By Phillip
Brents
WSPW Correspondent
CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- The Vans Warped Tour has made
a name for itself by promoting extreme sports to complement its regular lineup
of "extreme" music. The lineup in both areas varies from year to year and
it usually tends to off-set the other. One year the music lineup will overshadow
the sports lineup and another year vice versa. While both the weather and
general atmosphere at this year’s Coors Amphitheatre stop may have lacked
the heat of past Warped Tour events, the extreme sports venue did offer a
twist: the All Girls Skate Jam.
The Jam prides itself on being the
first and only skateboarding competition for all girls, all ages and all
abilities. For the better part of the June 30 Chula Vista tour stop, the
girls exhibiting their skills on the mini-ramp set up in the amphitheater's
parking lot seemed to genuinely catch the attention of many onlookers. Certainly,
it was different. Yet, it also fit in with the tour¹s ambient alternative
music format.
An on-site punk band revved up the
decibels every now and then to spice up the competition.
The All Girls Skate Jam has experienced
tremendous growth since its debut in 1990 as a demonstration event in Reno,
Nev. A prize purse was instituted in 1997 and the void that had existed in
competitive and non-competitive girls skateboarding was forever filled. The
prize purse at that first event was $3,750 for vert and street disciplines.
The prize purse has since grown to awards of $5,000 and $7,500. Amateurs
compete for cool prizes. First-place amateur and pro winners received a Gibson
electronic guitar at the June 30 event. In other words, the Jam keeps on
jammin’.
The Coors Amphitheatre stop included
both amateur and pro skaters. Mixed in with the local contingent were skaters
who hailed from as far away as Canada and Delaware. It would have been much
more visually rewarding to see the action on a half-pipe but considering
that some competitors were pre-teens, the safety element of the mini-ramp
did produce its share of rewarding moments.
Event organizer Patty Segovia, a
graduate from UCSB who organized and skated in the original 1990 demo event
out of what she termed “the sheer love for the sport,” said that
by providing a unique competitive series devoted solely to women, the All
Girl Skate Jam is able to bring women of the new millennium together allowing
one-on-one interaction.
With an estimated 20,000 festival-goers
roaming the Coors Amphitheatre parking lot, Segovia termed the turnout “a
huge success” and said the result was “one of the most exciting
events in core action sports.”
Originally an annual event, the
popularity and demand from female skaters have melded the Jam with extreme
sports events around the world. It has also legitimitized itself as a standalone
international tour event officially sanctioned by the International Girls
Skateboarding Association. The Jam has also branched out to attract female
participants in surfing and snowboading. A skate/surf camp is also offered
every summer.
The All Girl Skate Jam last visited
the San Diego region two summers ago when the All Girls Skate Jam XVI took
place at the Oceanside Pier. Cara-Beth Burnside won the pro-am vert competition
at that event, followed by Jen O¹Brien (a past performer at the Vans
Warped Tour). The All Girl Skate Jam also made a San Diego stop in 2001.
Burnside and O'Brien also took the top two spots in the pro vert competition
that year.
San Diego, in fact, has been an integral
part of the event with prior stops in 1998 (Escondido Sports Center), 1999
(San Diego Street Scene) and 2000 (Amy Caron, who has since elevated herself
to near the top of the female skateboarding world, took second place in the
street pro division that year). Each stop attracts upward of 50 to 100 entrants.
The San Diego events have traditionally drawn large numbers over the
years.
Other stops have included San Francisco,
New York City, Florida, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Hawaii and San Sebastian,
Spain, to demonstrate its appeal. The emphasis, Segovia said, is for both
the pro and amateur girls to “skate competitively and have
fun.”
Certainly, Apryl Woodcock, 13, did
both in the Jam's 2005 stop here by, quite frankly, putting many of the seasoned
veterans to shame with her antics on the mini-ramp. Woodcock won the pro
division ahead of Caron and Mandy Eschemann, who finished third.
The event itself consisted of 15-minute
jam heats that included groms (under-10), amateur and pro divisions.
MCs Jimmy the Greek and Donna Vano
set the tone for the day with their inspired commentary. Enhancing the action
musically were Joanne Guillespie with Dynamite 8 and Aurorah.
Judges for the event were plucked
from the pro ranks: Heidi Fitzgerald (head judge), Mimi Knoop, Nicole Zuch
and Woodcock. The event also drew some of the top names in the sport for
moral support: Burnside, Isabelle Caudle, Caylen Dakin and Benji
Galloway.
Footage from the All Girls Skate
Jam will be broadcast on Fox T, X Corps, Planet X TV, Concrete Wave TV Canada,
Telemundo and the ESPN Winter and Summer X-Games.
“Its inclusive philosophy is
reflected in its motto - ‘All ages, all abilities, all girls,’”
Segovia said.
The event also gives back to the
community as proceeds from each event are donated to help those who suffer
from mental illness. All we can say is ... rock on!
All Girl Skate Jam
June 30 at Coors Amphitheatre, Chula Vista
Grom Division
1. Lea Taylor
2. Alize Montes
3. Caity Elizabeth
Amateur Division
1. Allision Matasi
2. Catherine Ashley
3. Ariel Lockshaw
4. Annie Sullivan
5. Morgan McDole
6. Susie Strege
Pro Division
1. Apryl Woodcock
2. Amy Caron
3. Mandy Eschemann
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