Name: Lucy Adams Board: Skate ‘Skateboarding is the best way to have fun. It’s cool, it’s gnarly, it can hurt but it’s ultimately something that looks rad and feels rad!’ The good about skating in Britain: We were blessed with an awesome summer this year and so there was a load that was good about ‘Skate Britain’! We have an increasing number of rad concrete skateparks being constructed and so now, you’re never really far away from something decent. That’s another good thing about Britain, it is actually pretty tiny and therefore you can travel to all different parts of it fairly easily if you have wheels or the patience to take public transport! The girls’ scene in the UK: The girls’ scene throughout GB is on the up! There are pockets of girls up and down these isles who are actively promoting their scenes and it’s no longer a surprise to see a girl skater at the local park. It may be unusual to see many, but there are now sessions all over which are being run exclusively for girls to get skating. This is rad and really helps inspire and build confidence, but girls themselves need to support these sessions – get down to your local if they have something like this, if not, then campaign for one! I’m lucky that in my area, Brighton Youth Centre fully supported my idea to have a female only skate session. We named it ‘Brighton She Shredders’ and it runs every week. We get a good turnout and what’s even better, lots of the participants are now going to the local outdoor park, ‘The Level’, and organising their own meet ups. The best platform/environment for girls to learn to skate: From experience of having supported lots of girls through the process, I would say that an exclusive session with other girls provides the best conditions. I think it helps to have others around you to help you progress, but others that are in the same shoes. It also helps if there are no other skaters around that are ripping it up, I mean they can help to inspire but it can also be quite detrimental to someone’s confidence! The story of She Shredders: I worked on a girls’ only skate project down in Brighton one summer, which was pretty popular, but mainly amongst young girls. I spoke to some friends who worked at Brighton Youth Centre about the possibility of running a session for older girls and women. I knew there was a demand but I think some of the older females were a bit nervous about taking part in a course that was mainly attended by 8-11 year old girls. We talked it over a lot and finally got some proper plans to launch winter 2012. That slipped a bit but eventually we got going in Jan 2013.
How it has evolved: Brighton is quite a diverse towns and is home to lots of students so luckily we’ve been growing and growing. We also put in a bid to fund some weekend sessions at outdoor parks over the spring / summer which helped us to recruit some newbies, as well as introduce the girls to some of the great outdoor facilities that Brighton has. The FB page is also growing and girls from the sessions are using it to communicate to one another about going skating. We had 16 girls turn up to one session recently! There is talk of stickers and t-shirts and I hope we can do a little event around Xmas. How to get on board: www.facebook.com/brightonsheshredders Brighton Youth Centre on 01273 681368. She Shredder sessions run every Thus, 5.30 – 7.30pm for girls 13+.
Name: Rosa Thompson Board: Surf ‘It's time to grab them wetsuits and boards and do what Roxy says, ' Let the sea set you free!' The good about surfing in Britain: We have fairly consistent swell, even if the quality of wave isn't always there, we more or less always have something to practice on. The girls’ scene in the UK: We have lots of lady surfers in the southwest, Newquay being one of the more popular places. Our ladies have a strong presence in town and so the quality of ladies surfing in Britain has definitely improved over the last 10 years. The best platform/environment for girls to learn to surf: I think we all have our own way in which we take on a challenge & learn. Girls can find comfort in learning within a group, with a supportive, fun environment allowing them to relax and enjoy the process. This promotes confidence, leading to catching the 'surfin bug', which means more practice and more surfing rewards! What has held Brit ladies back so far: It's hard to say, the cold weather can go against us and the lack of worldclass waves. Possibly more sponsorship and backing is needed to help surfers get to the competitions they need to be competing at. The story of the surf club: We wanted to fill a need for a place for girls to come and learn how to surf and enjoy meeting new surf buddies. All in low pressure,