit about what it's like when you first start skateboarding and you're the only girl at the skatepark, and why she thinks the new GIRL POWER board is so special.
We are proud to say that this board gives a portion of its proceeds back to Bridge to Skate, a 501c3 non-profit that empowers today’s youth to take control of their lives, using skateboarding as a vehicle for creative expression and a way of owning their own wheels.
You can follow Zara on instagram at @zarapercy
You can find the new Dusters x GN4LW #GirlPower board at a skate shop near you, or online via the following sites:
USA
Dusters California
Thank You Supply
So Cal Skate Shop
The Odells
OVERSEAS
Basement Skate
Route One
Kanui
Hyper Ride
All Ride
Rider: Kihana Ogawa | Photo by Bryce Kanights / ESPN Images
Press Release: Top Skateboard and BMX Athletes Headed to Road to X Games: Boise Qualifier
The world’s top Skateboard and BMX athletes have been invited to the Road to X: Boise Qualifier, taking place June 15 - 16 at Rhodes Skate Park. The Park events serve as an official qualifying event for the X Games Minneapolis Park competitions.
The top four Women’s Skateboard athletes, not already invited, will qualify into the X Games Minneapolis Park competition.
Brett Wilhelm/ESPN - Skater Yndiara Asp
SKATEBOARD PARK WOMEN - Invited Athletes
Lizzie Armanto
Nora Vasconcellos
Nicole Hause
Allysha Le
Kisa Nakamura
Yndiara Asp
Arianna Carmona
Hanna Zanzi
Bryce Wettstein
Grace Marhoefer
Updated info from the X-Games as of 4:30 PM ---> (Invited athletes 11-20 to be announced soon)
(Automatic invites to X Games Minneapolis 2018: Brighton Zeuner, Jordyn Barratt, Poppy Starr Olsen)
ATTN: The Boise qualifier is an INVITE-ONLY event and not open to all participants.
Female Athletes to watch include:
* Lizzie Armanto (Santa Monica, California) – The first female skater to be featured on the cover of Transworld Skateboarding and the first female in 24 years to land a Thrasher cover, Armanto turned pro with Tony Hawk’s Birdhouse team in 2017. Armanto is a two-time X Games Skateboard Park medalist with gold and silver in three appearances.
* Nicole Hause (Stillwater, Minnesota) – After narrowly missing the X Games Minneapolis podium with a fourth place finish in Skateboard Park 2017, Hause is on fire this season. She will come into Boise hot off wins at the Vans Combi and Vert Attack competitions.
While the events at Rhodes Skate Park are free and open to the public, tickets for bleacher seating to view the Park competitions at Rhodes Skate Park will be sold separately. Visit cityofboise.org/XGames for more information in the coming weeks.
The schedule of Women's Events is as follows:
Friday, June 15, 2018
9 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. Women’s Skateboard Park Practice
10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Women’s Skateboard Park Elimination
Saturday, June 16, 2018
9 a.m. – 10 a.m. Women’s Skateboard Park Practice
12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. Women’s Skateboard Park Final
The event will also be streamed live June 15 – 16 through the X Games Facebook page and YouTube channel.
In addition to the live stream, fans can catch the Boise Park Qualifier coverage on ABC as part of the World of X Games content on June 23, as well as coverage across X Games digital and social platforms.
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| Jordyn Barratt |
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| Arianna Carmona |
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| Hannah Zanzi |
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| Julz Lynn |
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| Pauline Branom |
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| Bucky Lasek & Dave Duncan |
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| Julz 3rd , Jordyn 1st, Hanna 2nd |
MedMen, Hot Nife & Nug put on the 420 Games at Venice Skatepark this past weekend with a total prize purse of $20,000. Invite only, it showcased some of the best skaters around. In the women's division - Jordyn Barratt, Julz Lynn, Hanna Zanzi, Arianna Carmona and Pauline Branom battled it out. There was a band, some rad skating and a fun day on the beach skating under the sun. We are stoked to see that they included female skaters in this comp and had prize money for them!
Podium Results
1st Jordyn Barratt $1,500
2nd Hanna Zanzi. $1,000
3rd Julz Lynn $ 750
Huge thanks to Joanne Barratt for sharing these images with us!
Photos Ian Logan x Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word - all rights reserved
The legendary Nude Bowl. You've most likely heard about it, or maybe you've even seen it in photos and videos. It's a place that is on almost every skater's bucket list. It's way off the beaten path in the California desert, and a 4-wheel drive is your best bet to reach it, as there are no paved roads. Even with its remote locale, the artwork in the pool itself changes almost daily it seems. Night sessions with portable gennys and lights are not uncommon.
Some days the place has an air of danger (according to some people we have spoken to that have recently made the trek) - which is not surprising when you see bullet casings littering the desert floor, broken bottles and beer cans and remnants of parties that most likely have gone on long into the night. Yet on other days it just feels like a calm slice of paradise that you have all to yourself. The day we were there felt just like that.
