YES is a pilot program that started in the summer of 2011, with 7 participants. We are currently taking application for the second cohort of the program. YES is a leadership program that gives young people between the ages of 15-18 opportunities to gain employment skills and service learning hours. The program requires a high level of commitment. If selected for the program participants will be trained in 1st Aid CPR, Conflict De-escalation, Skateboarding Instruction, Peer Mentoring, Event Production, Engaging the Public, and will receive hands on opportunities to use what they have learned. Participants will be expected to represent the YES program throughout their participation, if participants take part in questionable activities, they will be subject to being suspended or removed from participating in the program. YES is administered by Skate Like a Girl, in partnership with the community – through donations of time, products and services, and funded by Department of Neighborhoods grant.

ES offers teens an opportunity to transform their passion for skateboarding into experiential learning. The program gives young people real life experience that they can use to build a resume to apply for college, jobs, and other leadership programs. In addition to receiving mentorship from members of the local skateboarding community, there will be opportunities to go on fun team building trips, as well as meet new people, and be recognized by their community for giving back. Past participants have also expressed that they have had fun teaching new skateboarders, being involved in the community by volunteering, and putting together community events.

YES is a program for young women and men who are interested in skateboarding. You do not need to know how to skateboard to apply. The program is seeking participants that are hardworking, open to feedback, team players, and people with positive attitudes. If you do not live or go to school in Seattle – you are able to apply, but the priority is to serve Seattle residents.

Apply before May 4th 2012.

Advanced – 1st = $450, 2nd = $250, 3rd =$100, 4th = $75, 5th = $50

1. Lacey B. (So Cal)
2. Kristin E. (Sea)
3. Amy C. (Long Beach)
4. Beth N. (Vancouver BC)
5. Ashley R. (PDX)

Best Tricks: $50 per best trick

• Lacey B. (Hardflip)
• Beth N. (Smith Grind)
• Laura F.Y. (50-50)

Intermediate: 1st = $25 + prizes, everyone else prizes

1. Sally R (SEA)
2. Maryama J. (SEA)
3. Ruby C (Kirkland)
4. Caroline (Vancouver BC)
5. Jessie H (PDX)

Beginner: Prizes

1. Marilyn D (PDX)
2. Adalyn W (SEA)
3. Emma M (SEA)
4. Simone M (SEA)
5. Anna R (SF)

CONGRATS LADIES!

Wheels of Fortune IV (WOF) brought ladies out from near and far.

Wheels of Fortune is the biggest Funtest (fun + contest) around.  Although we moved the fun from late December 2011 to January 2012, and location from Skatebarn West to Innerspace – we had over 30 girls come and skate in 3 divisions.  Celina Meehan from Jersey repped the NE hard, Laura Fong – Yee brought some of the Tampa sun and shredded, we had a convoy of some of our favorite Canadians (Michelle, Nugget, Kassy, Caroline, Beth, Stacey, and others), Amy and Lacey making the annual trek, and of course local and Skate Like a Girl ladies from Seattle to PDX to SF.

This year we started WOF with our Girls in Space (GIS) jam – where our participants – both girls and boys that skate every Sunday, showcased their skateboarding skills.  From there we moved on to beginners ranging in ages 5 to 45. We loved seeing Marylin come up with her dad, the Meteer sisters shredding, Anna from SF, and our favorite GIS instructors Janna and Cumi go out of their comfort zone to skate.  Intermediates we had tons more locals skate like Ruby Charney, MJ, Katie K, Sally, Jessie and others.

Every pumped to see a great showcase in advanced.  What girls love about WOF is that they can have fun, and for those not on the pro circuit they get an opportunity to skate with ladies that are pushing in the major contests.  Check out some of the shots taken by Marshall Reid below.  We will be posting some footage and more photos soonish.  We will also see you in 2013 – mark your calendar for the first weekend in January.

BIG HUGE THANK YOUS, bear hugs, and kisses to all the skaters and special thanks yous to …

Product Sponsors:
Without free stuff we wouldn’t have been able to be like

Awesome Space:
Inner Space Skatepark

Delicious Food:
Cupcake Royale, Moonie Icy Tunes, Glaceau vitaminwater, PCC Natural Markets, and Tall Grass Bakery,

Awesome Prizes:
hoopla skateboards, Silly Girl Design, Destructo, DC, 35th North Skateshop Seattle, SnoCon, Northend Skateshop, BC Surf n Sport, Bapple Skateboards, Lindsay Holmes & Maple XO, All the REPS – Gin Yang @ DC, Topher Laws from Bend OREGON, Jak Green @Skull Candy / Stance, and more!

