Get Ready!

There are only TWO more stops for the top 44 skaters in the world before the Olympic teams are selected. Currently there are six USA Women in the mix for Park, and four USA women in the mix for street.

May 16-19 is when the first (of two) Paris Olympic Qualifier Series event takes place in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, from 16-19 May.

After Shanghai, the Budapest event will take place from June 20-24

How many skateboarders from each country get to go to Paris?

Each of the four events—Men’s Park, Women’s Park, Men’s Street, and Women’s Street—will feature 22 athletes in Paris, for a total of 88 skateboarding athletes overall.

On 24 June 2024, the skateboarders ranked in the top spots in these rankings will obtain quota spots for Paris 2024. A maximum of three athletes from each National Olympic Committee (NOC) may qualify for each event: So each Olympic team could feature, at most, three men and three women each in street and park, for a total possible squad of 12 skateboarders. Each continent is allotted at least one athlete.

As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective teams at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at Paris 2024 depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation.

The points on offer at OQS - a two-part qualifying series - will be worth much more than what was previously offered in phase one meaning no one in their current ranking is safe.

Skaters will have their points from part one, with their points from Shanghai and Budapest (the second stop for OQS) combined to form an official ranking from which the final field for Paris 2024 will be decided.

Here’s when to watch the Olympic Qualifier Series Shanghai

You can watch all the action from OQS in Shanghai live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app for mobile devices.

Olympic Qualifier Series Shanghai:

• 16 May: Women’s Park Preliminary Round

• 17 May: Women’s Street Preliminary Round

• 18 May: Semifinals for all events

• 19 May: Finals for all events

Women (Park)

)Hiraki Kokona (JPN)

Kusaki Hinano (JPN)

Sky Brown (GBR)T

Naia Laso (ESP)

Yosozumi Sakura (JPN)

Minna Stess (USA)

Raicca Ventura (BRA)

Ruby Trew (AUS)

Bryce Wettstein (USA)

Lilly Stoephasius (GER)

Arisa Trew (AUS)

Ruby Lilley (USA)

Lola Tambling (GBR)

Dora Varella (BRA)

Grace Marhoefer (USA)

Yndiara Asp (BRA)

Hasegawa Mizuho (JPN)

Jordyn Barratt (USA)

Lillian Erickson (USA)

Isadora Pacheco (BRA)

Sugawara Mei (JPN)

Cho Hyunju (KOR)

Nakamura Kisa (JPN)

Emilie Alexandre (FRA)

Heili Sirvio (FIN)

Fay Ebert (CAN)

Julia Benedetti (ESP)

Poppy Starr (AUS)

Charlotte Heath (AUS

)Nana Taboulet (FRA)

Gadea Moja (ESP)

Lilly Strachan (GBR)

Aaliyah Wilson (AUS)

Coco Crafter (AUS)

Li Yujuan (CHN)

Hedda Hjertberg (SWE)

Zheng Haohao (CHN)

)Victoria Bassi (BRA)

Lucrezia Zarattini (ITA)

Madeleine Larcheron (FRA)

Fernanda Tonissi (BRA)

)Ceci Rendueles (ESP)

Alisa Fessi (AUT)

Aya Asaqas (MAR)

Women (Street)

Nishiya Momiji (JPN)

)Rayssa Leal (BRA)

Oda Yumeka (JPN)

Chloe Covell (AUS)

Akama Liz (JPN)

)Nakayama Funa (JPN)

Yoshizawa Coco (JPN)

Pamela Rosa (BRA)

IIto Miyu (JPN)

Paige Heyn (USA)

Gabi Mazetto (BRA)

Roos Zwetsloot (NED)

Cui Chenxi (CHN)

Daniela Terol (ESP)

Liv Lovelace (AUS)

Keet Oldenbeuving (NED)

Haylie Powell (AUS)

Zeng Wenhui (CHN)

Natalia Munoz (ESP)

Mariah Duran (USA)

Lucie Schoonheere (FRA)

Lore Bruggeman (BEL)

Jazmin Alvarez (COL)

Poe Pinson (USA)

Candy Jacobs (NED)

Charlotte Hym (FRA)

Felicity Turner (AUS)

Ha Siye (KOR)

Kemily Suiara (BRA)

Zhang Yan (CHN)

Zhu Yuanling (CHN)

Isabelly Avila (BRA)

Jessica Ready (NZL)

Afrika Criado Oliva (ESP)

Aldana Bertran (ARG)

Jeromine Lourvet (FRA)

Samantha Secours (CAN)

Vareeraya Sukasem (THA)

Lan Junyi (CHN)

Ailin Arzua (ARG)

Meagan Guy (USA)

Marina Gabriela (BRA)

Weronika Choromanska (POL)

Boipelo Awuah (RSA)

All images via Nike

Nike SB has partnered with Converse CONS team rider Alexis Sablone to design skateboarding federation kits for the United States and Japan, as well as a unique kit that represents everyone who rolls.

