Bonnie Votaw was a child prodigy skater from the 1970s and had the opportunity to travel to England in 1978 at the age of 8, along with friend, Jacqueline Jones, age 14. Photos of the two girls from a skateboard demo at the Mad Dog bowl on Old Kent Road in London were printed in the Daily Mail by Philip Jackson. The skatepark looked to be indoors and featured a cloud-like series of concrete bowls called the moonscape. I assume the demo was arranged by their sponsor Pro-Am, considering their t-shirts.
Bonnie’s name then starts to appear in contest results. At the National Freestyle contest at Oceanside, CA in June 1978, Bonnie placed 2nd for Pro-Am in the “Female Sponsored” category for girls 9 to 12 year-olds behind Canon “Bunny” Price, and ahead of Shirley Parkins, Debbie Votaw (sister?), and Sunshine Lee as reported in the National Skateboard Review.
A month later in July at the California State Championships hosted at the Skatopia skatepark in Buena Park, Bonnie entered a variety of events in the Girls 12 and under category. Her top placing was second in freestyle, and then fourth place in Pipe Riding, Snake Run, Bowl Riding, Slalom and Giant Slalom. Fellow competitors included Canon “Bunny” Price, Nina Adrian, Jaime Luster, Debbie Votaw, and Shirley Parkins.
Skateboarder magazine (July 1979) reported on the USASA Nationals at Whirling Wheels Skatepark, Escondido Ca (March 31 / April 1st 1979). Bonnie is back in the mix for the Girls 10 and under, and this time she won both the freestyle and slalom contests.
Bonnie ended up getting a photo published in Skateboarder in the November 1979 issue, while competing at the Oceanside Nationals in July 1979, which boasted over 10,000 spectators. Bonnie is holding a perfect plank and was rewarded with a first place for sponsored girls age 9-10, ahead of Gina Esparza, Sunshine Lee and Heather Hall.
A friend on Bonnie’s Facebook page even recalled how Bonnie had a huge ramp in her backyard, and how her dad motivated her to practise everyday, with weekend trips to the skate parks.
The last mention of Bonnie that I could find was in February 1980 issue of Skateboarder, at a contest in Colton at the Rancho Mediterrania skatepark in the All-American Amateur series from October 1979. Bonnie won the Girls 12-under slalom event.
Bonnie sounds like she had a blast competing! Shout out to Bonnie and here’s hoping we get to chat!
Womxn Skateboard History 