The day kicked off with two hours of skating for all of the girls and ladies, basically a social and a roll about. With a bbq fired up outside and Girl Skate Jam tee screen-printing going on out the back there was a really good festival atmosphere. At 2pm the comps kicked off with the Groms going first (or better known as the under 12’s). As ever the younger ones were remarkable to watch (especially as some were the same size of their boards!!). Pioneer local Marine Rogers impressed the judges overall with a tailstall, front disaster and 50-50 on the quarter. The under 18’s comp followed shortly afterwards. Another Pioneer local, Lucy Winter nailed a nice front rock and sweeper, whilst Lois Taylor was super consistent with her boardslides on the rail, front side ollies and bonelesses on the quarters. North London skater Zaynab Miah took first with a back D, front sweeper and bigspin to axel stall on the large quarter.

After a quick practice warm up the over 18’s were up next. With almost too many entries to fit the scoring sheets, the judges had a tough job deciding on the places as so many good skaters with such different styles were competing. Georgie Winter in the first heat landed a solid first run with a bs flip 5-0 on the bank, boardslide fakie out on the rail and a front shuv over the driveway. South Wales rider Fran Stroud also had a good run with a flip up the euro gap and a 50-50 on the box. London lady, Lily Lu-Sheng made use of the whole park, with flips to fakie on the bank, 180’s into the driveway and 180’s out of the wedge. Girl Skate UK’s Danni Gallacher again covered the park in her solid style; feebs 270 out and a front rock boardslide in amidst many other tricks. Rachael Sherlock however took the O18’s crown for the second year in a row landing her trademark caveman on the bank, boardslide on the rail and popping 180’s and flips all over the shop.

The sponsored category was the last street section to go. Camilla Mullins, Dora Horvath, Sophie Williams, Roxanna Howlett and Lucy Adams all fought it out for a share of £500 prize money sponsored by CHPO brand. Dora landed her trademark huge tre flips and kickflips up the driveway and a back 50 on the ledge. Camilla landed a back-to-back 50-50 down the ledge to 5-0 down the following hubba combo She also pulled of a pretty sweet 50-50 front board on the ledge. Sophie Williams took best trick of the comp with a first try nollie bigspin heelflip on the steep bank. Roxanna and Lucy seemed to be pushing each other to step it up. Roxy, the up and coming Olympian put down a run that included a backside flip on the far bank, a blunt pull in and a flip down the euro gap. But it was Lucy Adams who took first throwing out bs 5-0’s, wallrides, noseslides, flips to fakie and a boardslide on the large rail.

The final comp of the day was the mini. Everyone was given one 90 second run to produce their best wears…always a good relaxing end to the day.

Queen of the ramp was of course Danni Gallacher who retained her title for the second year in a row with her trademark front rocks, hurricanes and a blunt pull in amongst many other tricks…

Prize giving saw Caitlin Cox awarded best slam (and probably best perseverance!!) for landing hard on her face twice attempting a rock fakie on the mini, but getting up after each one to try again until she landed it and then took it to the extension first time! It was incredible to see her reaction to the announcement of her win, the best of the day!

Massive thanks to all the staff and volunteers at Pioneer Skate Park (Andy K, Chris, Jack, Wil, Sam, Sue and Joe). Judges Matt Talbot and Scott Walker, MC Charlie Spelzini and DJ Wil Izbister

And also a massive thanks to all of the sponsors who helped make it such a great day: Nike SB, Chpo, Lovenskate, Rogue, Death, Girl, Royal, Crupiê, Long Live Southbank, Eloise Dorr, Lariatt, Girl Skate UK, Artimus, Carve Skate shop and Plankzine.

