ALL GIRL SKATE JAM
SURF, SKATE, AND SNOW: BOARDSPORTING, LADIES STYLE

By Murriel Cherise Perez

Make room, fellas—double-X chromosomes are making a good showing on the ramps, slopes, and waves as more and more girls join the traditionally male-dominated ranks of boardsporters across the globe. The number of female skateboarders has definitely gone up since Patty Segovia, founder of All Girl Skate Jam, first hit the sidewalks with her board as a teenager.

Fed up with the lack of support for female skateboarders and frustrated by the disparity between male and female skateboard competitions, Segovia organized an all-girls skating demo in 1990, and officially launched AGSJ in 1997. The mission statement reads— "All ages, all abilities, all girls."

The "All Girl" part of the name still holds true, but the Skate Jam is no longer exclusively skateboard, now representing for the ladies year-round at action sports events and expos, and hosting surf/skate camps during the summers.

On Dec. 2, AGSJ held a competition for Southern California amateur female skaters during the North Pole Winter Sports Expo at the Pomona Fairplex, an hour east of Los Angeles and one of the regular California stops for the Warped Tour.

During the Winter Sports Expo, the AGSJ indoor half-pipe mini-ramp stood in one corner of the building amid booths for snowboarding gear and winter sports apparel. Participants ranged from 10 to 45 years of age, competing in three classes—pros, amateurs, and groms—based on ability. After the girls ripped up the half-pipe during the three heats of the competition, the judges bust out their boards and demonstrated their ramp skills for the crowd. A fashion show went down between the second and third heats, and the event wrapped up around 3 pm with the presentation of the final awards.

Competitor Melissa Spillman first picked up a skateboard six years ago, learning from her younger brothers and picking up tips at skate parks. Skateboarding has now transformed into a major part of her life, and she practices almost every day of the week. While Spillman has noticed more and more girls making a stand with their boards, she still acknowledges that skating can be pretty intimidating.

"Many girls end up stopping when they fall or get hurt," says Spillman. Her advice— "Just do it, don’t mind getting hurt, just get back up again."

Some of the girls at the jam have definitely taken a major thrashing while skating. One of the event judges has already broken her arm in two places and gone through knee surgery after some bad falls. She brushes off her injuries and instead talks about the homegrown girls skateboard DVD that she started filming during a yearlong road trip, traveling with a constantly rotating group of girls who would hit up skate competitions and skate parks across the Western half of the US.

AGSJ treks across the country with the Warped Tour every summer, holding skate clinics and competitions for cash prizes, donating any funds raised through the clinics to non-profit organizations. Overall, AGSJ encourages girls to get more involved in boardsports, providing them with both an opportunity to be recognized for their skills and a community of other female athletes.

"It's very positive, a lot of fun, a great vibe," says Kat Chung, one of the event coordinators for All Girl Skate Jam. "Everyone just hangs out."

For more info, go to: www.allgirlskatejam.com