Pretty Good for a Girl : The Autobiography of a
Snowboarding Pioneer-
Tina Basich's story.
Reviewed by Karen Rabin
By: Tina Basich, Kathleen Gasperini
Details: copyright 2003, 240 pages,
Reviewer: Karen Rabin, Santa Barbara, CA, May 2005
I picked up this book at the end of an amazing winter
in Park City.
Mostly looking for tips about sick tricks for beginner park riders like me,
or maybe some inside" secrets" that would help me get my board off the wall
of the pipe and into the air.
What I found was a "pretty good" account of what it was like in the early
days of snowboarding for anybody, and what it was like - for a girl, Tina
Basich - opening up new frontiers in snowboard competitions in those early
days. Plus, what it was like near the end of her competitive jumping
competition for the author to find her way in the pro snowboarder world
outside of competition.
Tina takes us through the short version of her early family life, and dives
right into her early days of riding, learning new tricks, and competing.
Getting sponsored in those early days was sometimes just a matter of showing
up and riding - that was all it took to turn pro. We read a bit about her
part in designing graphics for her signature boards, her clothing line and
her part in starting up "Boarding for Breast Cancer" (inspired by the death
of Bonfire snowboard clothing co-founder Monica Steward).
The book is a fun, light and easy read. It gives you the feeling that Tina
is really telling it like it was, Despite the fact that most of the time it
is written in a dry narrative that got a little boring near the end, the
story is a great summer read to pass a few minutes between staring longingly
at your board in the corner of your room, or strapping it on and practicing
360čs on the bed. (Pretty hard in case youčve never tried it).
If you are looking for the inside technical scoop on how to slide a rail
then you might want to go to snowboard camp (read about camps at
http://www.snowboardsecrets.com/camps.htm),
But if youčre looking to see what it was like carving a path in the early
world of professional female snowboarding, pick up a copy, read and enjoy,
and pass it on to a friend when youčre done.
Editor's Note from Lauren:
I enjoyed this book, and whipped though its 200 (small) pages in just one
day of airplane travel. Tina Basich is well spoken, likable and humble,
despite her professional success.
You feel Tina's emotions and happiness when she was a schoolgirl creating
art and all kinds of projects at her alternative grade school, her pain when
her younger brother suffered a seizure with lasting effects, and her sheer
joy and exhiliaration at learning to snowboard and achieving a pinnacle of
success in the sport, including being one of the founders of Boarding for
Breast Cancer. Then you can feel her physical and mental pain when she
suffered some serious injuries and had to heal to come back and ride again.
The book has plenty of pictures, and special pages of hints. Tina Basich
is an outspoken advocate of women in sports (of course!) and worked hard to
succeed in the sport of snowboarding when it was new and dominated by males.
I found this book entertaining and inspiring.
Have you read a book that you would like to
tell our readers about, and see your review published here? Drop a line to
us at
Lauren@snowboardsecrets.com