RESULTS:

Groms

1^st Marine Rogers

2^nd Indi Robinson

3^rd Amaya Ash

Under 18’s

1^st Zaynab Miah

2^nd Lois Taylor

3^rd Lucy Winter

Over 18’s

1^st Rachael Sherlock

2^nd Danni Gallacher

3^rd Lily Lu-Zheng

Sponsored

1^st Lucy Adams

2^nd Roxanna Howlett

3^rd Camilla Mullins

Mini

1^st Danni Gallacher

2^nd Roxanna Howlett

3^rd Rebecca Davies

Best Slam – Caitlin Cox

Best Trick – Sophie Williams

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My first impression of NASS was that the park was huge – three times the size of anything I’d ever skated. I remember feeling super hyped when I entered and saw girls shredding everywhere. The level wasn’t that high either (fair to say these other girls weren’t used to these ramps on steroids either) so I felt secretly quite confident as I joined the session. This didn’t last long though as I accidentally punched one of the girls I’d been so desperate to skate with right in the face! I promise it was a complete accident and not entirely my fault – I rolled up one of the quarters and popped a fat frontside 180 just as a girl decided to put her tail on the coping and drop in. As I came around my swinging arm hit her in the face and we both crumpled to the floor. I think I had so much adrenaline in me that I got up instantly. I tried to help her up but she refused to take my hand. I was so embarrassed that I grabbed my board and started running towards the exit; instead of making friends I had just hit somebody. As I slipped away a woman started chasing me – I was terrified that I was going to be in real trouble but to my surprise she handed me a free t-shirt. I don’t think she saw what had just happened or maybe she had and was congratulating me on an epic knock out. That experience at NASS would haunt me forever and be the last time I would skate with girls until about a decade later.

Flash forward to 2019 and NASS is much less traumatic for me. I haven’t skated with girls there again, but I have obtained a media pass to cover the women’s event, which is a dream come true for any skateboard videographer.

I was vaguely aware that this year, Girl Skate UK was not having any involvement with the girl’s comp, which is probably why no one I knew was invited to compete. In fact, I think it’s fair to say NASS didn’t invite any female athletes this year, but they made the effort to invite some boys. Unfortunately, I can only give my opinion and not hard-core facts on this, as my request to speak with the organiser of the women’s event didn’t get answered – possibly because there was no one organising the women’s event up until the very last minute – who knows! 

Practice in the park was scheduled for the girls between 11pm and midnight, with the comp starting at 10am the next morning, which I believe is better than a previous year when the BMX comp over ran and the girls had to compete at midnight. I believe this same year the comp was cut down to 30 minutes too. You could say that based on this, NASS has improved its standards for women, but many would argue it’s still not doing enough and that the women’s event is an afterthought, or second best to the men’s. The argument for equal prize money comes from two sides – some guys say that the woman are free to compete in the men’s comp for a chance to win bigger prize money, and others say that if the women’s prize money was equal then women would come from all over the world to compete at NASS. Touché.

Anyhow, enough about the politics of it all. Let me give you my low down on the comp. I was up in the top corner and had an excellent view of both the park and street section of the course – this turned out to be essential as the battle for 1^stplace came down to literally that – one awesome transition skater (Lola T), vs. the street skaters (including Roxanna Howlett and Helena Long).

Lola T’s run was most impressive for me because I’d never seen her skate before and I don’t follow much transition skating. From a logistical point of view, the run was perfectly thought out, perfectly timed, and perfectly executed. The hard work from Lola and her supporting family definitely paid off (and would have paid off even more if women had equal pay!) That aside, she’s definitely inspired me to skate some more transition and I’m now following her epic progression on social media (and you can too @Lola_t_ ) 

Closely behind Lola, was my favourite 10-year-old street skater – Rox. I want to know what this girls mum is feeding her for breakfast, because I’m currently eating co co pops and don’t have that much strength or energy. I’ve even pondered briefly whether Rox jumping that massive stair/bank set at NASS comes under child cruelty, however, Rox’s mum assures me that she loves it! Unfortunately, Rox incurred an injury to her foot in the practice before the final and it looked as if she wouldn’t compete, so to place second whilst not being able to put down your biggest tricks is a massive achievement. 

In third place was Helena Long – last year’s champion. The only girl that would throw down a kickflip pretzel in the last 4 seconds of a run. Helena is the ultimate style warrior of steeze, and I’m starting to worry that my over enthusiastic support for everything she does means she might be considering a restraining order against me real soon. Please don’t do that Helena, I promise to act cool around you. 

