Sunday, June 24, 2012

When Females Dominate Skateboarding

Lacey Baker
Skateboarding is mostly dominated by men but behind their shadows are female pro skaters eager to be as good as men. Female skaters are rare and are often criticized for being surrounded by males in a male dominated sport. But still females still strive to keep up in the world of skateboarding.

I am a woman and I have been skating for more than 2 years now and still I am scared to do complex tricks! The good thing is, for me skateboarding is not a competition but more of fun and having fun with the people around you. So I do not pressure myself to compete with males, I just go with the flow and learn tricks at an easy pace.

But even if pro skater girls are behind men when it comes to tricks, hats off to them. Why? Because they have bigger balls than some skaters I know. Yes, these girls are not pros for nothing. They have the skill to land such a reputation in the skateboarding world and being able to dominate it is a feat itself.

Here are some of the best current female skaters I know and If you think I missed out on someone, do not hesitate to comment.

  • Leticia Bufoni. Leticia Bufoni is a 19 year old pro skater and is one of the youngest female pro skaters out there. Riding goofy, she had rubbed elbows with pros from Volcom, Osiris, Foundation, Rock Star Bearings, Bones wheels and Crail.
  • Lacey Baker. A 20 year old goofy skater from California. Lacey is sponsored by Billabong, Element Skateboards, Indy, Bones (flow), Pawn Shop Skate and Vans (flow). She had long hair before, I just learned that she cut it short.
  • Elissa Steamer. Elissa is one of the most amazing female skaters around the world. She had won lots of competitions including Slam City Jam in 1998 in which after she was named as a “pro”. Elissa is sponsored by Zero, Nike SB, Thunder and Tampa Skatepark.
  • Marisa del Santo. Marisa is a boyish skater from Illinois and is as gnarly as Leticia or Lacey. She is currently sponsored by Nor Ill Skate Shop, Zero and Emerica (flow).
  • Evelien Bouilliart. A very competitive woman “Evie” had participated in the female X games since 2000 and is a top competitor. Her sponsors are  Hoopla Skateboards, Etnies, Nixon, Von Zipper, Bones, Zumiez, Rockstar Bearings and Girls from Omsk.
  • Vanessa Torres. Ms. Torres is a regular skater that attained dozens of awards and have participated in the X games side by side with all the female skaters in the event. She rides with Element and Rockstar Bearings.
  • Amy Caron. A regular peo skater from California, Amy Caron had been competing in the X games 1996 and have been a major competitor since 2005. She is with Element, Circa, Rockstar Bearings and Bones Wheels.

In skateboarding, sexism does not exist but we have to admit that it is a male dominated world. But men have to bow down to these women that dominated the sport and are still continuing to WOW the crowd.

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