Women's Action Sports Trade Show Set to Debut
Following the path blazed by the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo (ASR), Action Girl ’03, a new trade show dedicated to the female side of the action sports industry, is scheduled to launch at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif., July 17–19, 2003.
The show will feature exhibitors displaying women’s action apparel, extreme sports equipment and the lifestyle that surrounds women’s action sports. Show director Jaime Sparks, the National Amateur Skateboard Champion of 1978, said that the show was created as a response to an overwhelming need in the marketplace.
“Women’s participation in outdoor action sports has been growing at a rapid pace for the past few years, but the trade show industry has been sitting idle,” she said. “We’re really happy about the support that companies like Billabong, Vans, Surf Diva and Gallaz have been offering to the growing ranks of talented girl athletes. We’re here to supply a platform for that support.”
Sparks said that early supporters include Elle Girl magazine, American Apparel, Dickies, Hard Tail, Red Bull and Velvet Eyewear.
Sparks also said that she doesn’t see ASR as a competitor, since the focus of her show is solely on women’s action sports.
“I respect ASR and what they’ve done since 1971, but the women’s side has been completely overshadowed,” she said. “It’s because of the exhibitors and buyers that I am launching the show.”
Enticements will be offered to buyers in order to get them to attend the show, said Sparks.
“Our focus is making sure the buyers are happy, so we’ll give them incentives, like a car giveaway,” she said. “We’re making it family-oriented and we’ll do destination management—complete with Disneyland plans and daycare—so the buyers can focus on the show and still have their families along.”
The event side of Action Girl ’03 will feature seminars with information for buyers on the women’s side of the action sports industry, new all-female surfing and snowboarding adventure films, and the All Girl Skate Jam Championship with amateurs and pros. The competitions will feature celebrities who will also participate in the fashion shows at the event.
Action Girl ’03 will offer 91,000 square feet of exhibition space, and the cost to exhibit at the show will be $16.95 per square foot. For more information, call (909) 898-8410.
