Category: 1970s
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Laura Thornhill-Caswell
An archive on the history of women skaters wouldn’t be complete without Laura Thornhill (Caswell) with her massive list of contest wins. Her legacy is very much tied to the 1970s, and the photos of her taken by the legendary photographer Warren Bolster are iconic, among many others. When I tell people I’m writing about…
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Bristol Girls Team
When the first UK National Championships was hosted at Crystal Palace in London (originally planned for July but delayed until August 10th, 1977 due to rain) there was no category for women and the female skaters from Bristol were not impressed. In the Evening News special report that was printed in September 1977 it was…
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Colorado 1970s Slalom
From 1975-1978, there was a thriving skateboarding scene in Colorado primarily focused on slalom racing in the Rocky Mountains, and it included a crew of women. These skateboarders were celebrated in the August 1978 issue of The National Skateboard Review, with a photo of Barb Hellberg, Janice “Berger” Rumberger, Kathy Ruh, Lisa Wilson, Cindy Langhill…
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Jana Payne
Jana Payne (Booker) has been repeatedly recognized as a major influence on skaters like Vicki Vickers, Kym Milburn, and Terry Lawrence and has now been inducted into the Skateboard Hall of Fame (2022). Jana is also a survivor of childhood sexual assault which came about through her skateboarding coach in the 1970s and has been…
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Debbie Bragg
Auckland, New Zealand in 1978 opened up a kickass skatepark called Skatopia in the Manukau suburb, which was sponsored by Coca Cola. It emulated the park plans from Skatopia in the U.S. Sadly, it was demolished in 1982. Here’s some vintage Youtube footage from 1979: I stumbled upon a group photo including Debbie Bragg in…
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Kim Adrian
While interviewing skateboarder Kim Adrian it occurred to me that I was speaking to a true “skater’s skater” – someone who skated for the love of it, committed to the actual doing of skateboarding versus self-promotion. I also believe that she should be on everyone’s radar because based on the photos that were shared, Kim…
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Cheryl Thornton
Cheryl Thornton, age 12 from Fort Worth, Texas was competing against the boys at a skateboard contest in May 1977 and came 2nd in Freestyle! The photo was taken by Rodger Mallison showcasing Cheryl holding onto a laid-back handstand, which she received a trophy for. Photos of her competitors Michael Clay (14) and Jerome Willet…
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Lisa Muir
Lisa Muir Wakley is a legendary surfer based out of Pensacola, Florida who also competed in skateboarding. In an interview by Professor Steve Estes on southern surfing in June 2017, it was shared that Lisa “was born in 1955 on Rantoul Air Force Base in Illinois. Her dad was a hurricane hunter in the Air…
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Cyndy Pendergast
Cyndy Pendergast was a confident skater in the Mid-West in the 1970s and 1980s and is listed as a “notable member” of the Turf skateboard park on a Wikipedia page. Her name is included along with a host of male skaters, and the legendary Patti Hoffman. The Turf, also known as “Surfin’ Turf” was in…
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Suzette Owens
Suzette Owens was a competitive freestyle skateboarder out of Long Beach, California in the late 1970s. I was reminded of Suzette during a recent interview with Kim Adrian, as they were good friends at the time being slightly older. While the two preferred skating different terrain, they had the common bond of knowing how to…
Womxn Skateboard History 