Female membership of the Scarborough Boardriders has grown so much that this year the club hosted its first development day just for girls. One of the teenage surfers, Coco Badger, reports.
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Starting the day in the surf with 20 other teenage girls, and no boys dominating the waves, I knew it was going to be a good day. Being surrounded by smiling faces, pumping swell, and the true spirit of girl power was something to revel in.
For the local crew of surfing girls, Sunday 15th of May 2022 will be remembered as a day of empowerment for young women to embrace the sport of surfing. It was a day to celebrate being a girl, in and out of the water, where we were supported and encouraged to develop our skills and techniques, and to experience the camaraderie of a group of like-minded ocean-loving girls coming together to have fun.
As part of the Her Wave initiative with Surfing NSW, new and familiar faces alike showed up to participate in an eventful day held at Coledale Beach, hosted by Scarborough Boardriders Club.
Warming up with a quick surf got us keen for what was to come. Feeling the vibe of positivity and strength within the group of girls while out in the surf was inspiring to many of us.
On most occasions surfing as a young girl can be intimidating at first, with mostly men dominating the waves, picking off all the best ones, so it was a really nice experience to be sharing the waves with a crew of girls.
The day consisted of tips on how to improve our individual surfing styles, surf-specific exercises to gain strength for a better surfing ability, awareness of rubbish on the beaches and ways to implement environmental safety for the protection of our oceans, and plenty of awesome waves to carve up.
Guided by two of the most inspiring local female surfers, Kasey Hargreaves and Anna Chamberlain, who many of us look up to, the group participated in land-based training exercises involving surf techniques and positioning. We must have looked kooky jumping around on the sand doing 360-degree spins and not landing on our feet, but it was a good laugh. We were then given the opportunity to implement what we had learned while we went for a surf together.
Local photographer Amber Cree took to the water with her camera in a water housing to capture photos of the girls shredding.
We were keen to hear from local board shaper Dylan Perese of DP Surfboards when he spoke with us about the importance of board selection, the difference between various shapes and sizes, and how these elements affect our performance on the waves we ride.
Susie Crick, of Surfrider Foundation Australia, was there to give us an insightful and informative talk about the ongoing problem with rubbish ending up on the shores of our coast. We were motivated by this and happy to get our hands dirty and venture around Coledale Beach, scavenging for pieces of rubbish that would otherwise end up in our oceans.
Walking around with garbage bags, we felt overwhelmed by the amount of junk spread through the sand and grass on the dunes. Plastic nowadays is in everything, so it’s hard to avoid it and its negative impacts on the environment, but with the help of Susie and local beach clean-up volunteers in the area, we hope that a small group of young passionate girls can make a big difference.
After a few happy snaps, we were greeted with a warm Welcome to Country from local indigenous spokeswoman Prof. Ngiare Brown, who shared stories about whales, the ocean, and the history of the Dharawal Country that she grew up on.
Next, it was time to get zen. We spread out in a circle in downward dog pose, and took part in a relaxing yoga session with local yoga instructor, Sarah. She guided us through meditational yoga stretches, calming our minds, and teaching us how to breathe in the surf when faced with a wipeout and pumping adrenaline.
We’d no sooner finished with some breathwork, when the team at Earthwalker & Co spread out beautiful bowls of their delicious food, and we couldn’t wait to get some lunch into our hungry bellies. It was really nice to sit together as a group and get to know each other while replenishing ourselves with healthy and wholesome food.
Talina Wilson, a local surf coach at Adventure Surf Co, provided video coaching, an awesome opportunity for us to take on board professional advice about our surfing as we grow and learn more about surfing. It was good to see examples of other girls’ waves on the video playback and hear about what they can work on as an individual. The group discussion around this thrived off Talina’s constructive input. We all saw this as a way to better ourselves each time we go surfing.
A surf event wouldn’t be complete without a surf T-shirt, and we were stoked to get some free stuff! Local artist Zoe Gelder designed a graphic T-shirt with the Get Her Onboard logo, as part of the Her Wave movement. It’s something we’ll wear proudly.
Finishing off the day with an epic late-afternoon surf, the coaches also joined us in the waves to show us how it’s done.
All the women who contributed to the events of the day were inspiring role models for us, as they show the younger generation of girls that we can do and be anything. This inspiration can and will go a long way, especially for young and upcoming surfer girls.
A strong community of girls with a common passion is an unstoppable force. The positivity, encouragement and team spirit motivated us to dive deeper into something we love, and surfing puts such a big smile on our faces.
Making club history
By contest director Ian Pepper
Boardrider clubs were historically dominated by male members and Scarborough Boardriders was no different up until about 10 years ago.
Regular female members back then included Billie Melinz from Coalcliff and April Boughton from Stanwell Park. However, the open women’s division often struggled to have more than a couple of surfers turn up for heats until around 2014 when more junior girls starting joining the club.
In response, the club created the junior girls division, which flourished in membership and lead to our first girl-only team attending the Kirra Junior Teams Challenge in 2015 – where they finished 6th, bringing home $500 in prize money!
The club committee also created a new role of Female Coordinators and Raylee Golding has held the position from early on until today.
Raylee and her devoted team of passionate women surfers have done an amazing job developing and supporting our female members.
In 2020 the club recognised the importance and competitive level of our female divisions and created equal prize money for the open women’s division at each and every pointscore.
And in 2022 we staged our first female-only development day. Stay tuned for what’s next!
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