The Nude Bowl's history is pretty interesting - like most renegade places in skateboarding history it's had a few previous lives. The name "Nude Bowl" comes from the fact that the site was once a nudist resort called "Desert Gardens Ranch" which was either built in the 30's or 50's or 60's depending on who you talk to. It's hard to believe looking at it now, but back in the day, it had a few buildings, this kidney-shaped pool and lots of nudists enjoying the warm desert sunshine.
When the resort closed in the late 1970's skaters seemed to find it, and it became a popular "underground" skateboarding spot from the late 1970's to the early 1990's. Unfortunately in the late 1990's parties and violence became a regular thing at the bowl and skateboarding took a backseat. The police and the city decided to demolish the pool to put a stop to the unrest.
Skaters just assumed it had been demolished completely - until skateboarder Jeremiah Risk decided to rent a backhoe and started digging. He found out that the pool was there under mounds of dirt and still intact. It hadn't been demolished as previously reported - they had actually filled it in with tons of dirt. Thanks to Jeremiah and his hard work in 2015, the Nude Bowl has once again been a place where you can skate like we did in the 70's - a place free of real-world restrictions. No memberships, no fees, no pads, no rules.
Want to know how to get to the Nude Bowl? Start researching, look at photos, old videos and ariel maps, because we're not going to give you step by step directions, we believe that any location worth skating is worth the work to find.
TIPS: A 4-wheel drive is a must. Bring water and some food. Be respectful of the locals. Leave it better than you found it. Don't post directions, maps or pins. If you see Jeremiah there, thank him for what he's done and offer to buy him a beer - it's people like this that keep renegade spots like the Nude Bowl alive and well. HAVE RESPECT.
For videos and images of female skaters at the Nude Bowl, check out these previous posts:
Jordyn Barratt for Black & Decker
Las ChicAZ Crew - Road Trip
For more renegade skate spots that should be on your bucket list to skate check out this post:
Freedom to Find - 10 Skate Spots you Need to Find
Local Venice skater, Vianez Morales is the girl on this years event poster
This is one of our favorite events of the year! So many female skaters of all ages and levels in one place, with Venice Skatepark all to themselves. There are prizes for each age group listed on flyer and give-a-ways all day long - thanks to the sposnors listed above.
But more than competing, it's just a fun day to get all your girl friends together and skate under the warm California sun, right on Venice Beach. You get to meet and connect with so many other female skaters - it's the best!
THIS IS A FREE EVENT!
Venice Ladies Jam
Date: April 28th, 2018
Time: 10:30 - 4:00 PM
Location: Venice Skatepark
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| "Candy Bombing" Dungan |
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| Candy & her daughter |
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| Candy & her fiance Aaron |
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| Candy "Candy Bombing" Dungan |
One of our favorite videos featuring Candy
UPDATE 7:30 PM PST : a GO FUND ME has been set up to help Candy & her family with medical expenses - you can read about it and donate ---> by clicking HERE
About an hour ago downhill racer Candy Dungan's fiance, Aaron, released a statement via his personal Facebook page letting everyone know that Candy, also known as "Candy Bombing", had a serious accident while out riding this morning....
Dear family and friends, life can change in an instant. please keep Candy in your heart.. while skating this morning she hit a guardrail with her back (while wearing a POC spine protector) and is going in for surgery in the morning. The Dr says it is not impossible that she will walk again.. so we have our fists up and are going to attack PT with everything we have. Please message or comment any love you can offer Candy during this trying time..
Candy is one of our favorite downhill girls, not only to watch but for all the positive things she puts out into the world daily. We met her a few years back at the Maryhill SheRide and we were immediately drawn to her fun and welcoming personality, and her badass ways on the hill. But she is not only a downhill racer, she has spoken out candidly and fought for sexual assault victims via her movement #SkateToFight, heads up teh Rad Girls Krew in Colorado, she runs Momentum PR with her fiance Aaron - a company that we use for all our press releases here at GN4LW - and she is a great mom to a little girl who is growing up to be a badass just like Candy.
We are sending positive vibes out to Candy to get through surgery and walk again - we need this rad lady back on her board. She is always the cheerleader for everyone else, now it's our turn to be there for her.
We love you Candy!
We are stoked to see Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word team rider, Zoe Benedetto, in the April issue of Stuart Magazine in an article about "The Next Generation". This rad young surfer is already on the Olympic development team and has surfed her way to more wins than you can count. Not too mention being a 4x East Coast Champion!
You can follow Zoe on instagram at @zoe_benedetto
Congrats Zoe!!
via Buzz Feed
We are so proud to be a small part of Calleigh's journey. Calleigh was our very first Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word micro grant recipient for her cross country skate adventure this past year. More important than skating across the country, is the fact that she is speaking out about being transgender, the kindness of strangers, and why she craves adventure.
Calleigh is a badass in the skate industry - from downhill events to ultra marathons, everyone knows and loves her. Now it's time the rest of the world does too. We are so glad she is sharing her story!
Please click over to BUZZ FEED to read the whole interview with Calleigh ---> HERE
Nice interview with Pro street skater, Lacey Baker, this morning in the New York Times - if you'd like to read the entire interview jump over HERE.