Billabong Pro Maui – World Women’s Surfing Title to be determined

CLICK HERE to read full updates from the event

The ASP Women’s World Tour title race will come down to the final day of 2006 competition.

Only three and a half hours of competition are needed to complete the contest; eight girls remain in contention. The early elimination of world No. 2 Melanie Redman-Carr (AUS) yesterday, means only Layne Beachley (AUS) and Chelsea Georgeson (AUS) are still in the running for a World Title.

Beachley and Georgeson sit on opposite sides of the draw and will not meet until the final should they each progress through their quarter and semifinal heats. If that happens, Beachley will win her 7th world title regardless of the outcome because she can clinch even with a second place. Georgeson must make the final (sans Beachley) to stay in contention.

Another call on competition status will be made tomorrow morning at 7am.

Remaining ASP Women’s World Title Possibilities

Layne Beachley
• Layne can win on 9th or 5th only if Chelsea doesn’t make the final.
• She can win with a 3rd place only if Chelsea doesn’t win the event.
• She can win with a 2nd place regardless of Chelsea’s result.
• She can win with a 1st place regardless of Chelsea’s result.

Chelsea Georgeson
• Chelsea MUST make the finals to be in contention.
• She can win on a 2nd place only if Layne doesn’t make the semis.
• She can win on a 1st place only if Layne doesn’t make the final as Layne would beat her with a 2nd place.

Billabong Pro Maui Quarterfinal Match-Ups:
Heat 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) vs. Keala Kennelly (HAW)
Heat 2: Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) vs. Chelsea Georgeson (AUS)
Heat 3: Layne Beachley (AUS) vs. Rebecca Woods (AUS)
Heat 4: Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) vs. Melanie Bartels (HAW)

CLICK HERE to read full updates from the event

 

Harley-Davidson launches Women’s empowerment ad campaign

Although GLTR only covers action sports, we saw this article and felt we needed to share this with our readers. Now if only other companies would follow suit.

Harley-Davidson introduced a new campaign with the slogan “I Am Not A Backrest” at the 2006 AMA/FIM Women and Motorcycling Conference in Athens, Georgia, in early July. Posters and brochures featuring a woman rider with that quote will be used as part of the Motor Company’s Rider’s Edge program and be given to dealers to use in advertisements and marketing materials.

The campaign is designed to encourage women to move from the backseat of a motorcycle to the front and seek rider training. The message points them to Rider’s Edge, the Harley-Davidson Academy of Motorcycling, offered through local dealers. Brochures and posters will be distributed to dealers to promote the courses.

Read more

 

Havaianas presents richest Women’s Surfing Event

Congrats to Layne Beachley, six-time ASP world champion as she recently secured global fashion brand Havaianas as the naming sponsor for her October event.

The now officially dubbed Havaianas Beachley Classic is the richest women’s tournament in the 30-year history of female professional surfing – it will offer US$100,000 in prize money.

Beachley said she is relieved to have gained the backing of the Brazilian-based footwear sponsor for Sydney’s first stand-alone women’s surfing event in over a decade.

“We are thrilled to have Havaianas come onboard,” Beachley said. “We are grateful that Havaianas jumped at the opportunity of being associated with such an iconic event.”

READ MORE

 

X Games – Daily Coverage Day 5: The Future Looks Bright

Another X Games has come and gone…. this one was truly incredible. It seems that each year, the athletes are progressing at the speed of light. Tricks that were once thought impossible are now part of each rider’s repertoire. The one thing that did stand out during this X Games more so than years past was the youth. No longer was it just the marquee veterans who dominate each sport, but a new breed of kids (yes, Kids!) who are taking hold and moving forward. These are the same kids who grew up watching their idols on TV at past X Games, and emulated their style & tricks. On the men’s side, names like Shaun White, skateboarding’s Rob Lorifice, Nyjah Huston and BMX’s Scotty Crammer are taking the youth banner and waving it proudly.

With the women, it’s even stronger. At the skateboarding street finals, the crowd was wowed by the likes of 17 year old & silver medalist Lauren Perkins, 14 year old & Bronze medalist Lacey Baker and 12-year-old Elizabeth Nitu.
These girls showed abilities and skills beyond their older fellow riders (who’s average age is 17!). We remember first meeting Elizabeth Nitu and her family during GLTR’s “Girls Only” Weekend at Woodward West a few year’s ago. She was quite & shy, never speaking a word. But once she got on a skateboard, her actions spoke loud & strong. The pros that were in attendance like Amy Caron, Vanessa Torres, Cara-beth Burnside and others just watched with open mouths. They saw the future of their sport & were blown away. For every “Elizabeth”, there are other girls out there who are dreaming to one day be able to travel the world, skate with their friends and wear a medal around their neck. As 6 year old Zoey Rose asked her dad last week “dad, do you think I can win pretty medals too if I skate?” His reply was “If you put your heart and effort into it, you most definitely can.”

