Girls on Shred prep for summer with training session at Lincoln Skatepark

Girls on Shred, a Missoula based skate and snowboarding group, hosted a training day for about 15 of their volunteers at the Lincoln Skatepark Saturday, May 15.

Girls on Shred was created in 2010 by the wife of the former owner of Board of Missoula, a skate and snowboard shop that's been in business since 1989. Originally centered on snowboarding, shop manager Samantha Veysey Gibbons expanded the group into skateboarding in 2015.

"We provide free clinics and fun get togethers for females and non-binaries. We provide helmets and skateboards for those who don't have their gear," Veysey Gibbons said. "(It's) just a nice entry into skateboarding; a nice, friendly, non-competitive fun environment."

She said they have slowly picked up more interested people, more volunteers and more fundraising opportunities since 2010. "Now we've matured into a chapter of a nonprofit, which is really exciting for us."

The get together in Lincoln was part of the group's plans to once again host public events, after taking a year off due to COVID-19. Veysey Gibbons said for the last year they spent their time and money just helping people get gear and padding and "tons of helmets."

"Now that we have more people being vaccinated, less stuff going on, we can host more events," she said. "We love giving back. That's what it's really all about. People helping people."

She said the training day went over some basics and how to help people out. "(We) make sure there's consent in what they want to do. We really just want to have our events be for the people and what they want. We don't want to be too demanding and intimidating. It's nice to get everybody on the same page of what our mission is and what we find important."

Girls On Shred is affiliated with the Montana Skatepark Association, which helped fund the Lincoln Skatepark, so some of the members were already familiar with the area.

"A lot of us hadn't been here before, so it was kind of a cool thing to check it out," Veysey Gibbons said. " It's always nice when our volunteers have a background with a park too, so when they are there helping people out, they have a little lay of the land."

"It's absolutely one of my favorite parks, as far as the Evergreen parks go," said Mariah Partin, referring to skatepark designer and builder Evergreen Skateparks. Partin, who took part in the training, also liked the fact that it's close to both camping and to Sculpture in the Wild.

"It's really just the perfect spot to come for an evening or two,": Veysey Gibbons said. "I like how accessible it is, just being right next to the road, you can just dip off. Maybe if you don't know about it you can see it on your way passing through town."

Veysey Gibbons said Girls on Shreds doesn't have any age limit events. "They're free to any age, any skill level, you can just hang out. It's a good place to meet other people, especially if you're new to the area, or to the park. It's just nice. You can all fail together, fall down together and celebrate when we learn something new."