Becca McDonald (coordinator of the Skatemore Girls) grew up in Strathmore, moved out to BC in 2015, and recently returned home last year. She is stepping up for the girls in Strathmore and giving them a safe and inclusive place to play.

She started up the Skatemore Girls Skateboard Club in Strathmore. It runs on Thursdays from 4 pm - 6 pm, and McDonald is hoping that this will encourage more girls to come out and give skateboarding a try.

"I've done a bunch of youth programming in the past, I love snowboarding and surfing and I've done some teaching for snowboarding and I love skateboarding as well. Skate parks can be slightly intimidating and I wanted to make create a space for people to feel safe to get into it."

McDonald explains that she is not an expert but that she hopes her getting out there will encourage girls of all ages and even adults to come out and try something they may not have thought of before.  

The Skatemore club is in its third week and McDonald is excited with how well this has been received and even the positive support that they get from the other skaters at the park who are not part of the group, "The first meeting was mostly teens there that day and they were just so kind. They were teaching each other tricks and the last two times it's been younger girls like 9-10-year-old girls and they've been helping each other out, supporting each other and we're playing all these fun games together. It is creating a community already I think."

Coming back to Strathmore last year, Mcdonald found it upsetting that there wasn't as much youth programming in Strathmore. She wanted to give the kids a place to play, "It's just so sad, I remember growing up here feeling like there was a lack of things to do for teens, that's a big part of this it's just giving them an outlet to have some fun and do something positive."

McDonald also is hoping to find some extra gear that folks in the community may not be using at the moment, " I wanted to mention too that I’m on a mission to find more gear for folks who’d like to come to try skateboarding but maybe aren’t set up with their own stuff. If anyone might have old skateboards sitting around that I can clean up and get rolling for the skate crewor safety gear they can get in touch at sunnybriarbackyard@gmail.com." 

The Skatemore Girls Skateboard Club is open to everyone and McDonald will be out there all summer, she said she is excited to get involved in the community and hopes this may inspire more people who have different skillsets to get involved and have some fun in their own way.