Bold plans with region set to host Australia’s first all-female skateboarding event

Lismore will host Momentum, Australia’s first all-female skateboarding competition, with organisers hoping the event will become one of the country’s premier showcases for women in the sport.

Momentum will be held at Lismore Skatepark on July 4-5 and will bring together female skateboarders from across Australia for Street and Bowl competitions, community coaching clinics, live music, food and prizes.

The event was officially announced by Lismore mayor Steve Krieg and Mid North Coast Skate Club organiser Christopher Winn, with international competitors from countries including Indonesia and Japan also expected to take part.

Winn said Momentum aimed to celebrate women and girls in skateboarding while creating new opportunities for young athletes to pursue the sport at a higher level.

“The vision for the event is really just a celebration of women and girls in skate,” he said.

“If there’s new pathways that we can help create, or opportunities around sponsorship and travel for girls who want to go on to bigger things, then that’s what we want to build towards as the event grows.”

Momentum debuted in Byron Bay last year as Australia’s first all-female skateboarding competition, but organisers decided to move the event to Lismore to take advantage of the city’s modern skatepark and growing reputation as a major skateboarding destination.

It follows the success of Rumble on the River earlier this year, which served as an Olympic pathway event and attracted some of the country’s leading skateboarders to the region.

Winn credited Lismore City Council for supporting Momentum and said the city’s skate facilities made it an ideal host venue.

“We’re keen to make the most of the incredible infrastructure that’s been built there in terms of the skatepark and activating that,” he said.

“One of the big visions for the event would be to make it the biggest all-female skateboarding event in the southern hemisphere.”

Last year’s event attracted about 50 registrations from across Australia, with competitors travelling from every state and territory.

Momentum is supported by the NSW Government, Lismore City Council, Visit Lismore and industry partners, with registrations for competitors expected to open next week.