Cash Sponsors:
THANK YOUS to the folks who financially put the $$$ in Wheels of FORTUNE happen this year. We raised over $2000 within the community to host an amazing gathering of skateboarders.

Girls in Space Community, Will’s parents (Scott & Melanie), Emma & Simone’s family (Meteer Clan), Nancy’s mom (Wendy Chang), Crazy Mike reppin the Northend, Kate & Henry’s mama (Kristina Thrope), Simplify Agency, Biju Mathew, Susannah Young in Sweden and last but not least Alex White. We love you. Thanks for making this happen!

Backbone of WOF aka thanks a bizillion:

Our male ally of the year: Marshall Reid, MJ, Kristin, Janna Westover, Cumi Ikeda, DJ Subi T, the YES Crew, Lisa Bunts, Sally Roepke, Ebeling Family, Mike @ Innerspace, Tony @ 35th, Gary @ BC Surf and Sport, Forrest @ Snocon, Blair Taylor, Andrew Nedimeyer, Hollyanne Faber, Chrissie Lathrop, Zachary Bishop, Kyle Steneide, James Starlin, Dan Eyler, Mel and the Big Mario’s crew!

Some perks: (please note: ** sizes maybe limited & *must schedule 3 weeks in advance)

• Those that donate before the December 21 will receive a thank you t-shirt**.

• For those that donate above the $100 level – if you live within a 3 hour driving distance of Seattle – we will come out and do a 2 hour lesson* for up to 10 skaters.

• For those that donate above the $501 level – if you live within a 5 hour driving distance of Seattle – we will come out and do a 2 hour lesson* for up to 10 skaters AND send you additional 2 t-shirts**.

DONATE! NOW! $10 level

DONATE! NOW! $20 level

DONATE! NOW! $50 level

DONATE! NOW! $100 level

DONATE! NOW! $501 level

Shirts are screened locally in Seattle at Luxe Riot on American Apparel T-Shirts and Baseball T’s – all 50/50 and unisex sizing.  Proceeds will help support our programs: Girls in Space, GoGirlGo!, Wheels of Fortune, and Youth Employment Skateboarding. SORRY! X-Smalls sold out!

Buy a few today!

Charcoal Gray T-shirts

Black sleeved Baseball Ts

Add: $5 for shipping anywhere for up to 2 shirts.

The Seattle’s Child article features the Metteer Family, and photos from volunteer Hollyanne Faber.  It’s a great article that looks at the growing popularity of skateboarding among kids, and how supportive parents are of the sport.

The Denny Award is also another great benchmark on how communities are excited about skateboarding and skateboarders.  Nancy is really excited about the award and is honored to be able to work with Skate Like a Girl volunteers and the Seattle Skateboarding community.  She believes that the award is a testament to the strong and growing skate scene in Seattle.  If you are in the Seattle area November 29th 6-8pm and would like to attend the awards ceremony – please RSVP with John.Kimble@seattle.gov.

Thank you thank you thank you for everyone who came out – EVEN though it snowed. It was so cool seeing all the girls come out for the whole weekend! We met a ton of new faces and caught up with familiar ones. Read more!

Weekend Recap! – by Nancy
Friday Skate Date @ Chelsea Piers
I was at the first Where the Ladies At weekend, and then skipped out last year, so I was looking forward to see who came out.  The night before Courtney from GRO welcomed me into town – as it rained,  so I was a little nervous about what the weather was going to be like.  It was so nice to see so many ladies come out to kick off the weekend!  17 year-old Claudia was welcoming ladies even before I got there. We had the furthest traveled like Angelina from Long Island, we had tons of locals that shred Chelsea Piers like Choko, Pigevil, Jen, Kelsey, and new faces like Nina B!  GRO had a huge turnout of both ladies who skate transition and street.  We also saw ladies who have been out for the last three years!  Like Niki, Lorena, and Jennifer from Uptown who has a lil bun in the oven.  It was cool to see the ladies all gel, skate with each other and teach each other how to skate.  Afterwards a few of us went out to get some Mexican food.

