40 years ago, in 1972, female athletes came together to celebrate the enactment of Title IX which prohibits gender discrimination in any educational program or activity that receives federal financial aid. This evened the playing field and allowed girls all over the country the right to play. Nike, Gatorade the Women’s Sports Foundation and a multitude of other companies have supported this movement for many years and continue to put out incredible campaigns that urge young women to get out and play.

For me, sport has had a profound impact on my life. So much so that I don’t know what I would be doing if I had of dropped out when I was young. I grew up playing every sport I could get involved in, it was how I built confidence in myself and where I really learned who I was as a person. I have young cousins who are passionate about sport as well and I want them to stay in the game so their future’s are brighter. Sport has the ability to teach much more than just physicality and it instilled something in me that I’ve never found anywhere else. So it’s disheartening for me to learn that by the time girls are 14 they are dropping out of sport at 2x the rate that boys do. Gatorade is hoping to help change that with their campaign titled “Keep Her in The Game” while Nike has released their “Make The Rules” campaign surrounding the 40th Anniversary of Title IX. Watch both below and get inspired by all the incredible women who have changed the game and changed history so that people like me can make a living doing the sport they love. If you’re passionate about sport and keeping future generations involved, please take a moment to spread the word and donate.

Please visit the Women’s Sports Foundation for more info and check out the videos below. Inspiring stuff, I bet my work out is going to be extra good today

Talk soon,

S.

“If you let me play, I’ll learn what it is to be strong.” Such a powerful campagin from almost 20 years ago. Thanks for leading the charge for women in sports Nike, amazing stuff.

“There comes a point where you have to be sure of yourself, people aren’t used to women being so passionate.” Another awesome spot from Nike. These women made their own rules and in turn changed their sports and the way women were perceived. Thanks for being brave and paving the way ladies.

Women’s Sports Foundation released this PSA in honour of Title IX’s 40th Anniversary and as part of Gatorade’s Keep Her in The Game Campaign.

At the start of May, when my season winded down I headed to LA for a bit of down time and a few days of work. I met up with Cilka Sadar and Aimee Fuller in Hollywood and we spent a few days doing girl stuff: shopping, tanning, nails, eating, etc. It was nice to take a break and get a little bit of vitamin D after a long winter. After a few days we said goodbye to Aimee and headed down to Venice to meet up with the TTR crew for the TTR Annual General Assembly. Cilka, Seppe Smits and myself sat in on the annual meetings with the heads of TTR, Dew Tour and X Games as well as agents, team managers, event organizers, editors and brand managers to discuss the future of competitive snowboarding. It was amazing to be involved in a conversation with so many influential people from all aspects of snowboarding and really interesting to hear and see how much goes on behind the scenes. We talked for hours and went over everything from television network rights to course design. No concrete decisions were made, but from what we discussed, if everyone works together it could lead to a brighter future for competition snowboarding and everyone involved. I hope to see some of things we spoke about come into fruition as early as next season.

Now, no snowboarding event, whither competition or industry is complete without a party so that night we all headed to the Royal T Cafe in Culver City for the unveiling of next years TTR Trophey. Marta Zarina-Gelze form Latvia came out on top with her design titled “Scream of Victory”. Pretty cool trophy to put up on your mantle, so all the winners next season will be stoked I’m sure. After the winners were announced Warren G played some dope 90′s classics and we all did what most of us know how to do best…

Fun times in Lalaland. Thanks to TTR for having me and to Cilka for shopping and tanning with me.

Talk soon,

S.