In the October 1983 issue of Thrasher, there’s mention of one Shirley McLelland competing against the amateur guys in the “tight slalom” contest at the Southern California Summer World Series finals at Del Mar. Shirley placed 11th out of 14 and I was relieved to see her name considering what happened a few years prior. Diane Veerman (Desiderio) was the only other female competitor who placed at the event, coming in 13th out of 15 guys in the freestyle. Diane would go on to be the lone female professional freestyle skater in the mid-1980s.
Shirley (whose last name also gets misspelled “McClelland,” “McLeland” and even “Mcleliand”) had been frequently listed in the results printed in the newsprint Skat’n News in the early 1980s, before the Association of Skatepark Owners (ASPO) decided to eliminate the separate amateur division for girls and women.
In August 1980, Skat’n News stated that Shirley was 3rd place overall for “Girls’ 15 and Over” with contest results in pool and slalom. She was consistently in the top six, always behind Cara-beth Burnside who was dominating the division. It was rare for Skat’n News to print photos of female skaters, with the exception of Crystal Loges, Judi Oyama, Cara-beth, and Sue Smith, so I have no visual proof of Shirley’s early days.
Sadly, it was announced in the January 19, 1981, Skat’n News issue that the girls would have to compete alongside the guys for the upcoming season. It was likely a cost-saving measure since the industry was tanking and skateparks were closing due to insurance issues and declining popularity. And yet, the decision was so disappointing since there was a crew of very determined competitive skaters including Cara-beth, Lisa Forman, Gale Springer, Sue Smith, Joanna Field, and Shirley, all pushing each other to improve.
Sure enough, by spring 1981 you have to scour the contest results to find these skater’s names, but I found Shirley in 2nd place against 7 guys in her 1A Slalom division at the Skatercross contest on March 28, 1981, in Reseda, CA, so you know she didn’t give up! I’ve found evidence that CB and Lisa also persisted, but not everyone wanted to line-up against guys their age and not be acknowledged for their accomplishment in contrast to their female peers. There was no celebration of their persistence.
Fortunately, I eventually found a photo of Shirley from the November / December 1983 issue of TransWorld magazine (p.18) competing in slalom in a style that resembles downhill ski-racing. Even better, in the January 15, 1990, issue of the North County Times newspaper, there was a feature on Shirley at age 36!
“More than 50 trophies for excellence in slalom skateboarding line the walls of Shirley McLelland’s mobile home… McLelland describes herself as ‘a person who likes a challenge.’ That’s why she has competed against men since she took up skateboarding 10 years ago at age 26. She has skated her way up from the entry level to a factory team rider designation, the highest amateur rank.”
Apparently, Shirley worked as a clerk at the Oceanside Police department and was on the board of directors for the California Amateur Skateboard League (CASL). This was especially interesting since CASL was established by skateboarding parents Frank Hawk, Sonja Catalano and Jeanne Hoffman in 1982, but they opted not to reinstate a separate girls’ division until the summer of 1989 (it was announced in the April / May 1989 newsletter) after three years of petitioning from the Women’s Skateboard Network. I wonder if Shirley also played a part in convincing CASL to evolve?
The article continues, explaining that Shirley was still traveling and competing, even going to Glasgow, Scotland to compete in the All European Skateboard contest in December 1989 in her speciality, which was slalom. She had always been active, enjoying track, tumbling, and gymnastics before taking up skateboarding.
Best quote of the article was when Shirley admitted that her family was “embarrassed when she started skateboarding at the somewhat advanced age of 26. Now, however, she says, ‘They’re proud of me for my accomplishments.’” Shirley sounded like a total character since she collected guinea pigs (even accumulating three more while in Scotland) and was taking care of her dog, Sugar who had a litter of 10 puppies. “When she’s not skateboarding or taking care of her guinea pigs, she enjoys fishing and playing basketball at the beach.”
Right on, Shirley! It was so cool to unpack this backstory, especially when I clued in that she was an “older” skater ripping it up throughout the 1980s. Hopefully more photos and interviews will emerge.
Reference:
- Stein, Pat. “Good Neighbors: Shirley McLelland.” North County Times (January 15, 1990): B1 & B3.
Womxn Skateboard History 