Welcome (back) to Wheels of Fortune | Sept. 7-13, 2022

What’s Wheels of Fortune (WoF)? For individuals who don’t know, it’s the world’s first and longest-running skateboard contest for ladies and transgender rivals, and it’s held in Seattle. That’s due to the truth that Skate Like a Lady, a pioneering group for gender fairness in skateboarding, is headquartered right here.

Kristin Ebeling — knowledgeable skateboarder and Skate Like a Lady’s government director — launched WoF after attending one too many competitions the place the ladies’s occasion was mainly an insult. Whether or not it was decrease prize purses, wildly early begin occasions or no devoted observe periods, skate competitions actually sucked for ladies. Ebeling engineered WoF as an antidote to all that, and folks flocked to it. WoF has attracted rivals from throughout the globe, from South Korea to Sweden.

After a greater than three-year hiatus, WoF is again for its eleventh installment. The pandemic erupted proper earlier than the 2020 occasion, which means WoF hasn’t been held since Could 2019. Rather a lot has modified since then.

For starters, skateboarding had its Olympic debut, placing the world’s prime girls skaters on the worldwide stage. Whereas there are Olympians attending WoF, they’re not doing it for status or the prize cash. WoF stays what it’s at all times been: a really enjoyable, very foolish cultural occasion that occurs to function a contest.

It additionally stays essentially the most trans-inclusive occasion in skateboarding, which is extra vital than ever because the tradition wars have come for skate tradition. Taylor Silverman — a middling-at-best skateboarder — not too long ago took to social media to complain after dropping to a trans girl, tagging in a rogues gallery of alt-right media figures to her trigger. It ought to come as no shock that her earlier declare to fame was calling the cops on somebody for consuming beer at her native skatepark. Leo Baker, simply essentially the most well-known transgender skater, selected to give up the ladies’s Olympic skateboarding staff as a way to come out as transmasculine. Each situations convey to mild how rigidly prescribed the gender binary is at contests, and the way tough it’s to skate in them as a trans particular person.

Actual Change caught up with Ebeling to get her ideas on what it feels prefer to be again, what’s modified and what to sit up for this 12 months.

RC: For the uninitiated, what’s Wheels of Fortune?

KE: Wheels of Fortune is a world gathering of nontraditional skaters that I began after I was 19, after I was a university pupil, as a result of I had been skating native contests as a child in Seattle, after which I’d gone out to larger contests and seen how the ladies’s division was at, like, 8 a.m. within the morning, you already know? And we didn’t have any heat up time, and there was no prize cash.

It was an afterthought?

A hundred percent an afterthought. So I used to be like, “That is dumb.” And in addition, so sterile and boring. Like, we’ll take what we’re doing with the blokes, which is that this lifeless critical competitors, and make a women’ model of it. My complete thought was to make it humorous and enjoyable and really “for us by us.” Foolish jokes. Extra concerning the group.

That has at all times been one of the fascinating issues concerning the girls’s skate group: They’ve extra enjoyable.

Arguably.

It’s extra like skateboarding was when it was punk as fuck. Very DIY, no help, no sponsors. You began WoF with just about no sponsorship, proper?

Oh my god, we had been fortunate to get a field of sneakers. I keep in mind one 12 months, Vans despatched us — keep in mind after they did the Iron Maiden collabs? — they despatched us a dimension 9. And we had been stoked. Like, “Sure, we bought a pair of sneakers!” One time, this power drink factor gave us $200, and that was our prize purse. It was fairly humorous.

It’s been 11 years because you began it. Rather a lot has occurred, however simply when it comes to the funds, what are you working with lately? You may have a number of fairly notable sponsors now.

Undoubtedly. Nike SB is certainly one of our largest sponsors of Skate Like a Lady as a company, normally, however WoF is likely one of the largest issues we work with them on. Soundboks, which is a speaker firm from Europe, has been sponsoring occasions. Tech Deck truly sponsored WoF this 12 months, supporting our fingerboarding occasion.

Okay, okay, we have to take a pause right here so that you can clarify what Tech Decks are to our readership.

[Laughing] Okay, um, nicely fingerboarding is mainly skateboarding however on a miniature skateboard using your first finger and your center finger. Principally doing all the identical tips on a skateboard however on a miniature model. A buddy of mine is making a precise duplicate of [All Together Skatepark] the place the skateboard competitors of Wheels of Fortune is. It’s gonna be a hoot and a half, for certain.

The primary 12 months it was simply the competition itself, proper? You’ve added stuff round that to the purpose the place it’s 4 full days of programming. Are you able to stroll me by a few of that?

It undoubtedly began as only a competitors. Simply sooner or later. We’ve had all the pieces from bands taking part in to reside portray, like an artist portray a mural through the occasion. DJs. Every kind of stuff. But it surely form of developed into a complete weekend in all probability [at] WoF 7, as a result of that was an X Video games qualifier. The X Video games is a skateboard competitors that ESPN hosts, they usually didn’t have a girls’s qualifying collection or a feeder program. So we bought to be the qualifier one 12 months, which was actually cool.

And also you had been the one recreation on the town?