The collection also includes two limited-edition skateboarding footwear styles: a fresh take on Alexis’ signature Converse CONS AS-1 Pro and a complementary Nike SB Dunk Low.

Anything but uniform, the 2024 federation kits are the creative collision of skateboarding’s style, influence and inclusivity — fostering freedom of expression and personality to lead, on and off the board.

All images via Nike

“It never crossed my mind that I’d get to design federation kits. Then again, there was a point when I didn’t even think skate would be an Olympic sport,” says Alexis. “When I got the call to design the kits, I had a gut instinct that told me, ‘Of course. I’m a designer and a skater, and I competed in the Olympics. Why not? Who gets a chance to do that?’”

Merging classic workwear pieces, the collections reimagine traditional sportswear with skateboarding insights, allowing athletes to choose from a deep range of options and aesthetics to best represent their personal style.

Drawing on Alexis’ design acumen and decades ingrained in skateboarding culture, the collections feature three key pieces tied to the greater story of sport and skateboarding: a bowler shirt, Parisian-inspired chore coat and relaxed-fit denim pant.

“I knew I had to create enough of a range where there’s a style for everyone, whether that was something louder and more graphic-heavy or something more subtle and subdued but still with some character,” says Alexis.

The architect, multidisciplinary creator and former Olympian designed distinct crests for the USA and Japanese kits by combining the countries’ iconography, colors and skateboarding spirit with her signature postmodern style.

All images via Nike

The USA crest, for example, harks back to skateboarding’s genesis on the sun-soaked streets of California by celebrating the freeform experimentation and improvisation that continue shaping the sport’s culture today. Alexis juxtaposes timeless American symbols — a rose, an eagle, red and white stripes — with playful characters that evoke the synergy between skateboarding’s impulse-driven energy and its expressive, jazz-like flow.

“Sometimes when you begin a design, coming up with a narrative is helpful,” says Alexis. “For example, I thought about skateboarding’s roots in the United States. What’s that story? The crest is a simple way through graphic elements to express pride in a place.”

All images via Nike

Alexis also blends skateboarding and culture in another crest designed for athletes across the globe. The design features a pair of chameleons connected by a wavy illustration of Earth and centered with four unique species of orchids — one of the most diverse and unpredictable plants on the planet.

A balance of boundless originality and colorful diversity, the crest represents the transcendence of skateboarding and the creative connectivity that binds skateboarders around the world. Alexis chose the color-changing lizard, she says, “for the simple reason that skateboarders can look any number of ways.”

She incorporated similar themes throughout the footwear collection, manifesting chameleons and their vibrant, unpredictable color patterns in both footwear styles.

The Converse CONS AS-1 Pro and iconic Nike SB Dunk Low are bound by bumpy, reptilian textures and color-changing, wear-away leather, as well as chameleon camo liners. In a touch distinct to the federation collection, the Swoosh on the Dunk Low is also fashioned to resemble a chameleon’s characteristic curving tongue.

The Nike SB 2024 federation kits and apparel collection will be available July 18 at select skate shops. The Converse CONS AS-1 Pro and Nike SB Dunk Low will be sold in an exclusive twin pack featuring both silhouettes Aug ust 22. Both styles will also go on sale individually August 29 through SNKRS, on converse.com and in select skate shops.

Details about the Japanese skateboarding federation kit will be available in the coming months.

So much talent and all the women pushing hard for that podium finish in women’s street. Watch until the end - because things take a huge twist!

Watch the eight women who made the Women’s Park Finals in Dubai - this event was something to see!

We are not going to give you the podium info - you’ll have to watch and see for yourself!!

Image Via World Skate

We were up at 3:30 AM PT today to watch the women’s semi-finals and these ladies did not disappoint. Some seriously rad skating went down. We can only imagine what they will bring for tomorrows finals!

Sunday, March 3rd Women’s Park Finals Finals

9AM ET / 6AM PT

You can watch it all go down on World Skate TV, Olympic Channel, Red Bull TV

Image via World Skate

Image via World Skate

Three American women made it through to the semi -finals - veteran skaters, Minna Stess, Jordyn Barratt and Bryce Wettstein. Japan is pushing hard, Spain is in the mix as well, France and Brazil have one skater each, Australia has Ruby Trew, Arisa Trew and and Coco Crafter, and Lola Tambling makes up the lone spot for GB (since Sky Brown is not competing due to pursuing her qualification in Puerto Rico for surfing in the Olympics) - this is a semi-final that we have not seen in the past! I know that we will be on the edge of our seats for this one!