Saturday Where the Ladies At? >>> Homage
Saturday was a crazy day in October – it snowed!  Lanna and I rolled up as it starts to snow – and Jose from Homage is there.  Jose = awesome host – he welcomed us and pulled out a tent, BBQ, product and the indoor park!  Courtney comes a little later and we are like – uh- Where the Ladies at?  As we said that the steady stream starts with Angelina and her mom, Dan Tsui and Izzy who have been coming for 3 years in a row.  Alisaah shows up with her board wrapped up in plastic, and others show up.  We had a great turn out.  Lorena led a fun lesson / game of skate pushing everyone’s abilities, we had BBQ thanks to Amy’s Bread, Field Roast, and Vitamin Water.  Tons of prizes for all those that participated!  Jana from Berrics wrote an article and Dennis from Homage filmed the event.

Check them out:

Here is Jana’s article in Berrics! and Dennis’ video!

Sunday Girls Skate Conference @ GRO HQ

The Sunday conference was the cherry on top!  We had an intimate group of ladies from teens to 30′s talk about their experiences with skateboarding, and what they would like to see happen in NYC.  We had special guests Shannon Sexton and AJ Kohn from Philly’s Franklin’s Paine come talk about their programs.  The ladies are about to have another round of planning – which looks like it will be starting regular skate sessions in each borough!  If you are interested in being involved hit up Courtney from GRO: courtney.gro@gmail.com.

Thanks NYC for a fun weekend! Hope to see you next year!

Special thanks to NYC Skate Like a Girl volunteer Lanna Apisukh; Courtney @ GRO; Jose, Michelle, and Dennis @ Homage for hosting / product / video; Lorena for repping Rockstar Girls and teaching, Jana for the article in Berrics!

Help be a part of supporting the only girls skate contest in the Pacific Northwest: goal of raising $3000.  More info on contest here.

We are working with Sherwood Forrest Farms – they run an environmentally friendly practice!  This is the perfect gift for people that don’t live near evergreens (no shipments to Alaska and Hawaii – only the 48 states).  The price includes shipping to your door!  Sale ends November 1st!

Help us get the word out on Facebook, Twitter, emails, hit up grandparents, parents, and of course any other folks that want wreathes and think that it is awesome to have girls skateboard, and be able to be recognized by their community for their skills and passion!

This is what we are selling:

22″ Mixed Evergreen Wreath (W4M) – $37

28″ Mixed Evergreen Wreath (W3M) -$42


Western Cedar Gift Garlands (G3M) -$43
 

Gift Centerpiece (C5M) – $34

Cone Gift Basket (N7M) -$32

Evergreen Gift Set (EGM) – $65

Currently our goal is to raise $3000.  We have two fundraisers: the Sticker Drive and Wreath Sale.
If you would like to get involved in the fundraising committee or planning committee please contact  us at WOF@skatelikeagirl.com.

Please save the date, and RSVP on our FB Page.  We will have more information as the time draws closer.

Until then please enjoy footage from the past WOF contests from 2008, 2009 + 2010.

Skate Like a Girl spearheaded a Seattle Department of Neighborhood Grant, and was notified on July 18, 2011 that the City of Seattle approved our plan for a youth employment program! 4 paid internships and 4 Coaches in Training (unpaid) positions are up for grabs!

Youth Employment Skateboarding (YES) is a program administered by Skate Like a Girl, through a City of Seattle Department of Neighborhood Grant.
This was made possible with the community support from residents in Fremont, Greenlake, and Wallingford, along with businesses and the skateboarding community.

YES is a leadership and employment training program for young skateboarders between the ages of 12 and 23.
The program will take place between August 1 – November 12, 2011. We are looking for 4 Interns, and 4 CITs. YES is open to Seattle residents only.

INTERNS paid for 16 – 23 year-olds

• Service Learning Hours
• Earn up to $800
• Experience in a variety of areas (instructing, event organizing, civic engagement)

Coach in Training unpaid for 12 – 17 year-olds

• Service Learning Hours (50 hours minimum)
• Experience in a variety of areas (instructing, event organizing, civic engagement)

Young skateboarders can apply for this pilot project between Jul 24- Aug 1, 2011.

The application can be found here for the YES Intern App and YES CIT App

Summer is right around the corner.

