Skateboarders Boycott Winnipeg Skatepark

What's skating without inclusion?
LEWIS KELLY  | 

For many, skating is a way of freedom, to forget about the daily problems we all face for a couple of hours whilst you hit the park with your friends. However, this isn’t the case for skaters in Winnipeg, Canada, who have decided to take a stand against local park The Edge after organizers denied a weekly event for the LGBTQ+ community

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by The Other Skaters Zine (@theotherskaters)

 

Local LGBTQ+ skater Maddy Nowasad regularly visited The Edge and despite making a community of friends, she realized she didn’t quite fit the stereotypical skater image. This led to Maddy creating a zine, The Other Skaters, set up to represent and support 2SLGBTQ+, non-binary, and female skaters.

With Maddy’s zine in place soon came a pitched idea to the park, which gave LGBTQ+ skaters a weekly event specifically for the inclusive community. Despite the strong effort to make The Edge a much more diverse, safe space, organizers of The Youth for Christ Winnipeg rejected this idea and are yet to comment as to why?

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by The Other Skaters Zine (@theotherskaters)

 

This, however, isn’t the first time the park has been highlighted for its prejudiced views. A policy dating back to 2021 stated that YFC Winnipeg’s Park does not allow; “2SLGBTQ+ volunteers or staff, & non-Christian volunteers of staff.”

Maddy told CBC when she was told the event & zine weren’t welcome in their space; it was the “first time that I realized that it wasn’t actually a safe space.” 

For more information on The Other Skaters, head on over to their Instagram: @theotherskaters.
 

Related: skateboarding , LGBTQ+ , Winnipeg , Maddy Nowasad .
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