X Games Shines Spotlight on Women’s Skateboarding with Return of Vert and Addition of Skateboard Street Best Trick
Yurin Fujii during Women's Skate Park Final at 2023 X Games Japan at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba, Japan. ©Brett Wilhelm/X Games
Section Z + X Games to Introduce Young Females to Skateboarding
Ventura, CA - June 14, 2023 - X Games California 2023 will celebrate women’s skateboarding in several ways during the event July 21-23, highlighted by the addition of the first-ever Women’s Skateboard Street Best Trick competition and the return of Women’s Skateboard Vert for the first time since 2010. X Games will also celebrate women’s day on Saturday, June 22.
Over the past decade, women’s skateboarding has progressed exponentially, with stars like Sky Brown, Rayssa Leal and Leticia Bufoni gaining global fame. With Skateboard Park and Street joining the Olympic roster for Tokyo 2020, more qualifying events have been added to the competition season, which has only pushed the level even higher.
Sky Brown | Photo: Trevor Brown, Jr. / X Games Rayssa Leal | Photo: Brett Wilhelm / X Games
In 2023, Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert will serve as a qualifier for the X Games California 2023 Vert competitions, with the podium finishers earning an automatic invite to Ventura. The women’s field for the June 23-24 Vert Alert includes many familiar faces like Bryce Wettstein, Arisa Trew and Grace Marhoefer who all compete in the Park discipline at X Games as well. A longtime Vert skater and proponent of women’s Vert skating, Sky Brown will also be invited to compete at X Games.
After hosting Men’s Skateboard Street Best Trick competitions since 2019, the Women’s discipline will be added for the first time in 2023. Athletes like Rayssa Leal, Olympic gold medalist Momiji Nishiya and trick master Yumeka Oda will compete in the discipline.
Since 2007, all women’s skateboarding disciplines receive the same prize purse as the men’s disciplines.
X Games and Section Z will partner to help grow the sport of skateboarding among women by providing access and exposure for a diverse group of local females at X Games California. Section Z’s mission is to expose young female athletes to live sports by reserving a dedicated section at professional sporting events. At X Games, they will bring 200 female high school students from the LA area to X Games where they will take in live competitions, participate in learn to ride sessions and interact with female athletes and executives to show them what is possible for women in sports.
X Games will celebrate Women’s Day at the event on Saturday, June 21 with female athlete autograph signings, female-only learn to ride sessions, gift bags for the first 300 women entering the event and more.
X Games California 2023 tickets are available now at XGames.com. In addition to general admission tickets, X Games offers several hospitality and experiences which include meet and greets, behind the scenes access and more.