Also we want to congratulate the women of The Alliance. Skateboarders like Cara-Beth Burnside, Jen O’Brien and Mimi Knoop, with the support of other female skateboarders, band together to make a positive change. They help create a movement that will forever change the face of women’s action sports and the future for the youth.

We hope you enjoy GLTR’s coverage of X Games. Big thank you to Jenny Kim for reporting and showing us why we love these sports!

 

X Games – Daily Coverage Day 4: Putting the ‘X’ Back in X Games

Today was my favorite day at the X Games. EXcept for having to pay $20 to park a million miles away and dealing with super crowded walkways throughout the Home Depot Center, I had a great time watching the premiere of rally racing, cheering on the women skateboarders, and hanging out with friends.

During my drive towards the Home Depot Center I told myself that I would just park for free on the street and walk a little bit to the stadium. Well, turns out the city isn’t as dumb as it looks. Most of the street parking was temporarily by permit only. So I forked over $20 and assured myself that it would be worth it. There were tons of other Subaru WRXs in the parking lot, which made me excited about the rally car event.

I stopped and watched the tail end of rally car racing before I headed to the skateboard course. When I heard rally car was coming to the X Games I thought it was going to be really gay, but I was pleasantly surprised. The course looked legit and the drivers looked like they were having a lot of fun. Colin McRae flipped his car over. I liked it.

Travis Pastrana and his co-driver Christian Edstrom won the Gold medal. Yeah, Travis is the same guy who won the Gold medal for doing the double backflip in the Moto X Best Trick Final. What the. Tomorrow he is probably going to bust some crazy big air off the skateboard ramp. If that guy ain’t eXtreme, I don’t know who is.

Afterwards I headed over to the Velodrome for the Women’s Skateboarding Street Final. My favorite. Those girls are amazing. Evelien Bouilliart skated with a tweaked ankle, but still skated with great board control and charged the rail. I also liked watching Marissa Del Santo because I had never seen her before, and she just looks like a cute little genius. She definitely has the science of skateboarding nailed. She was trying kickflip frontside boardslides down the rail. Elissa Steamer won Gold for the third straight time. Lauren Perkins, Silver. And Lacey Baker, Bronze. That Lacey Baker. Hardflip down the eight stairs, what! Vanessa Torres had the most stylish ollie pop off the hip. Congratulations to all of them for being eXceptional.

X Games have been fun. I got to see my friends and make new ones. I got to check out new sports and watch my favorite sports. I got to drink beer and enjoy the wonderful Los Angeles weather. X Games have been fun!

-realjennykim

 

X Games – Daily Coverage Day 3: What’s Up with Moto X

Hi again. Today I decided to take the opportunity to check out a sport that I don’t know too much about: Motocross. I stopped by the Staples Center today to check out the Moto X Best Trick practice sesh and to get a feel for the scene. And here’s what I discovered…motocross, cool chicks, and adrenaline all go very well together.

I always thought motocross was kind of like monster truck racing. Just something muddy and frivolous to watch while hot women stand on the sidelines advertising beer and event sponsors. Actual participation in the sport by women always seemed low to me. And when I went to Staples Center today I was expecting to find nothing but little boys and rowdy men in the stands, but I actually saw a lot of women there. Hot chicks. With their boyfriends.

It was interesting to me to see all these super cute girls taking the time to watch motocross. I had to approach a couple of them to see what, if anything besides their boyfriends brought them to the X Games. And it turns out that they came to X Games simply to watch motocross because they love to ride and wanted to see some amazing motocross tricks. Awesome! I met two really cute girls, Anna, 15, and Britney, 17, who said they hop on their bikes as often as possible and hope to see women’s motocross events at X Games in the future. I asked them why they think more girls don‘t ride and Anna said “because they’re sissies” and Britney added, “they don’t want to get dirty.” Haha! I was pretty excited to meet these girls because they seemed so down for the sport. But when I asked them whether they had ever heard of any of the up-and-coming female motocross riders, such as Tarah Gieger and Sarah Whitmore, they said no.

Anna and Britney. They’re hot and like to ride dirtbikes. ‘Nuff said.

