Skate or die, chicks!

Great story in the Times this morning about female skaters wanting air time during the X-Games. Ultimately, the whole action-sports enterprise has been created by ESPN trying to lure back kids who have left mainstream sports (playing and viewing) behind, and an ESPN guy in the story points out (quite reasonably) that his ultimate responsibility to his audience, and that audience is male teenagers.
Skating, though, is one of those sports where women might be able to compete against men at no physical disadvantage. Skating requires a lot of athleticism and core muscle strength, but not necessarily the speed or muscle density that, say, sprinting or playing basketball demands. I have a feeling that there's a 14-year-old female gymnast out there, tired of starving herself, who could make Shaun White cry.