I like to see people doing the right things for the right reasons in Airsoft. UK Airsoft Ladies was founded in early 2022 by Drew (Ghillie Sniper Girl) and Alex, a teammate of mine;

“To bring together female airsofters around the UK and build a community for them to feel comfortable in as well as meet-ups being arranged for the ladies to meet/play alongside one another”

Being close to the two founders, I’ve been pretty aware of its development from the word go, and I think it’s a great idea. I do the same with sniper groups – having a small community to talk to you makes all the difference, and unfortunately, female airsofters remain a minority on the field and still suffer from a lot of unwanted attention and comments at sites and online.

UKAL provides that support and I think promotes female airsofters in a much better light as well – as players. I think there’s still an unfair stereotype, which a few do still play on for followers online though, of “airsoft girls” who prefer to pose for photos instead of actually playing airsoft, obsess over sponsors and merchandise, and try to play social media a little too much instead of making a name for themselves as good players, and they become the ones with the biggest (predominantly male) following.

It’s a shame because there are so many very good female players out there who are damn good players, and from the first event I’d like to give a shoutout to airsoft_cougar, who had more energy and aggression in her than the rest of the site combined and finished the day caked in more mud than most of my ghillie suits.

Recently, my daughter started playing and at the age of 15, I thought it important for her to have the right role models in airsoft to emulate (doesn’t want to be a sniper like her dad but whatever…), and GSG in particular has been incredibly supportive and welcoming, sorting her out with a personalised UKAL hoody, which I’m thrilled about. That’s what you want from the community.

I hope UKAL pushes on in the next 12 months, with more events and more female players signing up to the community. It’s promoting a healthy image of female airsofters and has the potential to do a lot of good. If you’re a female airsofter and you’re interested in getting involved, click this link to get to their Instagram and get in touch.