Clearly, the women’s domain of motocross hasn’t gone as mainstream as that of snowboarding and skateboarding. Talented female motocross riders aren’t getting as much recognition as top female skateboarding professionals, and that is why it is especially gratifying to see prominent companies starting to form all-girl motocross teams. “It is a tough sport like skateboarding,” says Liza Grzeskowiak, Co-Editor in Chief of Check It Out Skateboarding For Girls Magazine, which recently featured Etnies motocross team riders Tarah Gieger and Sarah Whitmore. “It is important to motivate the girls and to support the industry that supports girls by having a full team and cool clothing or shoe line. These girls are definitely breaking down some walls and are great athletes. They take their sport as a lifestyle.” It seems as though motivation, inspiration, and competition between girls is the formula for advancing a sport. It has taken years of pioneering and motivation in women’s skateboarding to reach the level of recognition it has achieved today, and they are still fighting the good fight. The bright side is that things can only get better for female motocross enthusiasts.

Caitlin, 11 in a week, and Jillian, 8. The future. Looks bright.

Ronnie Faisst, Freestyle Moto X competitor
Tatted guys who are nice to little kids rule.

But hey, until we can see girls flying and flipping their bikes through the air at X Games, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with looking up to and rolling with the guys. We like boys too. Congratulations to Travis Pastrana for winning the Gold medal in the Moto X Best Trick Final. Crazy double backflip! Congrats also go to Mat Rebaud for winning Silver and to Blake Williams for taking home Bronze. Motocross is cool, I gotta get myself on a bike.

-realjennykim

 

X Games Daily Coverage: Day 3 – For Women, It’s Nearly the Ex Games

For years, Women’s action sports athletes have been a side show to those of the men. Normally the girls surf in terrible conditions, because the guys don’t want to compete. Or they skate in a contest in the early morning hours where there are no crowds.

GLTR has been working with organizers over the years from the X Games, Dew Action Sports Tour and Gravity Games to grow the women’s competitions. However each time it’s been a dismal attempt; from cancelling the women’s events a few weeks before, to doing a small demo in front of no one.

In a recent Los Angeles Times article called “For Women, It’s Nearly the Ex Games” it describes what these women athletes go through – from small prize purses, no media coverage & no respect. It’s an excellent article that showcases what organizations like The Alliance and Cara-Beth Burnside are doing to make a change.

Take the time to read this article, and then voice your opinion!

UPDATE
Women get more prize money after meeting with ESPN vice president

We just got word of this. ESPN has agreed to assisting the growth of women’s action sports.

Instead of a purse totaling $8,000 for women’s Street and Vert, they got a deal that pays $15,000 for first, $10,000 for second and $5,000 for third at this year’s event. They also laid the groundwork for the women to get some TV time for the first time at next year’s X Games.

“We just want to be heard,” said Cara-Beth Burnside of Encinitas, the gold medalist in this year’s Vert contest. “We believe in it (women’s skateboarding) and we just want to make changes for the future so we can make sure there is a future.”

 

X Games – Daily Coverage Day 3: Behind the scenes & Lil’ Jon!

As we awoke today remembering all the fun we had yesterday … we wanted to give you some inside views from the X Games.

What you see on TV is much larger in real life….the vert ramps, dirt jumps, lighting and all of the TV production that goes into putting on the X Games. It’s like ESPN has set up a mini city for all us to enjoy skateboarding, motocross, bmx, surfing ….

Just to think that 12 years ago, the X Games were called “Extreme Games” (bad name!), and they included other sports like bungee jumping, skysurfing, sports climbing, street luge, and water barefoot jumping.

Over the years, X Games have turned athletes into house hold names … Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist, Dave Mirra, Dallas Friday, Carey Hart, Shaun White. It seems like everyone knows what the X Games are…go ask your grandmother, bet she knows!

So as we enjoyed the Women’s Vert Skateboarding contest (in it’s 5th year at X), we saw some familiar faces and some celebrities….

photo: Van Nguyen & Amy Caron

The entire Villa Villa Cola crew was there representing and supporting their fellow The Alliance members. Amy Caron was looking forwarding to the street final, that she’s now on Alva Skateboards and wanted us to know about her cool BMX bike she got off of craigslist (new career for her…BMX pro???)

photo: Pamela “Pinky” Zoolalian (pro street luger) with Lil’ Jon peaking over her shoulder

The one that caught us all of guard was Lil’ Jon (yeah Mr. Crunk Juice!), watching all of the Vert & BMX action….he stayed the entire time, signing autographs & taking photos with the kids. Over the years we’ve seen all kinds of celebs show up to X Games (Sean Penn, Danny Devito, Daryl Hannah, Beastie Boys), but this one takes the cake

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After the Women’s Vert final, we all took in the BMX dirt finals (Cory Bohan won, edging out Ryan Nyquist) and then watched the Men’s Vert Skateboarding Finals. Everyone was showing what they had on the HUGE Vert ramp which included some new street elements. The crowd favorite was none other than “the red tomato” Shaun White. It was crazy to hear all the screams & yells for him. He did ok, but the winner was Sandro Dias from Brazil, who woo the crowd with every trick in the book.

