In the late 1970s and 1980s, one of the top female skateboarders from Canada was Sophie Bourgeois from Drummondville, Quebec but you would hardly know it due to the limited acknowledgement, if any in Canadian skateboard magazines or history books. Like Pam Judge, Canada’s first female National Champion, Sophie would go on to be sponsored by leading companies in the U.S. but back home the fanfare was limited to the occasional newspaper clipping.
In Skateboarder magazine, February 1980 an article by Jim Goodrich celebrated the Canadian 1979 Nationals in Vancouver at the Pacific Northwest Exhibition. Jim wrote, “In the girls’ division, local Dina Goncalves was the favourite. However, Sophie Bourgeois, with her gymnastic moves excelled and caused quite an upset this year against the more established competition. Sophie, with her 2nd in freestyle and 1st in slalom, gained a 1st overall and also won a trip to California.”
After Sophie’s win as the 1979 National Champion at age 15 a few articles were published including La Tribune Sherbrooke on September 15, 1979. Richard Jean wrote that Sophie had only been skateboarding for two years, and before going to the Nationals she won the Quebec Provincial championship at Place Alexis Nihon in Montréal.
Photos were taken at the 1979 Quebec Championships
Sophie was adamant that skateboarding was no less dangerous than other sports, and injury was the last thing she thought about. Unfortunately, the crowd in Vancouver were less than welcoming and initially booed her, possibly because she was French-speaking and from Quebec, but Sophie was not deterred and was soon applauded for her performance. At the time, Sophie didn’t imagine her skateboarding career would go far, estimating two or three years pursuing it.
The following year, on March 13, 1980, La Tribune Sherbrooke described a gala event in Sophie’s hometown and that she received a plaque for her sporting efforts. The article states that, “C’est ainsi que Sophie Bourgeois, championne Canadienne de rouli-roulant… recevront une plaque-souvenir.” And, there’s several news stories of her success as National Champion for two years straight in 1980 from Le Nouvelliste, La Tribune, and Dimanche-matin:
Sophie was celebrated in a press release from the Canadian Pro-Am Skateboarding Association in September 1980 and briefly mentioned in the December 1980 issue of SkatnNews in the team directory section, for representing the company Gull Wing trucks as an amateur.
A few photos from July 1981 were shared by Monty Little and Claude Regnier including Sophie receiving her trophy as Canada’s National Champion at the Great Canadian Open. Some of the female skaters she competed against were Margaret Winter and Denise Frohlick, who won the Bowl-riding event. In an article within the September 1981 issue of Thrasher about the contest, it says that “Sophie Bourgeois of Quebec showed us that she can blaze in Slalom as well as Freestyle.”
A photo by Mike Blake of Sophie at age 16, then appeared in a weekly newsletter from the U.S. called Skat’N’News in July 1981. She was declared the Women’s Grand Slalom Champion by the Canadian Pro/Am Association.
Sophie was selected for the Eastern Canada Team to compete at the Transworld Skateboard Championships in 1986, which was hosted in Vancouver, Canada as part of the “Expo ‘86” festival. In an article from the December 1986 issue of Thrasher, it’s noted that Sophie placed fourth in women’s freestyle behind Corina “GoGo” Spreiter (Switzerland), Sue Hazel (England), and April Hoffman (United States). And, Sophie was also the only woman who raced in the giant slalom event, as seen in the video Radical Moves (dir. Larry Dean, 1986).
Sophie’s freestyle performance (she’s wearing pink shoes) is the first one shown in this clip from Radical Moves, although be warned that the commentary by Kim Blackett regarding the women skaters is beyond painful. At least Sophie was having a good time because she was dating legendary freestyle skater Rodney Mullen at the time of the event!
And here is her slalom run:
The whole Transworld competition was supposed to model the Olympics, with skateboarders from international countries competing for points for their nation, but apparently the women skateboarders were just a sideshow for the spectator’s amusement! It was reported in Thrasher that, “For some reason, the Women’s Freestyle was considered a completely separate event, so the women didn’t receive points toward the overall team award” (Lucero). Not cool, but not surprising considering the vibe of the Transworld video.
Photo: a film still of Sophie within the documentary Seylynn Story about the history of Seylynn skatepark in North Vancouver directed by George Faulkner.
