‘The new generation is not intimidated’: Encinitas contest showcases growth in women’s skateboarding

For years, skateboarding was male-dominated. A sport where legends like Andrew Reynolds, Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero helped transform a niche pastime into a mainstream phenomenon.

But Saturday at the 14th annual Exposure Skate Contest held at a bustling Encinitas Community Park, more than 200 female skateboarders from 21 countries dominated the scene.

Throughout the day, hundreds of spectators cheered as skateboards clattered against concrete and young skaters launched in and out of the bowl at Poods Park, the iconic Encinitas skate park nicknamed after a local skater who died in 2012.

Juno Matsuoka, 14, was one of many competing in the event.

“We encourage each other,” said Matsuoka, a native of Osaka, Japan, who travels the world with her family competing in skateboarding events. “Skating with girls is fun, it’s just fun. But I know it didn’t used to be this way.”

In fact, Caballero, speaking in front of a crowded skateboarding bowl where the main event of the day was taking place, said so himself.

“Exposure has done such an amazing job to help support women’s skateboarding,” said Caballero, whose signature trick, the caballerial, remains a staple of the sport. “This has not been very easy.”

Exposure Skate, an organization dedicated to promoting women and girls in skateboarding, was founded in 2012 by professional skateboarder Amelia Brodka and philanthropist Lesli Cohen. Since then, the contest has become a cornerstone for the skateboarding community and a stepping stone for female skaters pursuing professional careers.

“Back then, there were little to no opportunities for girls to pursue skateboarding as a career, let alone a hobby,” said Gabriela Levy, Exposure’s event organizer and spokesperson. She said Exposure Skate’s annual event was among the reasons the International Olympic Committee decided to add skateboarding to the Olympics.

The event has grown exponentially from close to 30 participants in 2012 to over 200 entries this year, with competitors as young as 6 years old and a golden division for skaters 30 and over. The prize purse totals $57,000.

Jordyn Barratt, 26, a professional skateboarder and Olympian who competed in the 2020 Tokyo Games, described the shift in attitude toward women in skateboarding as “night and day from even 10 years ago.”

“I used to show up to the skate park and skate every single day and it was weird if I saw another girl,” said Barratt, who started skateboarding at 11 years old in Hawaii before moving to Encinitas. “And then in the last probably two years, every single day I can come here and there’ll be a new girl that I’ve never seen, and it’s just normal now.”

Exposure Skate operates year-round learn-to-skate clinics called Skate Rising for girls in North County. Levy said Joey Yarbrough, who now competes internationally, made her first drop-in through the program at 18 months old.

The organization has also raised close to $300,000 since its inception for services supporting survivors of domestic violence, with a $6,000 donation planned for the San Diego Community Resource Center.

Fred van Schie, with Etnies skate shoes, which sponsors more than 20 female skaters worldwide, said the atmosphere at women’s skateboarding events is always positive and inviting.

“The girls are rooting for each other almost more than they’re rooting for themselves,” van Schie said. “It’s just like, we’re all here to have a good time, and we all win if that happens.”

The son of Vans co-founder Paul Van Doren, Steve Van Doren, who has been with the shoe brand since 1966, said with the inclusion of skateboarding at two Olympic Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games ahead, the sport continues to expand.

“Every skate park that goes in, or every event like Exposure here, girls seem to feel like they can compete amongst themselves and get better,” Van Doren said. “And that’s helped grow the sport itself.”

Barratt, who now coaches younger skaters, said the current generation approaches skateboarding differently than her peers did — unencumbered by the pressures of a once-male dominated atmosphere.

“The new generation is not intimidated,” Barratt said. “They’re like, we’re here. We’re here to own this. And it’s super cool to watch.”