Skaters who are mostly motivated by roller skating in groups or in a team sport such as roller derby sometimes have a hard time to stay focused and push themselves as skaters. Here is where the UK-based Skate Everywhere Project steps in. The roller skating community is offering motivation, goal setting and support for skaters of all abilities. So, if you are missing your roller derby team practices or struggle to stay motivated by yourself their digital challenges might be your thing. You can join in from anywhere in the world, choose different challenges and receive sweet rewards (their patches and merch are really lovely). We wanted to know more about what Benth and Gem, the two humans behind it, had in mind with Skate Everywhere.
Sometimes, finding the motivation to get out and skate can be a challenge. This is especially true when you’re first starting out, recovering from an injury, or struggling to nail a certain skill. Luckily, as roller skating continues to boom in popularity, more and more people are starting to notice a need for accessible support for those who are learning or seeking to develop as skaters.
That’s where the UK-based Skate Everywhere Project comes in. It offers a range of challenges that are dedicated to supporting and improving skaters, no matter their discipline of choice. These innovative challenges are simultaneously fun and skill-building which helps boost your overall confidence on skates.
The Skate Everywhere team encourages skaters to be their authentic selves
The project is entirely size-inclusive and welcomes skaters of all kinds. The Skate Everywhere team encourages skaters to be their authentic selves and celebrate all achievements and victories, no matter how small. They also support the wider roller skating community by offering opportunities to support great causes both locally and worldwide. In addition to this, the team is deeply passionate about encouraging skaters to have fun as well as promote kindness while supporting others in achieving their skating goals.
The Skate Everywhere team set up their project when Covid-19 hit and took Roller Derby away from them. In the absence of the sport they love, the team instead took to trail, dance, and park skating and found that they spotted many new skaters who were struggling to progress their skating without any kind of coaching or direction.
The project exists as a response to this need for focused goals to help new and established skaters alike develop and feel a better sense of progression when they go out to tackle their discipline of choice or when exploring a new discipline.
An online community that gives you the extra nudge of support
The team also supports the global roller skating community, by bringing people together virtually after the pandemic took away normal socialization. Across the world, skaters of all kinds, ages, and ability levels have signed up to the project to grow as skaters. The project gives you the perfect chance to set goals that will keep you from losing your motivation, no matter how many attempts it takes you to learn something new or get something right.
For many skaters, skating is not just a hobby, but an entire lifestyle. Everyone has ‘off days’, weeks, and sometimes even months where you might not feel like picking up your skates and going out to try a trick or learn a skill that you’ve been finding difficult to nail. The Skate Everywhere team has found a way to remedy this struggle by giving you that extra nudge of support from an online community designed to make you stop beating yourself up when you’re struggling to get something right.
You can find and follow the Skate Everywhere Project on their socials: Instagram & Facebook
Read more and Sign up for a challenge on their website: skateeverywhereproject.com
Words by Lucy Edwards
Photos by The Skate Everwhere Project