As for all the other girls, I was impressed with every single one of them. From Jessica Winter who seemed hella nervous but got through it (with a kickflip and a heelflip!) to Ellie Waters and Catherine Shanks, well done for sticking it girls! Daisy was also a new kid on the block to me that put in an epic run. Rianne pleased the crowd with a cheeky 180 to fakie big spin helping her secure 5^thplace (and I hear she’s leaving Lakai shoes so lets see whats in store for her next, nike? Adidias? Vans? Place you bets here people). 

There was also a chick from Brazil who had made special effort to enter as she travels around Europe ( you can follow her trip on instagram @thaisgazarra). Sophie Ludd’s run was so on point that she could have easily knocked someone off the podium (she took a well-deserved 4^thplace). Lily Grace was another girl who travelled the distance (from Liverpool) to compete at NASS along with Freya, who although doesn’t post to Instagram as much as I would like (give the people what they want Freya, and what the people want is more sick clips on the gram!), she is starting to become a regular in the competition scene. Along with Freya, Beth Howells was also confidently hitting the transition on the course, whilst rocking a bucket hat (I wish I could rock a bucket hat).

Taluliah was another young shredder packing in the transition tricks and giving us a glimpse at the potential she has to join the likes of Rox and Lola as she gets older (along with Daisy of course). Camelia (with the awesome green joggers) took 6^thPlace and seemed comfortable on both street and transition, which goes a long way when skating a course like NASS.  And let’s not forget Jeff Ruffle, who landed her last trick with her butt on the board and rolled away, 10 extra points for steeeeeze. Of course, she skated really well but ended on this so not only will she never be forgotten, but the slam also gave her a place in NASS best slams. #foreverfamous #neverforgotten.

Overall, I respect all the girls that took part because it creates enough demand to keep a comp like NASSrunning, as those from my generation will remember a time when there simply weren’t enough competitors to justify holding a comp of this size. We can only hope that NASS continues to improve its standards (and prize money) for the women, so that it attracts more participants next year (if it doesn’t clash with Tokyo 2020 that is).

Credits:
Main image courtesy of Lewis Royden Photography
Concrete Girls
NASS Festival

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This was post-tiny wheels and big trousers, and pre-Jackass. A simpler time.

The only thing was, I was the only girl. In general this didn’t matter that much, but just like everyone it’s always nice to have other people that look like you, doing the same thing. Especially if you’re an 11-year-old girl in a heavily male dominated subculture. I figured I was the only one that skated in Bristol, and maybe there were some pros but probably not. Then Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater came out and…THERE IS A GIRL THAT SKATES AND SHE’S GOOD AND PRO AND WAA. Seeing clips of Elissa Steamer blew my tiny mind, and suddenly I realised that other women do skate, and once you get that 56K modem sorted you can find others who do too.

Fast forward 20 years. Chain wallets have somehow made a comeback, I still push off mongo (just push off yeah, that’s all. The rest is fine), and being a female skater can be a legitimate career (well if comps start paying us the same). The percentage of girls at spots and parks has tripled, and we were invited to watch the premier of Gizmo! The first all female skate film created by Nike featuring Lacy Baker. Leticia Bufoni. Hayley Wilson, Sarah Meurie, Josie Millard, Nicole Hause, Aori Nishimura, Rayssa Leal, and of course Elissa Steamer whose nickname the title is named after. The premier was held at Roofeast in Stratford during SLS, so not only were the featured pros at the event, about 10 to 700* other pros were there too. A lot of head exploding and fanning ensued.

*give or take, the drinks were free.

The free food and drink was a touch one week before payday let me tell ya. The mini golf, baseball and basketball made me feel like we were all on a 1950s date, but with your drunken mates who had work the next morning.

