My love of women's sports movies is well-documented, but after watching Gracie the other day (the verdict? It was just okay) I thought I'd compile a list of some of my favorite moments in female sports movies.

Because when the world is stacked against you, and you just can't muster the energy to finish that term paper/powerpoint presentation/roofing job, there's nothing better than a rousing, inspiring tale of female empowerment through athletics! Especially when it's accompanied by a side-dish of snark (see Bring It On) or major attitude (see anything Michelle Rodriguez is in). And after you've watched a blind ice skater kick some ass on the ice rink, suddenly your own obstacles don't seem so insurmountable, now do they?

This list isn't meant to represent all female sports movies, and I'm sure many of you would choose different moments from the same movies as your favorites. But this is my list, damnit, and there's plenty of room for you to add your $.02 in the comments.

So here are my nine favorite moments, in descending order with accompanying clips.

9. Blue Crush (2002) — Jet ski surfing
Eden (Michelle Rodriguez) pulls Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) far out to sea on a jet ski so she can prepare for an upcoming surf competition by riding really big waves, and for a few brief, beautiful moments, it's just two women against the massive power of the ocean — until a wave comes along and crushes one of them. Hey, no pain, no gain, right?

8. Cutting Edge (1992) — The pamchenko twist
Prickly figure skater Kate (Moira Kelly) and former hockey player Doug (D.B. Sweeney) team up to compete as pair skaters and shock the world with their last-minute execution of a dangerous new move called the pamchenko twist (while falling in love, of course). Second place goes to the "toe pick!" scene (if you've seen the movie, you'll know what I mean). … continue reading