O.K. so this video might not be of a women's board sports, but as Board Chicks is a massive fan of all women's action sports, and especially martial arts too, this footage from the early 1900's is well worth a look!
It just goes to show that whatever the era, women were (and still are) kicking some ass... Classic!!
An old school ad by LA Gear... Very 'Saved by the Bell'!
If you're into the current 80's revival, then you will be loving the new designs by LA Gear!
Doing what they did, (and evidently still do) best, they are offering a seriously retro range of women's kicks, which of course, includes the ultimate 80's trainer...the high top!
Available in both matt and patent leathers, LA Gear's kicks come in a vibrant array of colours from old school red and silver, to the all clashing bright green, purple and yellow.
O.k, so Board Chicks isn't suggesting you wholeheartedly adopt all the 80's style tips by LA Gear... (As in the old school ad above)... But we're loving the way LA Gear's embraced the return of the 80's with their classic, funky ass footwear, and Board Chicks can't wait to represent!
If you're searching for some classic skatewear, take a look at Carhartt's new Spring/Summer collection. This season they're bringing back the checked shirt; firstly in the old school lumber jack style, (see East Side shirt above), and also with a twist, as seen with the East Village Dress.
Board Chicks is also a big fan of Carhartt's classic denim jeans range, from the extra baggy to the ultra slim!! Check out http://www.carhartt-streetwear.com/ for more funky women's wear...
A Little Carhartt History Lesson:
Started in 1889, by Hamilton Carhartt in Michigan, the company began by creating functional hardwearing clothing for labourers and farmers. However in the 1980's Carhartt developed from labour wear to street wear. This change was recognised with the help of rappers like EPMD wearing the brand. In the 1990's, Carhartt became a favourite for ravers and was also featured in the 1995 french film "La Haine". Carhartt is now a reknowned streetwear brand, sponsoring skate and BMX. Pro's.
Carhartt Board Chicks:
Currently Carhartt only sponsor female Dutch skater Louisa Menke, (as above) and French skater Marie Amiguet...Nice work for sponsoring these two lovely ladies, however Board Chicks would like to see even more women on their Skate/BMX teams please!
On Sunday 8th March at Snapper Rocks, Australia, Stephanie Gilmore (21) convincingly won the Roxy Pro Gold Coast competiton against 26 year old Melanie Bartels.
Determined, Gilmore was awarded 9.57 out of a possible 10 points, for her opening wave, and although according to Gilmore this was 'a really little wave', it consequently achieved the highest single wave score of the day!
Gilmore went on to say... “This win is definitely more satisfying...“In 2005, I was blown away. I couldn’t believe I achieved it, but this time around it’s pleasing to know that I’ve come off a season as world champ, and I’ve done some training, so to come back out here today and win makes you feel really good.
Gilmore has continued to go from strength to strength since entering and winning the Women's ASP World Title as a wildcard in 2005, at the young age of 17. She now has two ASP World Titles and the quest for a third is still very much on the cards for this Board Chick!
Although Hawaiian Melanie Bartels did not gain a final win over Gilmore, she was also nevertheless 'ecstatic' to see her ranking move from ASP World 7th to 2nd!
ROXY PRO GOLD COAST SEMIFINALS RESULTS:SF 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.33 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 12.16SF 2: Melanie Bartels (HAW) 17.34 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 13.27
CURRENT ASP WOMEN’S WORLD TOUR RATINGS:1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 12002 – Melanie Bartels (HAW) 9723 – Paige Hareb (NZL) 7563 – Coco Ho (HAW) 7565 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 5525 – Rebecca Woods (AUS) 5525 – Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 5525 – Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 5529 – Silvana Lima (BRA) 3609 – Amee Donohoe (AUS) 3609 – Samantha Cornish (AUS) 3609 – Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 3609 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 3609 – Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 3609 – Alana Blanchard (HAW) 3609 – Megan Abubo (HAW) 36017 – Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 18018 – Layne Beachley (AUS) 0
The next stop on the ASP Women's World Tour is at Bell's Beach from April 8th-13th...Don't forget to put it in your diaries Board Chicks!!!
Stephanie Gilmore on form at Duranbah Beach, Australia
After a few lay days due to small wave conditions, the ASP Women's World Tour was back in action on Friday 6th March. With waves reaching 2-3 ft, (aprox 1 metre), this busy day covered Rounds 2 & 3, and the quarterfinals.
2 times world title holder Stephanie Gilmore returned on fantastic form, beating Megan Abubo of Hawaii in Round 3, by gaining 16.83 points of a possible 20....Consequently the highest score of the day. She then won her Quarterfinal by one point against Chelsea Hedges, achieveing 15.83 points to Chelsea's 14.83.