Women’s Park Semi-Finals:

Saturday, MARCH 2nd

6:20AM ET

3:20AM PT - you’ll be getting up early for this one!!

You can watch it all go down on World Skate TV, Olympic Channel, Red Bull TV

Image via World Skate SB

Welcome to Dubai!

The upcoming Park Pro Tour Stop will be from February 25th to March. 3rd. Right after that will be the Street Pro Tour Stop from March 3 through March 10th . Both of these competitions will take place at the brand new skatepark located in the area of Dubai Harbor.

Over 500 skateboarders are expected to be in Dubai to compete at this event and the pressure is on. This event determines who will move on to eventually qualify for the Paris Olympics this summer.

How to watch WST Dubai Park 2024 live on Olympics.com

Livestream coverage of WST Dubai Park 2024 will be available to watch worldwide on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and will begin with the semi-finals on Saturday 2 March and include the finals on Sunday 3 March.

Rankings and Schedule Info below via Olympics.com

The event will be the last chance for skaters to accrue points towards their Olympic World Skate Ranking (OWSR) before a cut is made - using those rankings - ahead of the second phase of qualification, the Olympic Qualifying Series (OQS).

The OQS is a two-part competition series taking place in Shanghai (16-19 May) and Budapest (20-23 June) and will be the settings to determine the final fields for Paris 2024.

The 44 highest-placed eligible athletes per gender in the OWSR after Dubai will be invited to the OQS respecting the following principles:

• No more than six athletes per country per gender per event (respecting the order of the OWSR)

• At least one highest-placed athlete from each continent for the representation of all continents

• At least one highest-placed athlete who is a national of the Olympic Games 2024 host country France

• At least one highest-placed eligible athlete who is a national of the OQS host country, (People’s Republic of China and Hungary)

• At least one Universality places eligible athletes

The stakes, therefore, going into Dubai are high with spots in the next stage of qualification on the line.

USA’s Minna Stess is pre-seeded and ranked #1 in the USA - Image via World Skate SB

WOMEN’S - PRE-SEEDED SKATERS:

The top five seeded skaters in the OWSR will skip the qualifiers and join the contest in the quarter-final phase.

1. Hiraki Cocona (JPN)

2. Kusaki Hinano (JPN)

3. Sky Brown (GBR) - not competing

4. Raicca Ventura (BRA)

5. Minna Stess (USA)

WOMEN’S SCHEDULE

Sunday 25 February

• Women’s practice

Monday 26 February

• Women’s practice

Tuesday 27 February

• Women’s practice

• Pre-seeded women’s practice

Wednesday 28th February

• Women’s Open QualifierPre-seeded women’s practice

Thursday 29th February

• Pre-seeded women’s practice

Friday 1 March

• Women’s Quarter-final practices

• Women’s Quarter-final

Saturday 2 March

• Women’s Semi-final practices

• Women’s Semi-final - LIVE!!!

Sunday 3 March

• Women’s Final practice

• Women’s Final. - LIVE!!!

Image by @ChristinekNg

The Newport Beach Film Festival Presents the World Premiere of THIS IS BRIGHTON

 A coming-of-age sports documentary about Brighton Zeuner, one of the best female contest skateboarders of her generation

Brighton Zeuner / Premiere of THIS IS BRIGHTON ~ Photo Girl is NOT a 4 Letter Word

We caught the World Premiere of THIS IS BRIGHTON on Saturday at The Newport Film Festival and we have to say, you need to see this documentary. We were around during the six-year time frame that the doc was being filmed so we thought going in we knew a lot, but there was so much else happening privately and this film sheds light on a lot of that. Being a pro skateboarder at a young age and having so much pressure on you as you head into the Olympics takes it toll. Brighton’s documentary is full of positive moments, but also a serves as cautionary tale for those on the outside looking in, as skateboarding heads to its second Olympics.

Featuring:
✨Brighton Zeuner @brightonzeuner
✨Bryce Wettstein @brycewettstein
✨Poppy Starr Olsen @poppystarr
✨Jack Zeuner @jacksonzeuner
✨Chris Gregson @tweestopher

THIS IS BRIGHTON is a coming-of-age sports 93-minute documentary about Brighton Zeuner, one of her generation's best female contest skateboarders. As skateboarding becomes an Olympic sport, this character-driven film reveals the anxiety and pressures of competition, the effects of social media, and how a global pandemic upended the promise of a young skater destined to be the best. Nearly six years in the making, by an all-female film team, the documentary features Newport local teen Brighton Zeuner as she figures out who she is and what skateboarding means to her. On Saturday, October 14, THIS IS BRIGHTON will make its world premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

"For six years, this amazing team of women have been documenting the skateboarding journey of my youth," said Zeuner. "I am so excited this film will be presented in my hometown at the Newport Film Festival in Newport Beach. Hope to see you there!"

