by Ceoli Jacoby

Sophomore linguistics major Anna DiRienzo first stepped foot in a skatepark the summer before heading off to college at the University of Florida. Though she had the bowl to herself when she arrived, a more experienced skater was not far behind her. 

“I was really intimidated,”  DiRienzo said. “I just got too shy and I had to leave.”

In an alternate timeline, that might have been the end of her skating journey. But in this one, DiRienzo discovered Wahines of the Waves – a board sporting club for women and members of the LGBTQ community. Here, she met others whose passion for skating was at odds with their disdain for the sport’s hyper-masculine culture. Many in the club were beginners as well, a fact which encouraged DiRienzo to stand up and try again each time she fell off her board. 

When she transferred to the University of Maryland last fall, DiRienzo hoped she might find a similar group in College Park. When she learned that no such club existed, however, she decided to put out some feelers on social media. 

The response was overwhelmingly positive. In only two weeks, We Skate at UMD amassed over 40 prospective members and over 50 followers on Instagram. DiRienzo received support from several alumni, one of whom said she wished the club had been founded before she graduated.

Sophomores Emma Yockman, Gillian Boline and Irene Navaleza soon joined the club’s e-board – bringing DiRienzo’s vision  one step closer to fruition. The women envision We Skate at UMD as a safe-haven for ostracized skaters on campus, where all skill levels and all wheels –  including but not limited to scooters, roller blades and longboards – are welcome. 

“The hardest step isn’t being able to balance on the board or learning how to do an ollie,” Yockman said. “It’s conquering that mindset of ‘I don’t belong on a skateboard.’”

Though women and LGBTQ people have been a fixture of the skateboarding community since the sport rose to prominence in the 1970s, they have been and continue to be shut out of competitions, parks and more. The first seven editions of the X-games, ESPN’s annual extreme sports event, featured only male skaters.

The network held its first women’s skateboarding events in 2003, but male X-games winners were paid 25 times more in prize winnings than their female counterparts. Female competitors won equal pay only after threatening to boycott the 2005 games, and the change was not implemented until 2008.

Professional skateboarder Brian Anderson, who identifies as gay, said in 2016 that it was rampant homophobia in the sport which precluded him from living openly for much of his life. 

Under these circumstances, it is unsurprising that many women and members of the LGBTQ community who are on the fence about pursuing skating need affirmation from others like them.

For some, this push can come from representation in media – the We Skate at UMD board members lauded Lizzie Armonto, Beatrice Domond and Cata Diaz as inspirational to female skaters worldwide. 

For others, the promise of a judgement-free zone like We Skate at UMD does the trick. 

“It makes me really happy that we can all finally do what we want to do and not feel held back in any way,”  DiRienzo said. 

“We aren’t setting out with a political goal or anything like that,” Boline added. “But changes in mainstream skate culture starts small with clubs like ours.”

The club will hold its first official meeting in the Fall 2021 semester and board members said that any in-person events will be COVID-permitting.