The photo of Jaime Luster by Jeff Ruiz from the July 1979 issue of Skateboarder, where she’s dwarfed by a massive trophy after winning the USASA Overall champion award for her age group, is pretty rad!
Jaime was a solid competitor in the girls’ 10 and under category, and based on her results, she especially enjoyed pool, pipe and bowl, with some great performances in slalom and freestyle, as well. Evidently, Jaime was a versatile skater for such a young rider and became sponsored by Pro-Am Skateboard Products, owned by Bob and Ben Shan.
Photo: Oceanside Nationals July 1979 from Skateboarder (Nov. 1979)
Contest results:
- June 1978 – Oceanside National Freestyle contest, 1st place for girls 8 and under ahead of Amber Lacayo
- July 1978 – California State Championships, girls 12 and under 3rd place for Pipe Riding and, 2nd place for Bowl Riding
- February 3, 1979 – Hobie Bowl contest at the Big O, 1st place for girls 13 and under in Bowl (ahead of Cara-beth Burnside and Jill Osur).
- February 17, 1979 – USASA Lakewood, 1st place for girls 10 and under in Freestyle
- March 3, 1979 – USASA Skatopia, 1st place in girls 10 and under in Halfpipe and Slalom
- March 31 / April 1, 1979 – USASA Nationals at Whirlin’ Wheels skatepark in Escondido, 1st place in girls 10 and under in Poolriding, and overall point winner.
- July 21 / 22, 1979 – Oceanside Nationals, 1st place in sponsored girls 8 and under.
- October 6, 1979 – All American Amateur Series – 3rd overall in Girls 10 and under.
Jaime was a popular skateboarder, as she was even voted in for the 3rd Annual Skateboarder awards, taking fifth place for freestyle, slalom / downhill, and vertical categories. These categories were all won by the legendary Pattie Hoffman, and other heavy-hitting sponsored skaters like Jana Payne, Kim Adrian, Canon “Bunny” Price, etc.
I’m imagining that with the decline and closure of many skateparks in the 1980s that Jaime turned to other athletic pursuits. Thanks to social media, there are photos showing Jaime ripping on the Pro-Am plexiglass ramp in uniform, and remembering good times like performing a demo in third grade, teaching youth to drop-in, and even launching a trade show in 2001 highlighting women in action sports like surfing, skating, and snowboarding. Jaime now lives in Hawaii.
Hopefully will receive some more details from Jaime via Facebook.
Womxn Skateboard History 