Gizmo Girls Skate Crew: The Funnest Place for Young Girls to Learn to Skate in Kingston!

Occasionally I take time out from doing family or wedding photography, and I document local events and activities happening around Kingston.

Last year, Kingston-based educator Katherine Morlog began a weekly skateboarding drop-in workshop for girls in Kingston to learn to skate. These sessions were held Thursday evenings at Daly Street Skate park (on Daly St, across from the Rideau Heights Community Centre).

It’s a fantastic initiative for many reasons.

Girls are waaay under-represented in skateboarding. It’s intimidating for girls to get into it, because it’s mostly boys and men who skate.

That’s obviously changing around the world, and I hope it will change even faster now that skateboarding is a part of the Olympics. Seeing other women and girls compete in the Olympics gave my own daughter the drive she needed to get back on her board.

Having a girls-only space makes it easier for beginners to come out without feeling intimidated or embarrassed.

Having Katherine provide skateboards and safety equipment (sponsored by BSE Kingston, a skateshop downtown) was just another reason Gizmo Girls is so brilliant. Girls who do not own a skateboard or helmet and pads could just drop in, without having to worry.

There was also a raffle, so kids could win merch like T-shirts and stickers to put on their skateboards! Super fun :)

I went along to two of Gizmo Girls’ skate sessions. It was the two very first ones Katherine held, and the turnout was surprisingly great given that it had just started.

I hear that toward the end of the season, things got even busier, with sometimes a couple dozen girls cycling through on any given session.

If you’re thinking of something different to do with your daughter in Kingston next summer, then consider taking her to a Gizmo Girls skate meetup!

You can find Gizmo Girls on Facebook and Instagram.

Now enjoy some photos, and leave me a comment if you want any more details about this event.