Remember when it was a huge deal in the skateboarding community when core company Zero Skateboards signed Elissa Steamer? Today, the woman who has won the last three X Games was edged out by Zero's latest lady addition, taking second place to Marissa Del Santo, who also won this year's Rockstar Masa Pro in North Carolina, and the Etnies GvR contest last year. (I'll put some better photos in later; the one above is from her SPoT profile).


I'm still a bit bewildered by the concept of a "street" course inside a velodrome venue, but this year's skate plaza-style course is much better than last year's, and the jam format seems to be working well enough. The course references to great California skate spots are a nice touch, and Del Santos impressed me on every section of the course: a backlip on an a-frame rail like the one in Palo Alto, some nice tricks over an obstacle inspired by San Diego's chain bank, and an awesome crooked grind on a Hubba ledge inspired by the famous SF spot made it clear she was winning well before the official results were in.


Steamer was a ton of fun to watch too, hitting crooks on the a-frame rail and looking for all the world like she might be heading for four in a row at X Games before del Santo started nailing everything on the ledges. Amy Caron lead after the first zone jam session, and ended up taking the Bronze medal with tricks like a 50-50 to feeble on the Hubba. My favorite trick from the contest, after many attempts: Lacey Baker nailed a spectacular tre flip down the 4-set.


I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm a huge fan of women's skateboarding and I'm stoked to see so many ladies stepping up. I'll never understand why there are still haters, or why even guys like X Games MC Dave Duncan keep saying lame stuff like, "That's a man-sized ledge these girls are skating." Come on, people!


Today is Girl's Day at X Games, and after I check out the men's street contest, I'm going to head out to check out the women's vert contest and some of the different ladies' events going down from Element, The Alliance, Boarding for Breast Cancer, and other organizations at X Games.