Precisely. I used to be like, “How else are you going to determine who’s going?” It’s fascinating as a result of Mariah Duran gained that 12 months. Jenn Soto was there. Aori Nishimura. All these women which have gained medals in Road League and X Video games and all types of shit. It was actually cool that they got here out after they had been little skate infants and bought seen at Wheels of Fortune. Anyway, that 12 months we knew we had been having all these women come as a result of it was the qualifier, so me and my buddies had been like, “Shit, what are we going to do? Everybody’s going to get right here on Saturday.”

And that’s how the Witch Hunt was born?

We initially referred to as it “Queen of the Highway,” modeled after Thrasher [Magazine’s] “King of the Highway.” However we ended up altering it the next 12 months to “Witch Hunt” in order that we had our personal title, as a result of we didn’t wish to simply chunk what Thrasher did fully. The purpose is that everybody goes round and exploring Seattle and finishing random challenges. A few of them are tremendous foolish like “crush a watermelon between your thighs” or “knee slide down the aisle of a grocery retailer and have your buddy leapfrog over you.” Others contain lots of strangers, so one is like, “get a person in flip-flops to skate” or “get a vaper to say your Witch Hunt staff title whereas vaping.” However then different ones are skateboard trick challenges like “do a sweeper holding a brush” or “do a kickflip holding fingers along with your teammates.” It’s nearly exploring town, having enjoyable and skating.

And the opposite applications grew from that?

Over time, we began simply including stuff on as a result of buddies of ours would say, “Hey I’ve this skate video, can I premiere it?” or, “Hey I’m a photograph main, can it’s my closing undertaking to point out pictures at thirty fifth [North skateshop]?” Final 12 months, my buddy Kerry does karaoke, and he was like, “Hey I might like to host a karaoke evening.” I used to be like, “Hell yeah!” We’ve form of simply been tacking stuff on, and, this 12 months, we now have 4 days.

It’s rather a lot!

Yeah. We’re doing a 3-on-3 basketball match, skate session, video premieres, academic workshops, a panel collection, allyship coaching, networking after which we’re doing a welcome get together with skate ramps and reside bands — a No Doubt cowl band, truly, referred to as Hella Doubt. So, that’s going to be enjoyable. That’s comprised of all volunteers and employees from our Bay Space chapter of Skate Like a Lady. The video premiere on Friday evening has a brilliant particular announcement — you don’t wish to miss it. Saturday is Witch Hunt after which the queer and trans skate jam at evening and karaoke [at 35th North]. Sunday is the competition.

It sounds prefer it’s going to be enjoyable.

We’ve bought a full curriculum. This 12 months’s theme is definitely “highschool reunion,” so that you’ll form of see that woven by all the pieces.

It’s form of a reunion, proper? It’s the primary one because the pandemic.

Three years and 4 months. It’s a bit of bit nerve wracking bringing one thing again [after the pandemic].

Nicely lots of it’s outdoor and all people is required to supply proof of vaccination or a damaging take a look at for indoor occasions.

Completely. It’s so arduous now, just about everyone seems to be getting it. I simply hope everyone seems to be secure. I hope all people doesn’t come in the event that they’re sick.

Who all’s coming this 12 months?

Shanae Collins is coming from Australia. Sweet Jacobs, who’s an Olympian. That’s actually particular that she’s coming. Tons of skaters from Canada are coming. This 12 months, we had been truly capable of do scholarships. Principally, each single sponsor that sponsored the occasion, we requested them for more cash to go in the direction of scholarships. I’m actually stoked on the people who find themselves popping out due to scholarships. One particular person is that this Indigenous girl who carves and does sick artwork on skateboards. Her title’s Di’Orr Greenwood, and he or she’s been killing it and skating a ton. This different girl utilized for a scholarship and mentioned, “I’ve by no means skated with one other Black girl earlier than.” We had been like, “You need to come to WoF!”

You’ll skate with loads!

Precisely. There’s this different particular person from North Dakota that’s beginning to host periods for ladies and trans folks and queer skaters out the place she lives, however she hasn’t been part of a giant occasion like this. It’s not solely the worldwide folks coming, the superstars, the large skaters. There are all these up-and-coming stars which are in Road League and all that who’re coming, like Poe Pinson and all that. Victoria Ruesga and Maite [Steenhoudt] and all these massive names in skating. Nora [Vasconcellos], Nicole [Hause] … Fabi [Delfino], Breezy [Breana Geering], all these. To me, what I get most stoked on is folks coming as a result of they lose their minds. They’ve by no means skated with one other Black girl earlier than or by no means met one other queer skater earlier than. They construct group and make buddies, and I see them come again the following 12 months or I see the cool shit that they do all year long due to these connections. It’s been arduous not having that the final three years. I’m stoked to have that once more.

It’s not the identical watching your folks on Instagram?

It’s actually not. We want that human connection, as a result of lots of the shit we do in skateboarding is thankless. Like, you’re not going to make any cash, you already know what I imply? You’re going to finish up with damaged bones. It’s fucking arduous. Coming collectively and simply having enjoyable and it not being a critical atmosphere and simply being about group, that’s what the world wants proper now. The world is fucked and that’s what we now have. All we now have is us.

WoF runs Sep. 8–11. All occasions are free, however registration is required. For a calendar of occasions and registration data, go to skatelikeagirl.com/wof.

Learn extra of the Sept. 7-13, 2022 issue.