When/ Where:  Wed, Oct 18th, 5:30 PM @ Big Newport 4

Tickets: Purchase tickets for Wednesday’s Show HERE

About the Filmmakers

Director, Beth Aala

Beth Aala is an award-winning Filipina-American documentary filmmaker with her hand in all aspects of production. In addition to directing and producing, she shoots and edits. She has won three Emmy awards and a Peabody Award for her documentary work at HBO. Beth recently directed and produced the feature documentary Made in Boise. The film premiered at AFI Docs in June 2019 and was the season opener for PBS's 2019-2020 award-winning Independent Lens series. It was honored as a 2020 News and Documentary nominee. Other film credits include Rancher Farmer, Fisherman, which she co-directed and produced and premiered at Sundance in 2017, and Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (A&E IndieFilms), which she directed and produced with comedian Mike Myers and Academy award-winning producer Caroline Waterlow. Supermensch is an intimate and entertaining portrait of talent manager Shep Gordon, the most famous man you've ever heard of. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013 and was nominated for the 2015 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, and won the 2014 Hollywood Film Award for Best Documentary. Beth has been supported by the International Documentary Association, Chicken & Egg, and ITVS and is an honored recipient of the NYSCA Artist Grant, a proud member of ADOC, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Filipinx Filmmakers, and is a Wyncote Fellow. Her work has been featured on HBO, PBS, A&E, Discovery, and MTV.

Producer, Caroline Waterlow

Caroline Waterlow is an award-winning documentary film producer based in New York City. Waterlow produced O.J.: Made in America, an ESPN Films documentary directed by Ezra Edelman and winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 89th Academy Awards. Most recently, she produced QUALIFIED, an ESPN Films 30 for 30 documentaries about race car driver Janet Guthrie, the first woman to qualify for the Indy 500. Feature documentaries include Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, directed by Beth Aala and Mike Myers, which premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, and the Academy Award-nominated documentary Cutie and the Boxer, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. In 2013, she was the senior producer of content for MAKERS.com. From 2006-2012 & she contributed to multiple award-winning HBO documentaries, including Brooklyn Dodgers: The Ghosts of Flatbush and TEDDY: In His Own Words.-30-

Minna Stess ~ Photo Ian Logan

It’s been a minute after Nationals and we have all been waiting eagerly for the USA Skateboarding team announcement and here it is!

**We are proud to say the list includes GN4LW team rider Minna Stess!!!

All info via USA Skateboarding

The U.S. governing body for skateboarding - announced that 16 members would join the 2023 National Skateboarding team. Skaters named to the national team were based off selection criteria listed on the athlete resources page at usaskateboarding.com. 
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The skaters named to the 2023 USA Skateboarding National Team in no particular order:

Men’s Park:
@tatecarew
@jaggereaton
@gavinbottger
@liampace_
-
Women’s Park
@brycewettstein
@ruby_lilley
@minnastess
@gracemarhoefer
-
Men’s Street
@jaggereaton
@nyjah
@chrisjoslin_
@bradenhoban
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Women’s Street
@paigeheyn
@_meaganguy
@mariahduran_
@poepinson
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@toyotausa @teamtoyota #usaskateboarding #olympicskateboarding #teamtoyota #toyota

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A post shared by MIMI KNOOP (@mimiknoop)

A little over an hour ago. USA Skateboarding’s High-Performance Coach, Mimi Knoop, posted her resignation from Team USA on Instagram. She included board members Micaela Ramirez and Oscar Loreto Jr. in the post as well (each has posted their own resignation info on their respective Instagram pages)

No official reason was given for the exits, but with everything we have seen going on lately in the news regarding USA Skateboarding, we can bet there are more shakeups coming.

As has been reported, Don Bostwick is now the new chair at USA Skateboarding, so we expect to see a lot of positive changes in the very near future!

Stay tuned.

Team USA 2020 Olympics - Photo Ian Logan

In case you haven’t been following the whirlwind the past few days, USA Skateboarding was audited by the USOPC and found deficient in 28 areas out of 48. That is not good news for USA Skateboarding and the prosperity of these amazing athletes. Let’s be clear, this report has nothing to do with the athletes doing anything wrong, these issues are all about the organizational team.

It has now been made official that the USA Chair of Skateboarding, Gary Ream, has officially resigned from USA Skateboarding.

For more in-depth info, we encourage you to head over to Inside the Games.

This is an ongoing story, and we will update you as it comes in.