From Olympics to Tampa meetup, more women and LGBTQ+ people are skateboarding
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A group photo from one of the Florida Girls-SK8 meetups at Skatepark of Tampa. Paula MacDonald is in the bottom row, second from the right. Photo: Matt Shail
The same weekend Japanese teen Coco Yoshizawa shredded her way to a gold medal in Paris, 55-year-old Paula MacDonald readied her cat-adorned skateboard for her first-ever death race in Tampa.
- The challenge, in which competitors speed through checkpoints along a course, was part of last month's Florida Girls-SK8 meetup, a monthly event for girls, women and nonbinary skaters at Skatepark of Tampa.
Why it matters: Just as the Olympics have pushed skateboarding into the mainstream, community meetups have helped girls, women and gender non-conforming people see themselves in what was once a male-dominated sport.
- Skateboarding events debuted at the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo.
By the numbers: Participation among women and gender non-conforming people has exploded in recent years, per the 2021 Skateboarder Representation Survey.
- In fact, of the 2,284 respondents, more than half (57%) were women or gender non-conforming.
- Women also made up the vast majority of new skaters. More than three-quarters of respondents (78%) with 0-3 years of experience were women.
What they're saying: "This is what I really wanted to do: bring skateboarding to more girls," MacDonald, who started Florida Girls-SK8 in January, told Axios. "They do have a place here as much as the guys."
State of shred: The skaters at Saturday's meetup reflected on how male-dominated the sport once was — and how much it's changed.
- Ashley Mott, 46, picked up skateboarding at 13 (it was the "weirdo kid thing to do," she said) and didn't see another woman skateboarder until years later.
- Friends Annette Reinosa, 33, and Tatiana Rosario, 25, were also used to skating mostly with guys, until Rosario started She Skates, another meetup group.
- And coming together means younger skaters, like 9-year-old Katie Jerominek, have older skaters to look up to. Reinosa is one of her inspirations, her dad, Kyle, told Axios.
Yes, but: The group isn't just for longtime skaters. MacDonald picked up the sport only a couple of years ago, when she bought herself a board for her 53rd birthday.
- She may not have won her first death race (Mott left everyone in the dust), but she did drop into Skatepark of Tampa's pro course for the first time.
- "That was my win for the day."
💠Kathryn's thought bubble: I can confirm it's never too late to learn. MacDonald and her friend Heather Jennier, who picked up skateboarding as a 31-year-old mom ("It just allows you to claim your body back," she told me), convinced me to give it a shot.
- As I pushed myself onto the rental board for the first time, MacDonald held my arm, letting me lean on her until I got the hang of it.
- Everyone told me balance was important, but it's hard to understand until you're doing it. A few seconds on the board felt like a full core workout.
- And yes, I was terrified of falling. I've never even broken a bone. But I kept thinking of the advice I got from 17-year-old Karis Pettinato: "You just gotta do it."
/2024/07/31/1722431597120.gif)
What's next: Watch the women of Team USA compete in park skating on Tuesday. Prelims are at 6:30am and finals at 11:30am.