Summer Camp Schedule:

August

Girls in Space 2nd Sundays of the Month 10am-12pm @ Innerspace Skatepark

The money pledged to the zine via Kickstarter will go toward paying for the printing services and postage for distributing the zines worldwide. All leftover money (if any) will go toward future issues of the zine. Since this is a volunteer run zine, we are using Kickstarter to pay for the zine and make the zine more accessible to people regardless of their financial situation by not having to charge $ for Escape Route. This project will only be funded if the pledge amount is reached by the May 21, 2011 deadline.

If you’d like to be a part of the #2 issue of Escape Route please send in your submissions to skatelikeagirlsf@gmail.com by May 21, 2011. We’d like to have the zine ready to print by May 31, 2011 and ready to distribute by June 2011.

Check out Issue # 1 : Escape Route Issue #1

When: Saturday, April 30, 2011
Where: Women’s Building & Potrero del Sol Park, SF
What: SLAG SF will be collaborating with the non-profit organization San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR) on Saturday, April 30, 2011. Come out and join us in support of SFWAR’s 6th Annual Walk Against Rape starting at the Women’s Building and Ending at the Potrero del Sol Skatepark. SLAG SF will be participating in the march and providing a skate clinic as well as skating the Potrero Skatepark at the end of the walk. There will be performances and vendors as well for the remainder of the day. Proceeds from the day’s events will go out to the organization’s services that support survivors of rape and sexual assault. The walk will begin at 10 am and end around 1:30pm with activities throughout the day at Potrero del Sol Park. Our clinic welcomes everyone. This event is open to individuals of all ages and all abilities. Come out for fresh air, exercise, and support of a good cause. For more information or to register and walk in the march visit sfwar.org.

To walk with SLAG SF contact us at sanfrancisco@skatelikeagirl.com

Don’t miss this girls only skateboarding and leadership program, brought to you by Skate Like a Girl, Bellevue YMCA, and the Women’s Sports Foundation. Participants will not only learn how to skateboard but will also have an opportunity to discuss relevant topics such as bullying, nutrition and money management. Each class is 2 hours with the first hour dedicated to a small group discussion with healthy snacks provided. The second hour is a girls only skateboarding session at Bellevue Indoor Skate Park. All levels and abilities welcome; skateboards and pads provided. Scholarships available! The fun starts March 27th, so sign up today! Click Here to register online!

Questions? Email us! seattle@skatelikeagirl.com

Register today!!

$20 for the session, $5 off if you pre-register online HERE

Next session? January 20th, 11am to 1pm! YEEEEEAAAAAHHH!

Here are the results:

Advanced:
1. Amy Caron
2. Lacey Baker
3. Sarah Molder
4. Kristin Ebeling
5. Vanessa Torres
Sarah Meurle
Kassy Bailey
Celena Meehan
Kristina Narayan
Ashley Rehfeld

Intermediate:
1. Aly Richards
2. Hannah Stavely
3. Jessie Haungs
4. Colette Peterson
5. Ruby Charney
Emily Fancher
Vanessa Hudson

Beginner:
1. Maryama Jillo
2. Marilyn Dancey
3. Sierra Fanener
4. Gabriela Lopez
5. Mirsa Perez
Lucia Polpetta
Madeline Byrne
Ruby Eister-Hargrave
Alyssa Downer
Danica Oslund

Thanks to all of our families that provided the cash purse! Volunteers: Lisa Bunts, Leah Eister Hargrave, Marshall Reid, Ed Wilson, Forrest Wedmore, Paul Reid, Gin Yang, Matt, Ebelings, PDX crew, Lisa Whitaker, Katie Killeen, Maryama Jillo, James Starlin, Lucia + and a million other people!

Product sponsors: Skatebarn, Manik, Seattle Skateboard Youth Club, Black Box Distro: Zero, Mystery, Fallen, $lave, Evo, Sno Con, Destructo, the Side Project, Matix, DVS, DC, Vans, Mavrx, Silly Girls, Pixel Girl, Field Roast Company, Jennifer, Hansen’s Soda, Mighty O Doughnuts, and PCC Natural Markets.

Thank you everyone!

SLAG WOF III 2010 Promo from James Starlin on Vimeo.

Thanks James for putting this lil ditty together! James will be out there this year again… filming, taking photos, and judging!

Maryama: Skateboarder from Katie Killeen on Vimeo.

Come skate with us!