At the top of Mountain Creek, a ski resort in New Jersey, teens from New York City who have never snowboarded anxiously await their first trip down the slopes.
Wrapped in warm, but bulky equipment, the teens’ infectious energy takes over the learning area as they practice, fall, and get back up in preparation for their inaugural ride — one that could change their life.
Raquel Hamblin, 19, had a long list of fears before her first time on the hill: she was scared of falling down, not being good enough, not making friends.
Growing up in a West Indian household, she also wasn’t sure that she would mix well with the snow and the cold.
Hoods to Woods, an organization that helps break down barriers so kids from underserved communities can access the outdoors, changed her perspective.
[My friends] look at me crazy because I snowboard, she said in an interview. She was once a Hoods to Woods participant herself, but now she helps teach the next generation of snowboarders.
She continued, Snowboarding, it’s like top-tier important to me. Because it takes the stress off of me and I get to have fun. And then now I get to teach other kids how to snowboard and have fun, too.
For the Hoods to Woods kids, the excitement of a new skill is palpable as they duck-walk in their bulky winter clothes onto the lift to the top of the hills. But sports like skiing, snowboarding, ice climbing and more, require more than just the willingness to learn.
The world of outdoor recreation is deceptively inaccessible for athletes of color. Embracing a new sport requires navigating barrier after barrier, including culture, location and transportation, cost, equipment, the learned skills, and more.
These can be expensive sports to invest in without the experience and skill set, Hoods to Woods co-founder Omar Diaz and Brian Paupaw told ABC News. And if the cost of transportation, equipment and lessons aren’t a factor – it could be the lack of a support system or community that hinders new participants.