On June 2nd, 1987, a photo by Bernard Weil in the Toronto Star newspaper for a fashion shoot showcases Sophie’s skill. The caption reads: “Sophie Bourgeois, 22, from Drummondville, Quebec is rated the best female freestyler in Canada and ranked fourth in the world.” She’s wearing classic 80s gear including Club Monaco cotton button-fly ‘jams’ (shorts), Surf Paradise t-shirt, Airwalk shoes, and a Swatch watch!
Strangely enough, a thorough article about Sophie was printed in The Sun Times (September 17, 1987) newspaper from Owen Sound, Ontario where I was born and raised! I would have been nine years old… if only my parents had taken me to see her! Luann LaSalle wrote how Sophie trained as an athlete and had a strict regimen – “It takes a lot of strength and power to flip the board.” Sophie was 23 at the time but had begun skateboarding at age 15.
Sophie shared by email that she moved to California and was performing amateur freestyle shows with Rodney, as they dated for a long time. She also got to know the whole scene, including Tony Hawk. Sophie became a professional with her tours and demonstrations, arranged by an agent in Toronto.
In 1988, Sophie was featured in Powell Peralta’s 1988 video Public Domain although she was simply called “Sofie,” which was unfortunate because not only was it spelled incorrectly, without a last name it was extra challenging to track her down and learn about her story!
Sophie stated in her video part that, “I definitely think that there’s a place for girl skaters. I think that it’s not because we’re females we can’t skate. We just skate differently.”
It’s curious to note that prior to Public Domain, Sophie entered and won the world freestyle championship in California for women (possibly at Oceanside?), which technically made her the World Champion, but this wasn’t celebrated in the video. It was overlooked because at the last minute the organizers forced the girls to compete against the guys and often only the top ten results are published.
“So, at the top of my career as Rodney Mullen was again being crowned world champion professional skater, my 1st place among women was NEVER mentioned. I ended up placing 11th against men in their last-minute men/women category. I remember driving in the back from the competition with Rodney and his friends. They were ALL celebrating his success, and no one acknowledged that I had been BEST FEMALE skater in the world! So now in 2024 all of this seems trivial, but it was a trend in skateboarding. No matter how well I performed, it was often passed in silence. So it really turned me off and after a series of events (sponsorship, money at shows, TV commercials, etc.), I often felt like a circus monkey” (Feb. 23, 2024).
Press release – September 1988
Sophie still had fond memories of spending her summers in British Columbia, getting to know Kevin Harris, Mike Blake and Monty Little. It does bother me that I’ve never heard Rodney Mullen acknowledge Sophie’s skill or existence. The only reference I could find in the public realm was from the gossip section of Transworld magazine in the June 1988 issue.
The cheeky comment said, “Is it not also true that Rodney ‘The Needle’ Mullen has broken off his engagement to girlfriend Sofie until she can at least ollie up a curb?” Hardly the most flattering portrayal, and I’m confident Sophie could ollie a curb! See the photo below by Lynn Cooper from 1988 displaying Sophie’s skill in Gturn freestyle zine, competing at a CASL contest in Anaheim:
Sophie’s knee injuries forced her to quit skateboarding, but “I ended up going to university at McGill to do a master’s degree in education. I am now an English Teacher. I am also presently studying for the Commercial Pilot’s License. I would like to do some Missionary Aviation, flying cargo, Doctors and nurses to the remote places of northern Québec. Aviation has replaced skateboard competitions in terms of ‘adrenaline rush’ and dedication. It’s harder than skateboarding…” (Feb. 23, 2024). Sophie is currently living in Victoriaville, Quebec.
Thank you, Sophie for reaching out!
[Update: the fine gentleman at The Bones Brigade Audio Show reached out and now Sophie is featured on their podcast, released March 17, 2024. Tune in here to listen to Sophie share her story!]
References:
- Bourgeois, Sophie. Personal conversation by email. November 5, 2022.
- Bourgeois, Sophie. Personal conversation by email. February 23, 2024.
- Jean, Richard. “Le rouli-roulant pas plus dangereux que d’autres sports.” La Tribune Sherbrooke. September 15, 1979, p.32.
- LaSalle, Luann. “Skateboarder works hard to keep competitive edge.” The Sun Times. September 17, 1987.
- Little, Monty. “The Great Canadian Open.” Thrasher. September 1981, pp. 10-11.
- Lucero, John. “Ten days in a zoo.” Thrasher. December 1986, pp. 53-59, 94.
Womxn Skateboard History 