See a need and fill it! When Cara Harris started skating in Nashville she would occasionally run into other ladies on wheels. She quickly noticed most didn’t know each other and there wasn’t an opportunity to all meet-up and skate together. It was nice to run into other ladies by accident, but she wanted a chance to meet up with other skaters like her… on purpose. She pitched a Ladies Skate night to the manager of Sixth Avenue Skatepark in Nashville and quickly had a critical mass of non-trad skaters showing up.
In addition to Ladies Night at Sixth Street, Ladies Skate Nashville has outdoor meetups at The Curbs (IYKYK) and other outdoor skateparks and parking lots. They give out swag and have contests. Make sure to follow them on Instagram and for Nashville folks the next Ladies Night is April 25th at Sixth Avenue Skatepark.
I always encourage people to skate within their comfort zone but I try to find one thing within their skill level that they can learn during that meetup. Getting to see the stoke on someone's face when they roll down a bank for the first time or get a nose stall on a curb is THE BEST!
Crew name: Ladies Skate Nashville
City or region? Nashville, TN
What do you do? An inclusive group for ladies (including non-binary and transgender individuals) to meet up and skate. Once a month we have the indoor skatepark to ourselves at our Ladies Skate Night events and we meet at different skateparks and skateable areas in between those times.
Where do you meet? Sixth Ave Skatepark, Two Rivers Skatepark, the Pump Track, and parking lots that allow for us to spread out and skate.
How did you start? In 2018 I started skating and rarely found other ladies to skate with. When I did it would be this sort of accidental meeting where two of us happened to be skating a place at the same time. I noticed other ladies at other times but never all together and most of them had not met each other. I felt like there needed to be a way for the ladies in town to all meet each other so they could skate with each other if they wanted. I had seen some other groups doing ladies nights on Instagram so I pitched it to the manager at Sixth Avenue Skatepark and we set it up and got one on the calendar. We’ve been doing those ever since.
Can you share a story or favorite moment from a meetup? This is not just one story, but one that happens often is when someone who just started skating comes to a meetup. Usually they are nervous and throw out lots of qualifiers like “I’m new” or “I’m not very good.” I always encourage people to skate within their comfort zone but I try to find one thing within their skill level that they can learn during that meetup. Getting to see the stoke on someone’s face when they roll down a bank for the first time or get a nose stall on a curb is THE BEST!
How can people get involved/support you? Anytime you can post our events and share is really helpful. It helps ladies that have just moved to the area to find us and even ladies that just happen to be visiting. We also appreciate any donations of skate items so that we can get them in the hands of ladies and girls who may need parts. It’s not uncommon for someone to start with a really cheap set up, so it’s nice we can at least switch out plastic trucks and wheels for proper ones. And we are always looking to get skateboards in the hands of girls that might not otherwise be able to afford one.
What else do you want people to know? We are growing! We are hoping to offer more services at area parks not only providing neighborhood kids with boards but giving them tools and teaching them how to maintain a skateboard.
CONTACT THE LADIES AT
IG- @ladiesskate_nashville
Our next Ladies Night is Monday April 25th at Sixth Avenue Skatepark from 7-9pm.
This map was created to make it easier for non-trad skaters to find people to skate with and places to roll. every month Maya haptas shoots a few questions to one of the meet up crews featured. Let's skate y'all!
