Imagine going to a skatepark and seeing 80 kids compete against each other in skateboarding as a team sport, with moms and fans who drive them there in minivans, and a squad of cheerleaders rooting them on.
The scene would have been an absolute anomaly about a decade ago, but all has changed with the Orange County Skateboarding League (OCSL).
Costa Mesa High School Cheerleaders at an OC Skateboarding League competition.Now a year old, the OCSL is a non-profit organization that was founded by Katrina Foley to give kids in local middle and high schools access to non-traditional sports, and a chance to compete against each other in skateboarding, as they would in a sport like basketball, football or baseball.
Foley is a former Costa Mesa City Councilwoman, a current member of the Newport Mesa Unified School District Board of Education, and a mom of a skateboarder and snowboarder.
There are about 80 kids who compete at a time and almost 300 people who show up to skate parks to watch the events live. There are snack bars at the events, and several schools come with their own cheerleading squads.
While some members of the core audience may cringe at the thought of pom poms and minivans flooding skateparks, OC Skate League Director at Large Jim Gray says, “I haven’t seen one 16 year-old complain about the cheerleaders yet.”
Sandro Viola.
He also said there’s a whole new generation of skaters coming in and growing the sport, and that they are much more open minded to competition and having fun, and less concerned with filming themselves skating the same rail or curb over and over.
For the skate industry as a whole, the timing is appropriate. According to a study by Board-Trac, skateboarding participation and sales have tracked the down economy and falling demographics in the key ages for skateboarding. In 2008, there were about 10.2 million skaters and in 2010, that number fell to about 8 million.
Since their inception in March of 2010, several skate brands have become involved in the OCSL. We talked to President and Founder Katrina Foley about the league, what brands and schools are involved, how they are doing, where they are expanding and what this means for skateboarders and the industry.
Why and when did you start the OCSL?
I formed the league in March 2010. We started with only four schools and now have 20 this season (10 middle and 10 high schools). We are scheduled to add a minimum of 10 more Orange County school teams next season, as well as a San Diego region with an additional 10 teams. We’re looking at doubling by next season.
See Page 2 for more about Orange County Skateboarding League
What’s your background?
I am a lawyer and part of my firm represents nonprofits that are youth sport oriented so I also represent Pop Warner and more. I have an intern who works 99% of her time percent on Skate League.
Winners, coaches and volunteers on the awards podium after an event. Costa Mesa High School came in 1st, Northwood High School in Irvine 2nd, and San Clemente High School 3rd.
One of my goals was to open up opportunities for young people. We all know there can only be so many pros in skateboarding and a lot of kids put things off to become pro so I wanted to create opportunities for kids who wanted to be part of the industry but maybe they are not going be the next Tony Hawk, Paul Rodriguez or Chris Cole. So we are also trying to expose kids to all the other opportunities beyond being a pro such as videography, design, manufacturing as well as other business skills through our fundraising programs. We are even helping some of them maintain higher grades.
The goal is to provide a place not only where kids can skate and be part of the team, but they get exposed to some career opportunities as well.
Can kids get P.E. credit for participating?
We are working with the Newport Mesa Unified School District to pilot a P.E. credit program for participation on the team. I’m hoping it will come together by January 2012 when the new season starts.
So, is it an official sport?
What’s the format?
There are two 45-second runs for the street course and we take the best score of two runs. Then there’s a finals where we take the top ten from the other heats and then pick the top three from that for the final. For the bowl contest, we also have three 45-second runs.
Each team can send five riders per contest, or up to seven if two of the bowl riders don’t skate street. There’s a seeding from one to five, one being the most amateur, five being the highest skill level. All the ones compete against each other, all the twos compete against each other and so on. So kids compete against their own level, and we have seen kids go from being a one to a three or four this season.
What skate brands are involved?
We are fortunate to have had support from the beginning from Volcom. They provide all the team shirts, let us practice in their private indoor skatepark, provide swag for raffle fundraisers, and we have a few of their executives advising our board of directors. CFO Doug Collier, Team Manager Remy Stratton, and Art Director Marty Jimenez have been solidly behind the OCSL formation and growth. Our Head Coach is Mike Ogas. He skated pro as a youngster and now runs the OC Skateboarding School out of the Volcom Indoor Warehouse.
We also have support from Tony Hawk Foundation (helmets and pads), Megaramp (decks), Woodward West (skate camp scholarships for two riders this summer), Etnies (shoes for coaches and swag for raffle fundraisers), InkAgenda (Jim Gray’s Sticker company– Jim is on our board and makes all of our OCSL stickers), Maloof Money Cup (will host our finals next year once a HB venue is built), continuous apparel, Blitz, and others like Wells Fargo, The Foley Group, Costa Mesa Community Athletic Foundation, K&B Electric, City of Costa Mesa (private use of skatepark for our Friday Night Lights skate contests with snack bar), and many more locals.
How is the league funded?
One of two girls involved in the league.
We have asked each team to raise $500 for coaches’ fees per season and the rest is all fundraising. Wells Fargo, other than my law firm, has been the largest donor. But most of the money comes from individuals. The skate industry has contributed products and access. We use the product they give us for raffles during every contest and that helps us raise money to continue the program.
Continuous Apparel, a newer skate brand has contributed cash as well. Volcom donated shirts. All the teams have shirts that are their school colors and we have 150 riders total as well as volunteers and coaches.
Blitz hosted a skate night for two of the teams at its warehouse. We hosted a contest among the teams on who could get the most Facebook fans and the two winning teams got to go to the Blitz skate night where they skated the ramps, listened to music, had a photo shoot and ate free food.
How has the league been going so far?
The OCSL is growing fast. When I first started it, I just wanted to get a skate team going at Costa Mesa High School so when my 13 year-old son arrived there, he would have a team after snowboarding season ended. With 20 teams this season and 20 more online, we are all amazed at how quickly word travels and how much our schools needed this team sport for skaters.
Did the fact that you were once involved in the City Council and are involved with the School Board of Newport Mesa help make things easier with setting up the league?
It probably helped that I have good relationships with our recreation and city management staff. I think this season proved that the OCSL is a responsible youth sport group serving a need in the community.
What’s next for the OCSL?
I look forward to growing the Orange County teams, expanding to San Diego, and then moving East and North to expand throughout California. I also hope we can get more girls involved. Right now we have two and hopefully next year we can have at least ten.
Do you see this as something that could go national?
That’s a long ways off, but I think that would be fantastic. I think it’d be great if it were normal to have skate teams across America.
