Zoom & board

SINGAPORE - If you were in the Central Business District (CBD) on New Year's Eve, you would have seen an unusual sight - an all-girl group of five skateboarders zooming down the streets with their longboards. They are part of the Longboard Girls Crew (LGC) Singapore.

A longboard is a longer version of the skateboard typically used for cruising and downhill racing. The girls met at 9.30am to cruise in the CBD.

They greeted each other excitedly with a unique handshake and a fist bump as they caught up like old friends.

They did not let human traffic deter them. Instead, they expertly swerved and took short cuts to avoid crashing into people.

"It's nice skating with girls. It's an alternative to gossiping with friends over coffee," said Miss Kelly Tio, 26, who sells guitar parts.

Miss Tio is part of the LGC Singapore, which is the local chapter of the international crew of the similar name that is based in Madrid, Spain.

The group's founder, Miss Nur Zawanah, 26, a school programme executive, discovered the longboard almost six years ago when she took photos and videos of her male friends doing tricks on their boards.

Miss Zawanah said: "I found it interesting. I just wanted to get in on the action as well and try out an extreme sport.

"And I got hooked," she said with a grin.

LIKE-MINDED

She said that after longboarding with the guys, she wanted to know if there were girls she could practise with.

So she turned to the Internet to look for women with similar interests.

Through various interest groups, she found other like-minded women.

In 2011, she came across videos of the original LGC in Madrid and was inspired to start a local version. She e-mailed the Madrid group about starting a local chapter.

"The Madrid girls were immediately on board. So I had to start expanding the group by looking for members," said Miss Zawanah.

And months later, the LGC Singapore was born.

Miss Zawanah told shops that sold longboards about the crew and got them to spread the word to customers.

The group now has about 50 active members.

They meet monthly to cruise down a busy street or attempt tricks at the skate park at East Coast Park. Another longboard enthusiast, Miss Juliana Zainal, 28, joked: "The only trick I have mastered is falling."

Miss Zawanah said of cruising: "It's basically another way to discover Singapore."

And it's not just Singapore - they have made skating trips to Malaysia and Indonesia.

"I'm glad that longboarding brings people from all over the world together," said Miss Zawanah.

djenn@sph.com.sg

It started in Madrid

A group of female skaters living in Madrid, Spain's capital, came together to form Longboard Girls Crew (LGC) in 2010, which has since evolved into an international longboard community.

Their mission? To get a group of girls together and place female longboarding on the map.

The group, tired of being the only girls in boys' crews, came together with the help of Facebook.

It soon became a regular occurrence where they would hang out and skate with one another.

More than three years later, LGC has grown to become one of the biggest longboard movements globally, with chapters in about 180 countries.

It also has more than 150,000 fans on Facebook.

The group's objective is to encourage women from all over the world to pick up longboarding.

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