The Girls Riders Organization will kick off its national tour Sunday, May 2 at TNT Skateboarding.

Now in its fifth year, the GRO tour brings free skateboarding exhibitions to girls. This year, 84 stops are planned.

Set for noon to 6 p.m., the family event will feature skating contests and workshops for girls “from babies to grandmas,” said GRO founder Courtney Payne-Taylor.

A local DJ will give lessons on scratching. Girls can also decorate their boards with spray paint and take a guitar lesson.

“It’s a way for girls to come out and explore things that they might not otherwise try,” Payne-Taylor said.

GRO was formed nationally in 2006 to “inspire, educate and support girls in action sports,” according to its Web site.

Payne-Taylor, who said skating changed her life in a positive way, wants to spread awareness of the sport to other girls.

“Whenever a new park happens, a mind-set sets in right away with the girls that come out to check out the skate park,” she said. “If they don’t see any girls skating in their community to start, then that mind-set sets in that girls don’t skate.”

The local GRO crew, the first in Georgia, formed about a year ago at TNT Skateboarding.

Tracy Clark, owner of TNT, said she was “totally psyched” to get 22 members on the local GRO team within six months of joining the organization.

Clark said she has always allowed girls to skate for free, so working with GRO was “just meant to be.”

As a female business owner, Clark said she strives to create opportunities for young girls because they’re at that age where they may feel like they wouldn’t be accepted into the sport.

“It’s important for them to recognize that girls can do anything and everything,” she said. “All we have to do is set our minds to it.”

Clark looks forward to showcasing different activities girls may not ordinarily experience.

She’ll also be able to showcase the skate park’s new facility, which opened a little more than a week ago. The former location was damaged by fire in January.