Tara Kaylor (Garner) first appeared in skateboarding media within a report on the “Easter Week Contest” in San Diego on April 8, 1977 by Di Dootson in the May 1977 issue of the National Skateboard Review. The contest was hosted at the Standley Recreation Center with 300 spectators. Dootson wrote, “Tara (the Terror) Kaylor was the only woman competitor but that did not deter her from going all out in her routine. She also skated to music and that, plus the smiles, good form, and unique finish, left her routine unforgettable.” I’m assuming it was a sweet Country Western song based on her outfit!
A few months later, Tara competed at the 3rd Annual Novice-Amateur Championships in August 1977. She won the women’s 15-18 category in freestyle and was spotted by a rep from Sims. In the December 1977 issue of the National Skateboard Review it was announced, along with a photo, that she was now sponsored by the Sims Pure Juice team.
In the Skateworld Journal, November 1977 issue a small photo of Tara appears after placing second in the girls Freestyle event behind Julie Cheng, and ahead of Suzette Owens at the Runway (the first park in Gardena, CA). This was a pro-am contest on October 8, 1977 and was considered the 1977 USSA California State Skateboard Championships. The following month, in November 1977 Tara placed second in Freestyle and fourth in Slalom for the girls’ category at the Concrete Wave contest in Anaheim, CA.
In a more artsy photo by Jim Goodrich, a photo of Tara Kaylor at Home Avenue Park (aka “Moving On”) in front of the setting sun appeared in the April 1978 issue of Skateboarder magazine within the article called “Focus.”
Chuck Saccio of Skateboard World featured Tara in a two-page article for Skateboard World magazine in their May 1978 issue. Apparently, it was Steve Cathey who gave Tara her first skateboard back in February 1977 to learn how to ride, “Eight months and six contests later she had taken four first places and one second place in Freestyle.” Tara shared that her success wasn’t for lack of practise, plus she was a competitive gymnast and track athlete (taking first place in high jump at San Diego’s Junior Olympics!). Tara seemed serious about her freestyle activities, relating them to performances in theatre where you have to “communicate with your audience. Show them you are relaxed and in control.”
Photos: Chuck Saccio
Tara made the trek to Calgary, Alberta along with Ellen Berryman and Vicki Vickers for the Skatopia Professional Free Style Invitational in July 1978. And in the March 1979 issue of the NSR a small photo of Tara appears, taken by Steve Day. The caption reads “Tara Kaylor and Steve Day practice together every day… probably keeping an eye out for Oceanside competition.”
By 1980, Tara’s sponsors had shifted to Madrid, on their professional Freestyle team, as listed in the directory within the December 1980 issue of Skat’nNews. At the 1980 Oasis Freestyle contest in San Diego, CA Tara Kaylor “was the only professional female freestyler at the event and performed an unofficial routine” as reported in Action Now magazine. With the skateboarding industry in decline, and the preference for streetstyle over choreographed freestyle, Tara must have chosen to pursue other opportunities. Would love to find more photos and a connection with Tara!
**Update! Tara reached out via email on March 2nd, 2025, and shared that in her post-skating years, “I graduated with a degree in journalism from San Diego State University and went on to become a staff writer for the San Diego Tribune, later as a freelancer with the San Francisco Chronicle’s home section [after she was married and had kids.]” Tara also became a writer of non-fiction including, Simplify Your Household (1998 – Reader’s Digest Publishing), Mrs. Clean Jeans Housekeeping with Kids (2004 – Rodale), and more recently, The Clean Freak Manifesto (2021 – St. Martin’s Press). Tara now lives six blocks from the beach in Santa Monica! Thanks Tara for reaching out.
Photos: Chuck Saccio, Jim Goodrich, Steve Day
References:
- Dootson, Di. “Easter Week Contest.” National Skateboard Review. May 1977, p. 8.
- Saccio, Chuck. “New Faces: Tara Kaylor.” Skateboard World. May 1978, 54-55.
Womxn Skateboard History 