Cara Beth gives it all she's got at skate vert practice. Jared Souney © 2006 Lat34

Ladies First: Women's Vert Preview

X Games 12 appears to be slightly more female-friendly than past X Games events thanks to the efforts of skaters Cara-Beth Burnside, Mimi Knoop, Jen O’Brien, and the Action Sport Alliance.
 
The Alliance was started last summer by a group of female pro skaters who nearly ended up bailing on the X Games when it became clear the event would not be televised and that the prize purse would be piddling in comparison to big money in other (male) X Games events.
 
Taking a breather between practice runs on the Vert ramp today, Knoop said things are running a bit more smoothly this year and there are no plans for a boycott, but that there are still problems. The total prize for the women’s events is up to $14,000 each for the Street and Vert contests. It’s an improvement over last year, but the prizes for the men’s contests are almost ten times higher.
 
Of even greater concern is the gap in planned television coverage, since the skaters are chiefly concerned with the promotion of women’s skateboarding
 
“It’s progress, at least I can say that,” said Knoop, sounding hopeful. “We want to be clear with everybody that this isn’t about the money. It’s about getting exposure for our sport in a way that girls out there can access.”
 
Cara-Beth Burnside is the reigning matron of women’s skateboarding. She won last year’s X Games event after the boycott brouhaha subsided, and has been in this game longer than any of the other women in the current field. She is the President of the Alliance and is working tirelessly to fight for the best possible situation for female competitors at the X Games and other contests.
 
“I don’t want every story about women in the X Games to be about the controversy from last year or the size of the prize in comparison with the men’s prize,” said Burnside, fresh from a meeting with ESPN President John Skipper. “I just want to see the sport grow and to be a part of that in the most effective way possible, and the only way to really do that is to get organized and get out there and get it done. Of course, any exposure helps push it out there, but we want it to be in the best possible light.”  
 
Burnside says her meeting with Skipper this afternoon went well, and hopes to be able to make an announcement before the contest regarding new developments. “It was a really successful meeting, and that’s all I can say about it for now,” said Burnside. “We have more involvement in the X Games this year, and we’re forming a great relationship with ESPN through the Alliance. That’s why we started this organization in the first place: To get our voices together so that somebody would have to listen to us.”
 
She won’t divulge details from the meetings so far, but it’s no secret that the skaters’ top request is for ESPN to air footage of the women’s contest. As of the day before the Women’s Vert final, there’s still no sign of it on the TV schedule.
 
“I think the real story here should be that there are so many female skaters coming up now,” said Burnside, eager to shift focus. “I want to be around to see women’s skateboarding evolve into something that totally blows me away. We’re just trying to help create a future for the girls of skateboarding, to set a standard now so that future girls can surpass us.”
 
“You know what I think would be the best-case scenario to come out of us being here at the X Games? I want some girl out there to see us on TV and say, ‘I can do that, and more.’ There are so many great parks opening everywhere that it’s easier now for girls to go out and skate, and any exposure helps push it out there.”
 

– Colin Bane