10 Years of Yuki Birds
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Ten years. Thousands of turns, hundreds of park laps, countless laughs, a few broken bones, lifelong friendships and one hell of a community. Since day one, Teags has been at the heart of Yuki Birds — helping create a space where women and gender-diverse riders can show up, have a crack, fall over, learn something new and leave with a crew behind them. As we celebrate a decade of Yuki Birds, we sat down with one of the people who has poured more into these events than almost anyone to look back on the memories, the impact and why she keeps coming back year after year.
Hey Teags,
It’s that time of year again; the Yuki Birds days are coming up. Are you pumped, AND can you believe it's been 10 years?
It's actually insane that this is year 10! My favourite time of the year, cannot wait.
You've been there for all ten years (Wild! Thank you), it’s a shit load of travel and effort to make it happen; it’s all free and volunteer-based. Why do you keep rocking up year after year? What is it about the event that makes it all worthwhile?
Year One I was just vibing with my pals, riding in the Buller rain, sipping on cocktails - I was horrifically hungover but it was still loads of fun. When the second year came around, I was trying to learn to surf, trying to learn to skate, trying to find Skyline Park less daunting.
I'd find myself intimidated and not wanting to fall over or look stupid. I'd spend a whole day in Skyline doing 50s on a rail to keep up with the lads and not make a fool of myself. Not trying, not learning anything new, doing the same shit all day, that ain't fun!
The whole aim of the game with Yuki Birds was to create an environment where women feel comfortable trying, falling, progressing. To build a community of gals that just love snowboarding.
I barely even snowboard on Yuki Birds days. I'm a glorified woo girl standing next to a box, watching the ladies try things they've never tried, fall over, laugh, try again. Honestly, I love nothing more than these days in the park because of how stoked everyone is. A whole group of people who are just loving the same thing I love is the coolest shit ever.
We've got the skiers in the gang these days too. Skiing is cool.
What kind of an impact do you think these days have had on the people who have attended and the broader women's community?
Well, I have decade old friendships now, so that's cool.
We get great feedback on the day, but it's the people that are returning each year, the people who come to multiple resorts to join us in the same year that make it feel worth it. Early season, I often run into some of the crew that have joined us over the past years, and I almost always get asked if we've set a date for this year's events yet.
I think there's something about the grassroots vibe of the day that has just allowed the community to grow year on year.
This genuinely doesn't happen without the volunteers. Who are the women who make it run, and what do they put in to get it off the ground each year?
Coordinating resorts, gathering the troops, accom, passes, transport, registration, media, prizes. It's a lot of work.
The lords (or ladies) of organising in the last decade would have to be Ash Turner, Nicole Lockie and Steph Jones. They all took on the role of planning wizard for a few years each.
There's been plenty of crew help out over the years, many for multiple years, but Mimi, Ash, Emma, Eden, Bridie and Sue are some of the veterans.
Just this gang alone you'll find across Sydney, Torquay, Mount Beauty, Jindy, Newy and Melbourne. That's some community we've built.
And thank you to anyone and everyone that has helped out over the past decade.
Soooo when you have a bunch of girls on tour, all staying together, all very comfortable with each other and know how to have a good time, surely there’s some shenanigans go down… You got any stories from the years that you wanna share?
I think I might get killed if I share too much.
Trying to run one of the days from my accom, high on endone, after shattering my collarbone and knocking myself out the day before in a rail jam was a goodie.
Fishtailing up the back of Thredbo with Carrie and Eden in the back seat at a silly time of the night. Twice.
Alex Jones meeting her now husband, Sir Dean Ridi, on the weekend of Year One. That's a whole story in itself.
What's one of your fav mems from the last 10 years of events?
Probably Thredbo 2018. I think we had 76 women in the park that day. It was a bluebird day at Merritt's. The vibes were at an all time high. The Thredbo park crew that year was also a big ol' girl gang with Siena, Emma, Anna and Nicole, and… Ash? I don't actually know if Ash was park crew but she's in the gang! I also met my now husband that day :)
My other fav was Buller 2018 but for completely different reasons. Cancelled on Saturday due to weather. Us girls sent it on Saturday night. Dance floor was destroyed. Come Sunday, park crew set up a box or two for us just above Bourke St. We dragged our hungover asses up the hill on a windhold day and hiked that box for hours with the crew. Who knew a few dusty humans could have so much fun in such terrible weather. Shoutout to everyone that braved the weather and joined us that day, commitment 100/10.
How has it changed you over the years that you maybe didn’t expect before we started these?
I like snowboarding because it's fun. I don't care if I fall or look stupid (although I probably should after my injuries).
That thought process has probably melted into my general life a bit. Do things because they're fun, because you want to. Learn new things, be curious. You don't need to be good at shit to love it. You don't need to know everything to be interested in it.
Have you seen someone go from ‘oh that’s not for me’ to having a crack and loving it? Tell us about them…
Honestly, I couldn't pick just one story because literally every single event we have at least one person go from 'absolutely not' to hitting rainbow boxes or trying little board slides.
Some of the slams I've seen over the years though, damn. Usually it's "Oh fuck" followed by "I'm good!", then "I'm gonna get this" and a hike back up the hill.
And I'll always love the mum that brings her daughter only to start giving it a crack herself.
What would you say to someone who is thinking about coming but not quite sure if they are ‘good’ enough or will fit in?
Can you link turns? Cool, come hang! Our days are usually made up of so many different
humans - skiers, snowboarders, mums, season workers, young shredders, weekend warriors. We're all just there to enjoy ourselves, so if you're coming to have fun, you're gonna have no issue fitting in.
We can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for us and the events over the years. Thank you. YTG!
No thank you, Luke. We don't get to finish this without saying a massive thanks to you for getting this going, for supporting its growth year on year. You're an honorary one of the gals 💖
And thank you to all of the resorts, the park crews, the media crews, Colin, everyone that has made Yuki Birds see the decade of success it has. We love you.
Is there any parting wisdom or thoughts you’d like to share?
I'm not wise. But keep snowboarding or skiing and I reckon you'll be doing okay.
