Brown Girl Outdoor World is focused on breaking down barriers for those in BIPOC communities so that they can find enjoyment – and community – in winter outdoor experiences.Aidas Rygalis
The key to enjoying the coldest time of the year in Canada is to venture outside and simply embrace it. “We don’t believe that Canadians should hibernate in winter,” says Paul Pinchbeck, chief executive officer of Ski Canada. “Snow sports are very much about a community – getting out there and laughing, having fun and connecting with people. It’s a fantastic way to spend your winter.”
Regardless of your age or where you live, Canada’s countrywide commitment to winter fun means that there are lessons, transportation, low-cost equipment and community available to anyone willing to try something new.
Learn to skate or play hockey
Knowing how to skate opens the door to a number of winter sports and activities – from hockey to speed skating – and its one, says Heather McMahon, Skate Canada’s senior manager of skating programs, that you can learn at any age. “Our biggest program is our Canskate program and that’s open to everybody, whether you’re three years old or in your nineties,” she says, adding that the Learn to Skate program is offered at more than 1,200 clubs across the country.
Because skating is a foundational skill for other winter sports, Skate Canada offers goal-oriented coaching that begins with learning to lace up a pair of skates and continues in the direction of each skater’s individual on-ice objectives. “If your passion is to proceed into figure skating,” says McMahon, “we’re going to strive to teach you all of that. If it’s to skate the Rideau Canal, that’s great too. If it’s to be a hockey player, a ringette player or a speed skater, we’re here to teach you how to skate for whatever your personal goals are.”
McMahon says Skate Canada’s Learn to Skate page will direct future skaters to a club in their area. Clubs host programs for kids and adults as well as adaptive skating programs for people with disabilities. Many also offer skate rentals and equipment loan programs that decrease the cost and barriers of participation.
For skaters seeking a team sport experience, Hockey Canada has a range of programs and activities for kids and adults including Esso Fun Days, a cost-free initiative aimed at encouraging more girls and women to take up the game.
Learn to ski and snowboard
With ski hills in all 10 provinces and two territories, Ski Canada wants to make sure that every Canadian gets to enjoy this snowy bounty.
“One of the benefits of the pandemic,” says Pinchbeck, “was that people embraced being outside. We saw a huge upward swing in the number of Canadians of all ages who wanted to try snow sports. What they found was that the equipment is much more comfortable these days. It’s much easier to ski, snowboard or cross-country ski. There’s probably never been a better time to learn or relearn to ski.”
Skiing and snowboarding have a reputation for being high-cost, high-octane sports, but Pinchbeck says the vast majority of Canadian skiers aren’t wealthy adrenalin junkies – they’re intermediates who get out to ski three to six times per year. For first-timers, affordable options are available through his organization. “We have a program, Never Ever Days, designed specifically to bring Canada’s newest citizens into our sport. It’s an inexpensive $29.95 introduction to snow sports participation. It’s the lift ticket, the rental equipment, the lesson and a full day of experimentation.”
There are also ski and snowboard programs that make the sport more accessible in terms of transportation. Snowhawks, which operates out of both Toronto and Ottawa, provides supervised ski and snowboard days for kids as well as bussing to and from hills outside of the city. For adults, there are organizations like the High Park Ski Club in Toronto that offer lessons, organize transportation and present a chance to connect with an outdoorsy community.
Find your winter fun community
Through her organization Brown Girl Outdoor World (BGOW), founder and director Demiesha Dennis works to dismantle some of the barriers to winter sports participation for members of BIPOC communities. “Belonging is what drives community,” says Dennis, who points out that when you don’t see yourself represented in a particular winter sport, you don’t feel safe or secure joining in.
To boost those feelings of belonging, BGOW events place an emphasis on connection building. “After the day is done there’s always après ski because that’s the place where we really seal the deal on what community feels like,” says Dennis. “People get to exchange numbers. People get to start WhatsApp groups about different events that they want to attend. And I think that’s one of the great things that has allowed [BGOW] to flourish.”
Community is a key element when it comes to learning a new skill or taking up a new sport and having the support and encouragement of other learners can be a powerful bonding experience. “As adults we’re taught to be so careful about everything that we almost lose our sense of what it is to try something for the fun of it,” says Dennis. “We’re afraid of looking silly in front of others. But if you have someone there to either assist you, to laugh with you or to make you not feel worried about falling in front of a group of people, to me it’s like, ‘Okay, I’ve tried this and the community’s here to support me.’”