The OI STU Open is the largest skateboarding and urban culture event in Latin America. It was held at Praça Duó in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As it was the last Olympic Qualifying Event of 2019, skaters from all over the world came together to compete.

The event took place from November 11th – 17th, 2019. On top of the incredible skateboarding taking place, the event also featured musical performances, art exhibits, workshops, street food, and fashion!

Today, we’re going to be taking a look at the Highlights for the Women’s Street and Parks Events.

The OI STU Open Competition

Something else to note is how the competition is setup. There are three main rounds, the Qualifiers, Semi-Finals and Finals. The Qualifiers are there to “qualify” the skaters so they can go on to the Semi-Finals. It’s also there to limit the amount of skaters that may not be up to par for the rest of the event or the Olympics.

As the Qualifiers end, the skaters that made it through go onto the Semi-Finals. The Semi-Finals are harder, in terms of judging. The skaters have their runs worked out before time and have everything planned out at this point. This is where they need to go big!

Finally, there’s the Finals. This is where everything matters. While the skaters have to work hard to get to the Finals, this is where it all comes together. The skaters who place high get the most amount of Olympic World Ranking Skate Points.

Qualifying for the Olympics is based off of a points system. The skaters who have the most points are allowed onto the team. 

Let’s Get Into It

Practice runs were delayed due to poor weather conditions during the first couple of days of the event. Eventually, by Wednesday, Nov. 13th, the competition got underway and the Women’s Park division put on an incredible display of raw skateboarding talent throughout the qualifiers, semifinals and finals.

The event marked the beginning of the second season of Olympic Qualifying Events. The excitement of the skaters as they get closer and closer to the Olympics. They have to give every run, trick and line their best in order to make it all the way.

Women’s Park

Before we go over the results, it’s important to note once again that skaters ranked in the top 15 of the Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings were automatically qualified to compete at the semifinals. without having to compete in the qualifiers.

Women’s Park Qualifier Results

Jordyn Barratt (USA): First place with a score of 40.17

Taniah Meyers (Australia): Second place with a score of 38.17, only 2 points behind first place

Brighton Zeuner (USA): Third place with a score of 37.8.

Other highlights include:

Other notable finishes from the Qualifiers include:

• Nicole Hause (USA) in 5th place
• Minna Stess (USA)in 11th place

Women’s Park Semi-Final Results

The Women’s Park semifinals of the Oi STU Open saw Japan take control of the leader board. Great Britain and the US were holding on strong with second and third place, only to be trailed by another Japanese skateboarding standout in fourth place. Would it be Japan, Great Britain, or the United States who ended up on top? The scores were close and the tension was high!

Top Semi-Finalists

Misugu Okamoto (Japan): Placed First with a score of 62

Sky Brown (Great Britain): Placed Second with a score of 57

Brighton Zeuner (USA): Placed Third with a score of 48

As you can see, the scores are close and USA was slowly dropping out of the lead, but still staying strong. Let’s see what happens in the Finals!

Women’s Park Final Results

The Women’s Park Finals were dominated by Team Japan, as they took the top 2 spots. Great Britain held on strong though, as they placed third.

Top Finalists

Misugu Okamoto (Japan): Placed first in the Finals. Her winning run received a score of 62.67, and she received 60,000 Olympic World Skateboarding Ranking points for the first-place finish!

Sakura Yosozumi (Japan): Placed Second in the Women’s Park Finals with a score of 58.

Sky Brown (Great Britain): Placed third in the Women’s Park Finals with a score of 55.

Other notable finishes include:

• Brighton Zeuner (USA) in 4th place
• Poppy Starr Olsen (Australia) in 5th place
• Jordyn Barratt (USA) in 6th place

The competition is heating up and we can’t wait to see what else the skaters are going to pull off!

Women’s Street

Now, let’s take a look at the Street events. This competition is in the same format as the others (qualifiers, semi-finals and finals). As noted above, those skaters that ranked in the Top 15 of the Olympic World Ranking didn’t have to compete in the Qualifiers.

Women’s Street Qualifier Results

Roos Zwetsloot (Netherlands): Placed first with a score of 35.34

Samarria Brevard (USA): Placed second with a score of 32.21

Lore Bruggeman (Belgium): Placed third with a score of 30.21

Charlotte Hym (France): Placed fourth with a score of 29.25

Sarah De Laet (Belgium): Placed fifth with a score of 26.18

Women’s Street Semi-Finals Results

In the Women’s Street semifinal, the Brazilians started to take control of the leader board. With the top 3 spots going to Brazil, it was up to the US and Japan to try to regain the top spots in the finals. It’s a close race!

Top Semi-Finalists

Pamela Rosa (Brazil): Placed first with a score of 14.64

Rayssa Leal (Brazil) Placed second with a score of 11.88

Gabriela Mazetto (Brazil): Placed third with a score of 11.83, just narrowly missing second place!

Mariah Duran (USA) Placed fourth with a score of 11.47

Aori Nishimura (Japan) Placed fifth with a score of 11.17

The United States also saw Alexis Sablone take 8th place with a score of 10.59.

Women’s Street Finals

In the OI STU Open Women’s Street Final, skaters were given two 60 second runs and 5 trick attempts anywhere on the course. The highest scoring run and each score of the trick attempts were then combined to give them their final score. 

In the end, Japan secured third place, while Team Brazil remained largely in control. The level of talent these young women have is insane, so do yourselves a favor and check out the full footage of the Women’s Street Finals via the STU Channel on Youtube!

Top Finalists

Pamela Rosa (Brazil): Placed First with a score of 18.49! This secured her 60,000 Olympic World Skateboarding Ranking points.

Rayssa Leal (Brazil): Placed second with a score of 17.09

Aori Nishimura (Japan): Placed third with a score of 15.6

Roos Zwetsloot (Netherlands): Placed fourth with a score 12.88

Gabriela Mazetto (Brazil): Placed fifth with a score of 12.57

Notable Team USA standouts Alexis Sablone placed seventh with a score of 9.94 while Mariah Duran placed eighth with a score of 9.6.

In Conclusion

So, those are the highlights for the Women’s events from the OI STU Open Highlights. As you can see, the competition is really starting to heat up. We can’t be more excited to see what comes out of the next couple of events!

As you look forward to skateboarding in The Olympics and the upcoming X Games, take this time to progress yourself! Check out Skateboarding Made Simple. It’s the most detailed lesson plan for skateboarding that exists. With 9 different volumes, you’ll go from learning how to ride on a board, to skating skateparks and landing more advanced flatground tricks in no time! Who knows, maybe you’ll be competing in the Olympics or X Games in the near future.