Over the past couple of months, we have put a great focus on teaching our participants about gender equality, as well as empowering and inspiring the girls in our sessions through different activities such as a girls jam during one of our lessons as well as working alongside Color Skateshop and hosting an event to celebrate the release of the Skate Like A Girl x Nike SB dunks.
Since the beginning of FMS five years ago, we have noticed a great change and growth in the Athenian women’s skateboarding scene. A few years back you’d be surprised if you saw one girl at the skatepark. Now, whether you go to a park or a street spot, you’ll see plenty of them shredding. What was definitely missing in Athens however, was the participation of women skaters in contests and skateboarding events. The release of the new Nike SB dunks in collaboration with one of our favourite orgs, Skate Like A Girl, was the best excuse for us to host an event that would bring the girls together and hopefully leave a mark in the history of women’s skateboarding in Greece. Apart from skating, there was also a scrapbook workshop that everyone could fill in with quotes, drawings, photos, stickers or anything else. At the end of the day, each girl got a little goodie bag with prizes and we finished the event with a ‘make-your-own-bracelet’ workshop. It was such a beautiful day and so powerful to see new friendships developing and everyone skating together, helping and inspiring each other.
Two of our instructors, Denia and Erato are part of Goodpush’s ‘Roll Models’, a leadership programme that trains people to design and deliver skateboarding projects aimed at encouraging girls, women and non-binary persons to get rolling. In September, they hosted a jam where girls from the Athenian skate community joined our lesson and skated alongside the kids. This was a great way for our participants to see what it’s like to skate with others in non-lesson conditions, something they will have to learn in order to one day go to skateparks by themselves. Another amazing thing to see was how much the younger girls got inspired by the ones that were invited to the jam. They not only wanted to keep skating, but they also wanted to try tricks they’ve never tried before just because they saw someone else doing it, and we even had the occasional ‘I wanna be like her when I grow up’ quotes. During the jam, a filmer and a photographer were also invited and took some great shots.
There are many things that need to happen in order for everyone to be feeling safe in their community, and this is what motivates us. Through workshops, educational lessons, contests and events, we are doing all we can to inspire our participants and make sure the skate community they are going into will be safer, more welcoming and inclusive for everyone. If you haven’t already, read this article about how our Game of Skate contest brought together skaters of all genders, and what are the steps towards gender equality
All photos by Anthony Polykandriotis