Gilmore, who now heads for the Semifinals said: “It was a great heat with Chelsea (Hedges)...There was a lot of energy before we went down to the water and it just felt great. I love surfing with her, but it’s always hard. As I’ve said before, she’s probably the only girl I’ve ever competed against who can throw a 7 or 8 right back in your face at the start of a heat and it really fires me up. Of course, to come out on top is always bonus." Quote from ASP Womens World Tour
17 year old, Hawaiian rookie Coco Ho, (who is the youngest female competitor this year), caused a big upset in Round 3, with her 15.33 point win over the current number 2, Brazilian Silvana Lima. Ho, who was elated with her win, will now go on to face Melanie Bartels (HAW) in the Semifinals.
ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 2 RESULTS:Heat 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 12.73, Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 10.07, Ashleigh Smith (AUS) 7.83Heat 2: Megan Abubo (HAW) 12.33, Rebecca Woods (AUS) 11.16, Jessi Miley Dyer (AUS) 9.43
ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 3 RESULTS:Heat 1: Paige Hareb (NZL) 15.17 def. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 11.34Heat 2: Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 13.50 def. Samantha Cornish (AUS) 13.43Heat 3: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 14.00 def. Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 11.90Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.83 def. Megan Abubo (HAW) 8.40Heat 5: Coco Ho (HAW) 15.33 def. Silvana Lima (BRA) 11.50Heat 6: Rebecca Woods (AUS) 13.50 def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 11.50Heat 7: Melanie Bartels (HAW) 15.40 def. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 12.86Heat 8: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 11.83 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 6.70
ROXY PRO GOLD COAST QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:QF 1: Paige Hareb (NZL) 12.17 def. Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 8.20QF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 15.83 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 14.83QF 3: Coco Ho (HAW) 15.34 def. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 7.23QF 4: Melanie Bartels (HAW) 11.57 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 11.50,/p>
ROXY PRO GOLD COAST SEMIFINALS MATCH-UPS:SF 1: Paige Hareb (NZL) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)SF 2: Coco Ho (HAW) vs. Melanie Bartels (HAW)
Elissa Steamer needs no introduction. Born July 31st 1975 in Florida, she now lives in San Francisco and is regarded as one of the worlds all time female skaters, and is often considered to have a 'boyish' skate style.
She has appeared in skate video's such as Toy Machine - Welcome to Hell (1996), Toy Machine - Jump off a Buliding (1998), Bootleg 3000 - Steady Crushin (2003) and Etnies Girl (2006). Elissa also features as a playble character in the first 5 games of the Tony Hawk's series.
Check out the clip of Elissa Steamer above...
Monday 2nd March 2009 saw the start of the ASP Women's World Tour tornament, held at Duranbah Beach on the Gold Coast of Australia.
With Day 1 underway, the first round was consequently relocated from Snapper Rocks to Duranbah Beach, to make the most of the conditions at this reknowned spot. Yet the surf still only managed to reach a small 2ft in size, which proved to be a difficult first round for some Board Chicks.
However, it was 18 year old, Australian Sally Fitzgibbons who took 1st place, in the first event of eight. Sally achieved 18.77 points out of a total of 20, to take the top spot from Brazilian Silvana Lima (24) and Hawaiian Megan Abudo (31).
Sally was thrilled with her start to the tour and in support of her other female competitors she said... "We're gunning for each other ... in a way... We're all the same age and it's just great to see a couple of upsets."
Meanwhile Stephanie Gilmore is on the hunt for her 3rd ASP Women's World Title, and faces new challenges from rookies such as Alana Blanchard and Bruna Schmitz. The first round saw her achieve 14.17 points. Regarding the surf conditions for the first day Gilmore said:
"The conditions this morning were pretty hard actually - it was really small ... The waves on the Gold Coast have been firing for the past two weeks, so it was a little disappointing, but at the same time there were some fun ones out there."
Yet, Gilmore said she is still "pretty confident and comfortable in any kind of waves on the Gold Coast I guess... I love all the pointbreaks and D-Bah is where I surf everyday. Wherever we are I am looking forward to it."
ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 1 RESULTS:Heat 1: Paige Hareb (NZL) 15.06, Samantha Cornish (AUS) 12.10, Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 11.50Heat 2: Alana Blanchard (HAW) 15.34, Amee Donohoe (AUS) 12.17, Jacqueline Silva (BRA) 9.56Heat 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 14.17, Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 12.03, Ashleigh Smith (AUS) 11.97Heat 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 18.77, Silvana Lima (BRA) 18.67, Megan Abubo (HAW) 6.53Heat 5: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 14.60, Coco Ho (HAW) 14.26, Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 9.16Heat 6: Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 15.00, Melanie Bartels (HAW) 14.34, Rebecca Woods (AUS) 14.23
ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:Heat 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER), Jacqueline Silva (BRA), Ashleigh Smith (AUS)Heat 2: Rebecca Woods (AUS), Jessi Miley Dyer (AUS), Megan Abubo (HAW) ... For more info check out http://www.aspworldtour.com/
