GRLSWIRL's Surfskate Fest
Written by India McCarty
A skater stands at the top of the ramp, ready to drop in and start her run. She takes a deep breath, lifts her foot — and promptly falls off her board and onto the asphalt.
And the crowd goes wild.
Welcome to GRLSWIRL's fourth annual SURFSKATE FEST, an event that celebrates surfing, skating, and above all, getting back on the board every time you fall down.
The event, created by the skating collective GRLSWIRL, offered attendees a variety of activities, from a morning paddle out in the Pacific, a skating competition open to all ages and skill levels, to a rock concert that took place under the iconic "VENICE" sign on Windward Avenue.
SURFSKATE FEST spotlights surfskating, a distinctive style that mimics surfing and was born in Venice (any Lords of Dogtown fans out there? Yeah, this is that). Competitors pumped, carved, and cutback under the watchful eyes of judges Jeff Ho (one of the founders of the now-iconic Zephyr Surf Team), Laura Thornhill-Caswell (a legendary female skater who was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2013), and Greg Falk (one of the creators of the Carver surfskate board).
While most competitions are a way for skaters to show their stuff and score a title, SURFSKATE FEST is different. When skaters fall down, the crowd cheers. When a trick doesn't go according to plan, the event's announcer gives them an atta-boy-or-girl for the attempt and encourages them to try it again before their run is over. It's moving to watch (speaking as a less-than-stellar skater myself).
It's also what GRLSWIRL — an organization that boasts they're full of the "World's Okayest Skaters" — is all about. Founded in 2018, the group was created to give girls and women a community to skate with in Venice, California. Today, there are GRLSWIRL chapters around the world, from New York City and Tampa to Okinawa and Paris.
"Our vision is to create a global network of skate chapters that serve as welcoming spaces for people of all backgrounds," a statement on GRLSWIRL's website reads. "By coming together through the shared love of skateboarding, we aim to not only bring joy and empowerment to our members, but also to make a positive impact on our communities through skateboarding and social work."
That vision was fulfilled at SURFSKATE FEST. Groms (a.k.a. young skaters) showed their stuff, carving the course up on glittery and sticker-covered boards. Older contestants tried out tricks during warm-ups, laughing when a rogue board went flying. And through it all, everyone was met with an outpouring of love and support, from encouragement yelled from the watching crowd, to the skaters high-fiving each other once a heat was finished.
For a sport that can feel intimidating at times (every skater remembers the almost-paralyzing anxiety of stepping into a skate park for the first time, completely convinced that everyone was staring), SURFSKATE FEST is a reminder that at the end of the day, skating has always been about finding a community.
SURFSKATE FEST is the skating community at its best, celebrating the joy that comes from hopping on — and falling off — a board. Who cares about a trophy?