Sk8likeAgirl_e

Kristin Ebeling is a talented skateboarder
and community leader who is responsible for
growing Seattle’s skate scene in the past decade.
As Skate Like a Girl’s Seattle Chapter Director,
Kristin spends her time teaching kids to skate,
producing skate events for the community,
helping to build local skateparks and providing
free/low cost skate lessons for youth in under-
served communities. Her passion for giving back
and commitment to growing the skate commu-
nity in a positive direction is what makes Kristin
one of the best examples of what it means to be
a skateboarder. We could use a lot more Kristin
Ebelings in our industry.

– Kim Woozy & Lisa Whitaker

Interview by Suziie Wang

When did you start skating, what was the point you “Skate Like a Girl is a How has the organization helped the local
realized that you couldn’t stop & how did that make
you feel? skate community?

non-profit organization I can only speak for Seattle specifically,

I started skating at 12 years old. I realized I wasn’t focused on providing but I do feel that Skate Like a Girl has had
going to stop when most of my friends decided to opportunities for all a profound impact on our local scene. We
quit by the time we were 13, but I stuck with it. I felt have provided free/low cost lessons &

like a weirdo. I remember thinking, “why do I even do people to skateboard programs for populations that are often
this?” Looking back, I know I loved the challenge, not underserved or otherwise wouldn’t have

having a coach yelling at me, and also frustrating my and take leadership in access to skateboarding, including low-

dad by not doing traditional girly things. their communities.” income youth and females. Essentially we
are not just serving existing skateboarders,

What is Skate Like a Girl and where is it based? but “growing the pie.” By creating many

Skate Like a Girl is a non-profit organization focused on new skaters, we have in turn stimulated

providing opportunities for all people to skateboard and take the local skateboarding economy. Further, we’ve provided oppor-

leadership in their communities. We were founded in Olympia, WA, tunities for folks who are already skaters by hosting multiple local

but currently are based in Seattle. We have additional chapters in skateboarding competitions/events and providing free volunteer/

Portland and San Francisco. leadership trainings such as the Youth Employment Skateboarding

program.

Why was there the need to establish it?

The founders saw a lack of women participating in boardsports at What types of events and programs does the organization hold to

the time, as well as a lack of opportunities as well as community encourage girls participation in skateboarding?

for women who were already participating in skateboarding, snow- We host multiple weekly “Ladies Night” skate sessions, which

boarding, and the like. Further, Olympia is known as a birthplace for provide an opportunity for girls & women of all ages and abilities

riotgrrl and DIY subcultures, inspiring the birth of SLAG. Locals at to skate together. We host Ladies Night year-round at All Together

the time were coordinating events such as “Lady Fest” and “Homo-a- Skate Park, and seasonally at Bellevue Indoor Skate Park, Seattle

go-go,” which provided a space for our first skate clinics and events. Center Skate Park, and other outdoor facilities. During the summer,

we host multiple weeks of “Girls Only” skate camps that are exclu-

Who are the people that established the program and what were sive to female participants. Finally, we host the Wheels of Fortune

their backgrounds? all girls skateboarding showcase, which is our annual competitive

Holly Sheehan & Fleur Larsen were the original founders of Skate event for female skaters of all abilities. Participants travel from all

Like a Girl. Both attended Evergreen State College, and had back- over the world to attend this event, which boasts between 30-50

grounds in activism as well as snowboarding and skateboarding. participants each year.

Are the programs all for girls only?
We provide multiple girls only programs as listed above, but many
of our programs are co-ed. Our gender inclusive programs include
the Youth Employment Skateboarding program, most summer
camps, 12 & Under clinics, and our Skate Teams.

How many people participate in the programs?
Participation levels vary from program to program. For Ladies
Night, we typically see between 15-30 girls per session. Skate
Camps typically serve 20 youth/week. Currently our Youth Employ-
ment Skateboarding program is serving roughly 15 teens.

Tell us more about the chapters of Skate like a Girl, where are they
and what do they do?
We have chapters in Seattle, Portland, & San Francisco. Seattle,
being the oldest of the three chapters, runs the most programs.
Seattle currently serves over 1,500 people per year through a
variety of programs including Ladies Night, multiple Skate Teams,
over 20 sessions of summer camp, Youth Employment Skateboard-
ing, and multiple afterschool programs in partnership with Coach
Across America. Portland is currently gaining momentum with
programs, under the leadership of a new program director, Brandy
Machado. Portland programs include Ladies Nights and girls skate
clinics at local indoor skate park, Commonwealth. Further, they
host a weekly program with Boys and Girls club, as well as mul-
tiple clinics with Girl Scouts, Betties360 and CampFire Columbia.
San Francisco is still volunteer run, hosting regular “Skate Dates,”
and clinics, while working towards providing camp this coming
summer.

Why are organizations like skate programs, as well as advocate for the construction of skate
this important to skate- parks.
boarding and the non-skate-
boarding community? Is everyone who works there a volunteer or are there paid positions
Skateboarding is a male- too?
dominated sport and is We have a few paid staff, but in general we are a volunteer driven
not traditionally organized. organization. Right now, in Seattle we have 3 paid coaches who
With these two factors, it run programs, a part-time Development Director, and a part-time
can be hard in particular for Program Director (me). Portland has a paid Program Director, and
females & youth to become one paid coach.
involved. More specifically,
it’s extremely intimidating How can someone volunteer to work with you guys?
for a girl to pick up a skate- Typically folks email us through our website, or email me directly
board and try when there’s at [email protected]. We set up a meeting to ensure
no one that looks like them participating. In the same vein, it’s hard they aren’t a kook and run a background check. Once we’ve gotten
for a parent to feel comfortable with dropping their child off at a through the basics, we plug them into whatever they are interested
skate park that lacks supervision and structure. Skate Like a Girl is in doing for SLAG. We’re pretty open to help from anyone. Some
important because we are creating spaces & pathways for these folks come onboard to be skate instructors, some join our Board of
populations to join skateboarding. In time, we hope that participa- Directors, and other create media content or do other tasks. Some
tion in skateboarding is larger and more diverse, simultaneously volunteer for a specific event, while others some join us and stay for
sustaining the skateboard industry and creating a more inclusive life.
culture. For those outside
of the skate community, we
serve as a friendly face or a
bridge into skateboarding.
For instance, our positive and
inclusive focus, Skate Like a
Girl has been able to work
within school districts and
local government to provide