Another day came to an end for this year’s X Games…. We all went out to dinner after the events, only to find Jessica Biel (from tv’s “7th Heaven) sitting next to us watching the X Games on TV…..we’ve come a long way baby!

 

X Games – Daily Coverage Day 2: WOMEN’S VERT FINAL- Enjoying the Show

I headed over to the Staples Center this afternoon just in time to catch the Women’s Skateboard Vert Final competition. When I was looking for street parking near the Staples Center, I saw a tall skinny guy crossing the street in front of me on his skateboard. I was thinking, “Haha, that guy thinks he’s Tony Hawk. Oh wait, that is Tony Hawk.” So that was cool, I saw Tony Hawk crossing the street on his skateboard. I should have honked at him or something.

I finally parked and found my way into the skate arena. It felt cool walking into the arena because I immediately saw the ladies busting their skills on the huge ramp spotlighted by all the fancy stadium lighting and camera flashes. So rockstar. The girls looked small on the big ramp, so it was pretty impressive to see them catch air. It was kind of hard for me to figure out who was who on the ramp because the ladies kind of just seshed under the judges’ scrutinizing eyes. It’s not very easy to recognize people in helmets either. So I just kicked back and watched and listened to Lyn-Z commentate. She did a good job.

The girls busted on the ramps all smooth. AC/DC was pumping through the speakers. Rock on.

Sadly, it didn’t seem like too many people came out to watch the women skate. There were lots of empty seats around me. It was nice to see some young kids (boys and girls) in the audience though. I heard one boy behind me say “that was sweet” when one of the girls busted a nice frontside air. He sounded like Napoleon Dynamite, but he gave props so that was cool.

I also met three teenaged girls who came to watch the contest. They got dropped off at the X Games by their parents and just made a day out of the event. I asked them whether they liked watching vert more than street skating and one of the girls, Ahra Ko, 14, said she prefers watching vert because she sees her friends skate street all the time. I guess that’s the cool part about X Games, people get to see things they don’t normally get to see everyday. Giant ramps and some of their favorite skaters like Jen O’ Brien and Shaun White.

Ahra Ko, 14, Amanda Toscano, 15, and Sarah Meyer, 15, came out to have fun and to show some support. Aren’t they cute?

Well, Cara-Beth Burnside won the gold medal again. The silver medal went to Mimi Knoop. I could have sworn they initially announced that the bronze medal was Jen O’Brien’s, but it was finally awarded to Karen Jones. The RJK Honorable Mention goes to Tina Neff! I like her style. All the girls ripped though. I wish I knew how to skate like that.

X Games are fun. I’m looking forward to the Women’s Skateboard Street Final, checking out some of the live bands, and eating hot dogs! You should cruise out and fill up some of those empty seats. Hope to see you there!

-realjennykim

 

X Games Daily Coverage – Day 1: Lyn-Z and Bob Burnquist

Yes, the X Games are here. Competition starts tomorrow, but I had the opportunity to chat with a couple of the pros at the Athlete Meet and Greet Press Conference, held today at the Home Depot Center Stadium Club patio. It was hot outside, but all around the vibes were good. Some of the athletes who were there: Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, Bob Burnquist, Danny Way, Paul Rodriguez, and Jen O’Brien.

I’m bummed that Lyn-Z isn’t competing in the X Games this year. She has an injured knee and she’s bummed about it too, but excited to be commentating. She seems stoked to be involved in any way she can. Lyn-Z is also part of The Alliance, which is that super all-star group of professional female skateboarders who work towards advancing the sport of skating and creating more opportunities for females. They are rad. I heard the Alliance raised a few issues about the games this year, like the big difference in the prize purse between the guys and the girls. But Lyn-Z said it wasn’t just about the prize money, “it was about the respect factor, practice time, and coverage.” She also told me that the issues have been resolved “a little bit, but by next year it’ll be a lot better.” It seems like the X Games just get better and better for the girls every year. Respect factor. Heck yes.

Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins. Rockstar looks, sweetheart attitude.

I also talked to Bob Burnquist. I really like him, not only because he has been in every single X Games and has won 10 medals, but because he is so honest and grounded in reality. And I guess also because he is handsome. When I asked him about the recognition women skateboarders are getting in the X Games he said, “They deserve a piece of it, but I don’t think they deserve an equal piece of it.” ! What. He backed himself up though with honest feelings about how the skateboarding exhibited by men just appears more powerful with greater strength than women’s and that is what people want to see. I can accept that. He also predicted positive changes for women and says skateboarding is for all of us. I guess he wouldn’t be married to a rad woman skateboarder if he didn’t really mean it.

I also found out the secret to his success. To win at X Games, eat what Bob Burnquist eats for breakfast: Sambazon Acai. Seriously, that’s what he told me!

-realjennykim