Gale Springer

Gale Springer (Chorpash) grew up near Venice Beach, and was a skateboarder in the late 1970s and early 1980s from age 12 to 19. She enjoyed competing in bowl, pool, and ramp. Gale and her twin brother, Johnny Springer were also Gale Webb’s little cousins, and became part of her early demonstration team around Southern California, going to schools, malls, and fairs, along with Webb’s son Mike, who was only 7 at the time, to motivate kids to pursue action sports and safety.

In this photo of Springer below, she is 15 or 16 and Webb noted that she was one of the first female skateboarders in her show. Webb said that Springer, “would tell other girls to skate, have fun and never give up!” This particular ramp was twelve feet high and only eight feet wide.

In response, Springer wrote on Facebook, “Those were the best days of my life! Thank you Gale for always teaching me to reach for the stars and do the things you love in life!!!!” – May 9, 2016

Springer worked at the Marina Del Rey skatepark for all the years it was open and she became a sponsored amateur thanks to Vans and Powerflex. She is seen in a Powerflex group photo by Bob Bailou with Webb and teammates, including Denise Fleming.

Gale Springer’s nickname was “Lil Gale” and her older cousin remarked that she was a dare devil and a great skater.

[Update on February 22, 2024: Denise wrote on Instagram “The memories & sheer exhilaration came flooding back! Gale Springer & I did a lot of Pepsi demos. At schools, malls & it was always an exciting time! Quite a ripper & I enjoyed, every trip we made together! She was always so encouraging!! Very honored to have ridden in their presence 🔥❤️🔥.”]

In December 1979, Springer won the women’s amateur division, ahead of Joanna Field and Kim Freeman at the Vans Marina Pro-Am skateboard competition at Marina Del Rey, her home park! In the Women’s Pro, the winners were Brenda Devine, Crystal Loges and Cindy Whitehead. Cindy, best known for her organization “Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word,” said that Gale Springer-Chorpash was “one of my best friends growing up… We met at Marina Skatepark and did everything together. She was my maid of honor at my wedding & we have been close all these years” (March 6, 2014).

In the May 1980 issue of Skateboarder, Gale is listed as being the girls’ overall series winner of the Vans / Offshore series, ahead of Elaine Poirier (Vans), Sue Smith (Madrid), Joanna Field (Marina), and Katrina Tena (Marina/ WSA). In 1980, the best source for amateur competition was the publication Skat’n News, and Gale was often in the mix against Cara-beth Burnside, Lisa Forman, Shirley McClelland, Smith, and Field. Some of her top results include 2^nd in pool behind CB at ASPO #4 at Marina on September 13, 1980, and then at ASPO #7 at Pipeline she came 5^th in girls 15 & over in park.

Springer and Joanna Field were especially close competitors and would keep in touch over the years. They would even return to skateboarding decades later, as noted in the Facebook group, “Skateboard Moms & Sisters of Shred.” In 2015, they rallied together as skater moms in their 50s and even though she hadn’t skated transition in thirty years, Gale was willing to give it a shot! Springer and Field would hit up their local Santa Clarita skatepark and attend the Mighty Mama Skate-O-Rama (MMSOR) fundraising events, organized by Barb Odanaka.