The Skateboard Moms highly recommend Amelia’s new blog:
http://ameliabrodka.com/2011/05/24/no-room-for-women-in-skateboarding/
Amelia’s blog got us thinking about how we can best promote women’s competition in skateboarding and, like Amelia, we’d love to hear about how you think we can help female skaters get the support and exposure they deserve. We’re considering a number of options, and you’ll be hearing more about that here.
Shredsister Chelle carving up the Iquana Bowl during our annual Mighty Mama Skate-o-Rama
Sometimes in life we get so wrapped up in the daily grind, that we forget what it’s like to feel free. Skateboarding for me is a way to let go of all the junk in my head that stresses me out. Skateboarding takes me back to that happy place inside myself, where nothing else matters except being in that moment and enjoying it to the fullest. Being able to attend the Skateboard Moms’ Mighty-Mama-Skate-O-Rama event that happens yearly on Mother’s Day weekend at the Laguna Nigel skatepark gives me an amazing opportunity to forget my worries and just SHRED! It feels so good to skate with so many awesome women, girls and families, and it all helps promote women’s skateboarding.
Not only is skateboarding a great form of exercise, it relieves stress, and builds self-confidence. What attracted me to skateboarding when I was a girl was that I could do it by myself; I didn’t need to be on a team to participate. My friends and I were the creative types, definitely not the cliquey types. We wanted to create our own adventures; we wanted to invent new, cool things to do. That’s exactly why skateboarding was perfect for me. We could do anything we wanted — any trick off of any obstacle that we could possibly skate. We absolutely loved it!
Fortunately for me there are quite a few other gals out there that share my passion. Even though the years keep passing, our love will never die.
For me this year’s event went off with a bang right from the airport. Skatemom Stacey picked me up and off we drove, and drove, and drove, and finally ended up at a killer skate-park in Chino. The park was small, but had a really nice flow to it, and a little bit of everything to skate. The locals were ripping and very friendly I might add. Of course they were stoked to see women skating their park and did their best to bust out gnarly moves to impress us ladies. I’ll also add that I find this to be a major bonus when arriving at a new skate-park. It’s almost like getting a free show. Keep up the good work Chino guys! I’ll be looking for ya next time.
It takes courage to put yourself out there, outside of your comfort zone. It takes courage to be willing to fall and to pick yourself back up again. You know it’s gonna hurt when you eat pavement, but you just don’t care! Some tricks come easy; those are your bread-n-butter. Some tricks only come once in a while: 10 tries, 20 tries, 31 tries… MAKE! Wooohooooo!!!!! That’s all the matters: the feeling that rushes through your whole body, it’s like nothing else! It’s simply the best!!! I think the fact that we constantly have to push ourselves to get out there, and push ourselves to progress, is what makes skateboarding so satisfying!
The next day of adventures started at the beach in Carlsbad with some surfing! The waves were a bit small, but that didn’t stop us from trying. Stacey and Jane (from Australia) definitely caught a few good ones! They were looking awesome out there! You gals did a great job, thanks for showing us how it’s done! After our surf session, we headed over to the Iguana Bowl. It was only a short drive from the beach, and we were warmly welcomed by the gracious owners. The driveway was filled with ramps, which I had a blast playing on in between bowl runs and to warm up on. The bowl itself is very impressive and super fun to skate! It is perfect for learning just about anything on. I sure wish I had one in my back yard! The evening was going great, and to top it off a whole bunch more rad skater-chicks showed up and shredded up the place. It turned out to be a big high-light of the trip for me. Perfect vibe, perfect company, and not too overwhelming, just chill! Thanks again to our hosts for sharing their super rad digs with our Skatemom posse!
The big day finally arrived and we were all beyond stoked! We couldn’t wait to meet up with the whole Skate Mom/Sisters of Shred gang for the always-awesome Mighty Mama Skate-O-Rama. The best part of attending this event for me is knowing that the money we raise during our annual raffle is for a good cause, children’s literacy! The proceeds this year go to Friends of Children and Literature, aka FOCAL, which is an LA-based charity that brings the magic of reading and books to kids in downtown LA. Our sponsors are always generous, and this year was no exception. The raffle prizes were completely drool-worthy. They totally hooked us up!
Soon the park was surrounded by whizzing sounds of wheels on concrete, and what a sweet sound that is. Everybody had a blast! We listened to the groovy sounds of 70’s music, while riding waves of concrete with perma-grin smiles plastered to our faces. It was totally tubular, and that’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing, but the truth! It was all over way too soon, and I had to catch a flight back to Sacramento. We zoomed off and I made my flight just in the nick. I was sad to leave, but I will be looking forward to next year’s event! I made a bunch of new friends and some great memories to last a lifetime. Until next time So Cal folks, skate or die!!
~ Chelle
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