December 4, 2008

Surfing: “Do women belong in the kitchen or the barrel?” Jessi Miley-Dyer writes in Surfline. It’s a question she asked herself on a recent girly girl surfari in Mirconesia. The Aussie ripper teams up with fierce friends Stephanie Gilmore, Karina Petroni, mom-to-be Chelsea Georges, Nicola Atherton and Leilana Gryde to explore the tropical paradise, get some sick shots and shoot down old-school cliches… (kind of an old link but have been meaning to post it for a while)

Skiing: The Women’s World Cup hits Lake Louise this weekend and defending World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn posted the fastest time in Wednesday’s first training run for the opening women’s downhill race of the season. The downhill races at Lake Louise are scheduled for Friday and Saturday and the season’s first World Cup super-giant slalom is set for Sunday. Last season, Vonn became the first American in 25 years to win the overall World Cup title and the first in more than a decade to win the downhill.

If you’re a soccer fan, you’ll want to take part in the on-line voting for U.S. Soccer’s “Best of” awards honoring standout performances on and off the field during the year.

Female Athlete of the Year: With the finalists announced for the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year Awards,  fans collectively decide 50 percent of the final vote, with media and U.S. Soccer officials getting the other 50 percent of the vote.

Nominees:
Shannon Boxx - Midfielder
Lori Chalupny - Midfielder
Angela Hucles - Midfielder/Forward
Carli Lloyd - Midfielder
Christie Rampone - Defender
Hope Solo - Keeper
Vote

Best Goal - WNT: Best thing in soccer? Goals, goals, goals. This award crowns the top strike by a U.S. Women’s National Team player during 2008.

Nominees:
Carli Lloyd vs. BRA - Aug. 21
Carli Lloyd vs. JPN - Aug. 9
Lori Chalupny vs. JPN - Aug. 18
Amy Rodriguez vs. BRA - July 13
Kate Markgraf vs. IRL - Sept. 20
Heather O’Reilly vs. NZL - Aug. 12
Angela Hucles vs. AUS - May 3
Becky Edwards vs. CUB - June 20
Vote

In all, the “Best of” series has handed out 54 awards out to soccer players, bars, stores and even fans in the United States over the past five years check out the list of winner’s here.

Fans can vote once a day until Dec. 8th.

September 4, 2008

 A nationally televised special airing on MyNetwork TV on September 26th from 8:00-10:00pm (EST) will kick off the two-month 37-city trek across the United States featuring world class gymnastics and music from Disney’s hottest young recording artists.

All around women’s gymnastic gold medalist Nastia Liukin was among the first gymnasts to arrive in Reno this week for the launch of the 2008 tour.

Liukin and the other Olympic athletes were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd at the Reno Tahoe International Airport. They took time to sign autographs and answer questions from fans.

“This show is really about giving back to our fans and thanking them for the support along our whole Olympic journey,” Liukin said.

Joining Liukin will be Beijing gold medalist Shawn Johnson, 2005 world champion Chellsie Memmel and Shannon Miller.

Jordan Pruitt, KSM and other music groups will also perform on the tour which kicks off in Reno 3-5 p.m. Sunday at Lawlor Events Center.

Tour dates & tickets

September 1, 2008

Britain is set to host its first ever World Cup Snowboarding event, the International Ski Federation officially confirmed today. The Big Air event will be staged in London on the 25th October.

The London event will be the first leg of the Northern Hemisphere season and Snowsport GB Chief Executive, Mark Simmers, predicts it will be a huge landmark for British winter sports.

“To stage a Snowboard World Cup in the UK for the first time is a massive boost for the sport and will bring a huge amount of profile to our British snowboard athletes when they compete at home against the world’s best.”

The LG London Big Air will take place on Saturday 25th October 2008 at Battersea Power Station, on the banks of the River Thames in London, and will be the headline event of a fantastic new winter sports festival, Free Sports On 4 Freeze, which will run from 23rd to 26th October 2008.

