Eva, a high school student at the Sage School in Hailey, Idaho, recently co-hosted a SheJumps event as a part of her senior project. She spent months planning and preparing for her Night Fat-Bike Riding Event and it was a huge success! Though the temperatures dropped far below a comfortable level, the overall experience of the organized event was worth the (nearly) frozen toes. The 15 woman that showed up to the Fat Tire biking Event in Sun Valley shared the trail with smiles all the way! (Yeah Eva!)
In addition to hosting her event, below is a blog post reflecting her own thoughts as a female athlete and what drew her to choose SheJumps as a part of her senior community service project. Here’s Eva…
“I joined the freestyle ski team in seventh grade, excited about what the program may offer. Every weekend, at 10 a.m. on top of Baldy Mountain, a group of girls would convene and ski together until 2:00, learning tricks of the trade all the way. Two years later, I decided to move onto the slopestyle and halfpipe team, expecting my experience to be equally as fun: doing what I loved with people who felt the same way.
However this was not the situation that presented itself to me.
I skied on a team that was made up of all boys, and was hopeful to become friends with them eventually. But as weeks passed, I still rode up on the chairlift alone each day. I loved skiing, but sharing that love was the reason I had joined team (aside from the desire to improve). Slowly, I started disliking skiing because it was a new origin of insecurity for me. Something that used to be so freeing became a burden because of my constant need for approval. I developed such a strong fear of failure that I stopped trying at all.
After a while, I began training on my own, seeking to regain purpose as to why I loved the sport to begin with: and I found it. Skiing is something that brings me outside the busy-ness of my mind, it is something that can be shared with people I love, or complete strangers, and most of all, it brings a level of happiness that is almost incomparable to anything else in life.
Now, the slopestyle and halfpipe team is filled with nearly the same amount of young girls as boys. Although I of course do not credit myself fully for this, it is inspiring to know that seeing me ski may have inspired a young generation of girls to pursue the sport as well.
When I first discovered the SheJumps Program, it was hard to believe I hadn’t known about it in the past. Girls are more prone to self judgment (especially during adolescence), and the fear of failure too often overrides the desire to push boundaries. Because of this, we are doubted, and we doubt ourselves: making it all the less likely to pursue outdoor and challenging sports. However, with the support and non- judging environment that SheJumps events promote, girls and women are given the opportunity to realize that we can do anything we set our mind to, and previous failure does not determine future success.
All the while having a blast, being active, and meeting new friends in the great outdoors!”
