It sounded promising until I got to the "— we use the term women+ — (is) self selecting. If you feel that you belong in a feminine space, we want you to feel welcome here" But I shared it for anyone wants to give it a try.
Park City women with a passion for the outdoors gathered at the Stio on Main Street on Wednesday evening to learn about ILLA, a company whic
Tana Hoffman, founder of ILLA, a women+ networking app to encourage participation in the outdoors, spoke at an "activation" event in Park City on Wednesday.
Katie Hatzfeld/Park Record
Park City women with a passion for the outdoors gathered at the Stio on Main Street on Wednesday evening to learn about ILLA, a company that connects women based on their interests.
“I just want to say, thank you guys for coming out,” said Tana Hoffman, the founder of ILLA, who drove down from her home in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Fifteen women gathered around as she explained how ILLA’s app works.
“You create a profile and you can find other skiers, snowboarders, bikers, mountain bikers, climbers, surfers, whatever you love to do, depending on your area,” she said.
Based on your profile, members receive notifications when, for example, another person pings for a ski partner on a coming day. Those available or interested are thrown into a group chat to plan their own adventure. It’s a cross between a friendship dating app and a Facebook group.
This “activation” event on Wednesday was a chance for people to learn about ILLA, connect face-to-face, find some ski or boarding buddies for the winter and develop their own women-centric community.
Hoffman had attendees raise their hands to identify fellow skiers or boarders, and then encouraged each other to connect — like an in-person ILLA group chat. She passed out cards with information about how to create a profile.
Sarah Kodric, winner of the night’s $75 Stio gift card prize, came looking to find friends and fellow Epic Pass-holding snowboarders in the Park City area. After moving from her home in Slovenia to Utah with her boyfriend in June, she was eager to find some women to hang out with.
Madison Blackley, a Park City born-and-raised professional snowboarder, popped in after boarding at Woodward’s monthly women’s night. She talked to the group about her passion for encouraging adult women towards sports they love.
Madison Blackley, a professional snowboarder and Parkite, spoke at the ILLA event about upcoming snowboarding camps for women in the area.Katie Hatzfeld/Park Record
“I coach for women’s camps called Beyond the Bounds. We run women’s adult snowboard camps,” said Blackley. “(These camps are for) anyone, a beginner, never been in the park, if you’re trying to keep up with your boyfriend, if that’s your goal, whatever your goal is.”
One girl called out, “It’s for him to keep up with us!” The group laughed.
This was the attitude for many of the women who attended. And for ILLA’s creator, that’s the whole goal.
The New Hampshire native said she’d always been involved in the outdoor industry but struggled in the male-dominated world.
“Most of the ski shops I was in, surf shops I was in, I was always kind of the little sister,” said Hoffman.
Hoffman said gaining confidence as a woman in the outdoors was not easy, a challenge shared by many of the women she met, and she found herself drawn toward women-first communities.
Over the years, Hoffman began connecting other female outdoor-enthusiasts with each other through social media or group chats. But as one person, she could only do so much. What if there was an app for that?
With this mission, Hoffman founded ILLA in February 2022.
“ILLA was a way of, how do we scale this beyond myself, beyond me doing group text messages and group Instagram introductions,” she said.
Currently there are about 1,000 users from all across the country, she said, but certain areas have more concentration than others.
“We find that wherever you think of as a mountain hub, we tend to see more. So like the Tahoes and Missoula and Bozeman, … areas that you think of as being inherently attractive to the outdoor industry,” said Hoffman.
Park City is one of those places, and Hoffman said she hopes events like Wednesday’s will bring more women onto the platform.
“The women focus — we use the term women+ — (is) self selecting. If you feel that you belong in a feminine space, we want you to feel welcome here,” said Hoffman. “ILLA is very much a choose-your-own adventure. We’re the tool, not the enforcer.”
Still in early stages, the platform is a web app, but plans to launch in the app store by the end of December or early 2024.
Right now, anyone can join ILLA at illawomen.com, and updates will be announced to members as they come.
