The Donnas perform at the S3 Supergirl Jam.
Bowl Jam winner Mimi Knoop, handplant.
Watch for Lorena Lima in Tomorrow's Skateboard Street Final.
Lyn-Z Adams, Crailslide during the Bowl Jam.
S3 Supergirl Jam Day One
The Action Gets Underway on Huntington Beach
By Brooke Geery
Huntington Beach has been taken over by action sports-types of all shapes and sizes, which admittedly is nothing new. With a legendary surf break, the historic Huntington High School skatepark and major shops such as Jack's Boardshop and Huntington Surf and Sport, HB has always been somewhat of an action sports mecca. The big difference is that an inordinate number of the riders this weekend are female.
The best women skateboarders, inliners and snowboarders (yes, snowboarders) have embarked on the beach for the Super Girl Jam-a three-day shred fest that coincides with the US Open of Surfing.
The action got started for the women on Friday in the Soul Bowl, a giant structure built right in the middle of the beach. This thing is not sized down for the girls - the twelve-foot bowl required a ladder to climb out of. The twelve women competing ranged in age from 12 to 30-something and included every one from legends such as Cara-Beth Burnside to newcomers like Alysha Bergado.
Each woman was given an intro run and then it was free for all in the form of a twenty-minute jam session. This format gives the girls the chance to try some tricks they might otherwise not be able to pull off in a traditional timed run format and it paid off. Brazilian skater Karen Jonz nailed a few shuv-it combinations before stepping up to a heelflip indy. The local girl, Julie Kinstrand took a gnarly slam about halfway through the contest, but got back up to ollie over the exit ladder in just a few tries. Former young gun Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins linked together multiple invert variations, but wasn't able to stick the illusive frontside invert, which would have scored high with the judges.
Topping the podium was Mimi Knoop, who skated with the expert consistency that only comes with years of practice. Moves like boneless airs and a fast plant scored high, and coupled with her solid airs, grinds and use of the entire bowl she nabbed a high enough score to take home the top prize of $3500.
Though the bowl jam concluded early in the afternoon, the day was by no means over. In addition to the bowl, a full street course has also been built on the beach. Although the pros won't compete until tomorrow, today the set up served another purpose. Open clinics were held where some of the potential s pros of tomorrow got tips from experts. If you weren't lucky enough to make it out, be sure to check out tips from Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins on how to get started skating.
Finally national music acts the Clique Girlz and The Donna's took the stage. The all-girl bands rocked a jam packed crowd of beach goers. The action continues tomorrow with a snowboarding rail jam, vert and street skateboarding and a inline best trick competition, as well as more clinics all weekend long. If you are anywhere near Huntington Beach, be sure to check it out. If not, keep checking back for updates all weekend long.