The Big Air event will be staged on a specially constructed ramp, with real snow, and will attract the world’s best snowboarders. The competition itself sees riders travelling down a slope at speed before being launched into the air where they perform tricks. They are then awarded marks by judges based on the difficulty of the stunts, the execution of the moves and the ease of landing.

Free Sports On 4 Freeze will include a 7,000 plus music auditorium featuring live bands, an Alpine Village with a wide range of interactive entertainment for all visitors, and a number of other competitions and displays on the huge snow ramp at Battersea Power Station.

Don’t know yet which girls, if any, will be launching off the ramp.

August 29, 2008

Individual athletes up for the award include figure skater Mao Asado, swimmer Natalie Coughlin, golfer Lorena Ochoa,  fencer Rebecca Ward. Team athletes include paralympian Patty Cisneros, doubles partners Venus and Serena Williams, basketball player Candace Parker, beach volleyball Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.

Cast your vote by midnight, September 2, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win one of five items autographed by your favorite sportswomen. 

And the nominees are:

Self-proclaimed sports junkie Justin Timberlake hosted the show and earned raves from the athletes and the viewers.  Charming, irreverant and sexy as ever, when the Best Moment Award was given to members of the Central WA Softball Team for incredible sportsmanship, JT was fittingly carried off by university softball players.

Among the awards presented at the 2008 ESPYS:
Best Female Athlete/Best Female College Athlete: Candace Parker
Best Moment: Central Washington vs. Western Oregon Softball
Best Coach-Manager: Pat Summitt
Best Female International Athlete: Lorena Ochoa
Best WNBA Player: Lauren Jackson (Seattle Storm)
Best Female Action Sports Athlete: snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler
Best Female Tennis Player: Maria Sharapova 

Recognizing major sports achievements, the ESPYs are determined by fans who vote online.

June 30, 2008 - Did you know the National Women’s Football Association is currently hosting playoffs? Last weekend, several teams advanced to the second round of playoffs. The Columbus Comets will travel to the Philadelphia Phoenix; the H’Town Cyclones to the St. Louis Slam; the West Michigan Mayhem to the New York Nemesis; and the Kentucky Karma to the Los Angeles Amazons.

The Kentucky Karma beat the Pensacola Power to advance to the second round of playoffs last Saturday. That gives Kentucky ONE WEEK to prepare for the Los Angeles Amazons. Not only does the Karma need airplane tickets and hotel rooms, they also need to do this during a holiday weekend. This is a daunting task for this unbelievable team. With gas prices high and travel accommodations desperate, the Karma is asking for help. Here’s where YOU can help.

The Kentucky Karma are currently seeking donations, large or small, via paypal.

If you would like to donate money to the KY Karma Los Angeles trip, please use www.PayPal.com and send to account wwwebby@yahoo.com

If you are not comfortable with using PayPal, please contact KY Karma General Manager Geoff Webb @ 502-640-3935 or email at wwwebby@yahoo.com
-or-
KY Karma owner, Tom Hawkins @ 502-773-2607 or email at mshtlh@bellsouth.net

**For additional information on all playoff games in the NWFA go to www.womensfootballcentral.com.

These ladies deserve a trip to the playoffs. Please help them out in their time of need!

Countdown 

• Five jousting matches per day will take place at the Burton tent in the US Open sponsor village.
• Four disciplines take place at the US Open: slopestyle, halfpipe, big air and junior jam.
• Three is the number of US Open halfpipe finals Kelly Clark has won – the most of any female competitor.
• Two new Volvo C30 R-Designs will be awarded to the male and female Most Valuable Riders after the big air competition at the US Open.
• One snowboarding competition run by snowboarders, for snowboarders for 26 consecutive years: the US Open Snowboarding Championships.

The 2008 tour will include 10 exciting open events from coast-to-coast for all boys and girls two-person teams with players ages 10 to 20. There will also be an open championship, a tour championship, an international selection camp and a performance camp.

(more…)

Annually on this day, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. While there are many large-scale initiatives, a rich and diverse fabric of local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women’s craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.

Learn more