To be honest, apart from a different choice of a haircut not much has changed in my 20 years; the female skate scene on the other hand has grown experientially. To be able to watch some of the best female skaters in the world finally get their recognition and props was not only exciting, it was hugely satisfying to witness. The whole night felt like others were finally getting what we’d all known along, skateboarding is skateboarding regardless of whose pushing. It wasn’t just ‘good for girls’, it was good because it was a video full of legends and highly skilled new pros.
Of course being in the same building as Alexis Sablone and half the Nike team had me shook all night, but it was genuinely a fantastic night. Whilst more drinking than skating was done it, it felt good to be part of such a growing and strong scene, and I can only hope Gizmo will be the first of many.

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The project started as part of my Masters Degree in Digital Media Arts. I was at point in my life where I was recovering from a serious mental health issue and was looking for a creative release. I have been teaching Media at a college of further education for almost 15 years and felt it was time that I started making my own work again. I have had a passion for skateboarding and skate culture since my teens and it just felt right to focus on something that reminded me of a time where things were less stressful.

WeCanFly has always been an organic entity. I met Eloise Dorr and Mat Lloyd whilst working on a different project idea and they were both featured in the first film. The thing about skateboarding culture seems to be that once you know someone and start any kind of creative collaboration within the community it is far easier to get others on board (excuse the pun) like Barry Kay and Ben Gore (WeCanFly1). The first film featured Ed Templeton and Grant Hatfield who happened to be over in London as part of their ‘Deadbeat’ project. I interviewed both at an exhibition – I basically grabbed the opportunity when it arose. Tom Quigley, Mr. Carrot Boy and Keith Watts all got involved in WeCanFly 2 after they had watched the first film and asked to be involved. I had been skating with Jenna Selby at The Pioneer in St Albans and asked her to be in the film. I met Charlotte Thomas through Keith Watts who had previously worked with Charlotte in the First Young Egg Archive project and through Charlotte I met Stef Nurding. My interview with Karl Watson and his Son Elan came about during the Pushing Borders event where I met them both.

WeCanFly 3 is a culmination of the first two films and was conceived out of a more personal approach. The film inadvertently covers my own personal experiences with skateboarding, art and mental health issues through channelling the featured artists experiences. I wanted ensure that the balance between male and female artists was better represented in the third film and because the Girl Skate Scene in the South East is so rad this was quite easy. I regularly skate with Sara Prinsloo, Rae Smith and Lizzy Heath and have a huge respect for them as both artist and human beings! I have managed to Interview Chad Muska and Ed Templeton (again) whilst both were in the UK doing separate projects. Adam Hogarth is a Fellow at the Royal Academy of Arts and when he contacted me about being in the film I was hyped to have an artist of his calibre featured. I met both Nick Jensen and Ed Davis at skateboarding/ art events and asked them to be in the film.

There are themes to each film. The first was quite general: ‘what is the link between skateboarding and creativity?’ The second film builds on this question but also asks how the resilience, self-motivation and independence that you learn through skateboarding can be deployed in an educational framework. The third film further explores how these elements can impact on mental health and wellbeing.

WeCanFly 3 is launching on Thursday 8th August at Hoxton Basement (from 6pm). Alongside the film screening we have an exhibition of artwork from Lizzy Heath, Rae Smith, Sara Prinsloo, Nick Jensen, Ed Davis and Adam Hogarth. There will be art on sale at the event – all money raised will be donated to Papyrus UK who aim to prevent suicide in young people in the UK.

There will also be music from The Turtle Sessions and Free Beer from Hopking so it’s going to be a good night – get it in your diaries and come along!

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NASS may have covered the top spots for the women’s comp but here at Rogue we got it all. Shout out to every girl that took part, it’s not easy to skate competitions and we are super proud of everyone who got involved in order to ensure there is enough demand for a comp like this to keep running.

1st Place – Lola T
2nd Place- Roxana Howlett
3rd Place – Helena Long
4th Place – Sophie Luddington
5th Place – Rianne Evans
6th Place – Camelia Castelain

Girls that took part
Beth Howells, Catherine Shanks, Freya Brooks, Jess Winter, Tallulah Rix, Thais Gazarra, Daisy Da Game Howells, Ellie Waters, Jeff Ruffell, Lily Grace

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