Terry Verdoia (now Teresa Verdoia-Walker) appeared in the December 1978 issue of Skateboarder in an article by Craig Fineman. Fineman was reporting on and documenting the First Annual Endless Wave Pool & Aggressive Pipe Riding Contest, which was held in August 1978 at the Endless Wave Skatepark in Oxnard, CA. Terry placed third in the women’s open competition behind Wendy Gooding and Brenda Devine.
Fineman was evidently impressed by Terry. He wrote that “Terry Verdoia from Santa Cruz is easily the most radical female skater I have witnessed to date. She has a repertoire filled with micro edgers, frontside grinds and some truly bionic backside air.” Fineman concluded that “Terry Verdoia skated perhaps better than her third-place finish indicated” as it sounded like there were some unconventional new rules and point system that was being experimented with on that day.
A comparable photo as the Skateboarder feature was also taken by Stan Sharp (above right) and published in the November 1978 issue of Skateboard World. Thankfully, this one was posted on Facebook and Terry wrote: “Thanks for all the nice comments. Back then I was on the Northern Cal Sims team. And, learned to skate at Campbell and Winchester Skate parks. Backside air was my forte but, I don’t have many shots of this trick. My parents moved to Idaho shortly after this contest and I had to pursue other sports as there was nothing to skate there in the late 70s.”
Terry attended the Arizona College of Nursing and would become a registered nurse.
Photos: Craig Fineman, Chuck Saccio, Stan Sharp
Reference:
Womxn Skateboard History 