This past June the non-profit organization, Skate Like A Girl San Francisco (SLAG SF), hit the road for a week-long skateboarding tour down to San Diego County and back. With a loaded Kia van of boards, sleeping bags, clinic gear, and baked goods from Arizmendi Bakery, the six riders on the trip skated seventeen spots in seven days down through the Central Valley and up along the California coastline. Day 2 of the tour was spent at the Boys and Girls’ Club in Borrego Springs, California where SLAG SF held an evening girls’ skateboarding clinic as the sunset brought cooler temperatures to the desert. By nightfall we camped outside and woke up at dawn the next day to the howling of coyotes while the sun rose over the mountain range. For breakfast we would stop once again at Kendall’s Café (the only eatery in town that seemed to be open) before continuing to the urban region of San Diego. By day 3 we embarked on our routine of waking up at 7am each day and skating the parks on our itinerary till dinnertime. All along the way we were also on a search for the best horchata and Vietnamese sandwich. With our luck we stumbled upon some of the least appetizing drinks, which included horchata that came out of a soda machine. But in the end it wasn’t until we arrived near home in San Jose, California that we finished the last few hours of the trip sitting on the ground with Vietnamese sandwiches, exhausted legs, odd tan lines, and the contentment of having spent a week on the road doing what we love each day.
Interviews with Borrego Springs Clinic Riders
Name: Sarah
Hometown: Borrego Springs, California
“I love skating because you can release any emotion you have into it. You can forget about anything that’s happened that day or any problems you’ve had and just have fun with it.”
Name: Taylor
Hometown: Borrego Springs, California
“Today’s clinic was fun because I got to hang out with my friends and maybe learn 10 different tricks like ollieing and carving.”
Name: Emma
Hometown: Salton Sea, California
“When I first came in here it was like me seeing everyone skateboarding and I wish I could skateboard too and now when you guys came I can skateboard now so like I can probably come in the skatepark everyday and skate.”
Trip Planning
As of June 2011 prices, for a group of 6 people you can go on a weeklong trip for about $200 per person. This includes mini van rental, gas, and food. For housing we were lucky enough to have friends and family along the way who opened their homes to six grungy and tired skaters at the end of the day.
Download a PDF of all the skatepark information along with photographs on the tour here.
Photographs
Photos from the road. Click on the image to see a larger version.
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Acknowledgements
A special thank you to Vincent & Lucia Yau, Vi Tran, Lisa & Huey, and Mr. & Mrs. Harris for hosting everyone in your lovely homes. To all the clinic participants for coming out and Jordan K. for allowing us to film your run at Channel Street. To Jenny at the Borrego Springs Boys and Girls Club for helping to arrange the clinic. To Garrett, Jeff, Ray and Andy for skatepark recommendations on the trip. Tour riders on this trip include: Erica Harris, Jolie Pitetta, Rosanna Yau, Lucia Polpetta, and Marie Baeta.
About the Organization: “Skate Like a Girl is a unique organization locally and internationally providing an innovative approach to female empowerment and leadership focusing on the individual level, and promoting women’s skateboarding on the community level. The goal is to create a collective of girls and women who strive for social justice. These ideas are captured in our vision, mission, and values.Vision: Empower young girls & women to grow into strong, confident leaders who promote and implement social equity. Mission: Promote female skateboarding by fostering confidence in girls and women to skateboard and take leadership in their communities. Core Values: We value experiential learning, civic participation and social justice. SLAG takes into account the changing needs of young girls and women, and is up to the challenge of evolving as an organization committed to finding innovative ways to promote confidence and nurture future female leaders.”
– SLAG Mission Statement // To learn more visit their website @www.skatelikeagirl.com.
|posted on 14 July 2011|