Of the 162 members at Woonona Boardriders, the oldest boardriders club in the Illawarra, established in 1975, just 29 make up the Junior Girls and Women’s Open divisions.
But that could be about to change.
A new year and an updated committee, led by president Marc Robson, have brought fresh enthusiasm to Woonona Boardriders, with the club’s sights now set on improving the participation and proficiency of its women surfers.
Newly appointed girls'/women’s manager Kirby Mowbray, who has been a periodic club member for more than 15 years, says that, while discussions about increasing the number of girls and women participants have been ongoing for some time, the drive to implement initiatives to rectify the gender disparity has come this year.
“There's obviously a clear imbalance across most [boardriders] clubs when it comes to this sport,” Kirby says.
“Surfing’s always been so male-dominated, and the girls’ skill level for many years just hasn't been at that level of the men.
“We’ve really tried to figure out why and what we can do about it, so we thought hard about increasing participation.”
Recognising the importance of positive role models, the Woonona club has introduced regular coaching by ex-ASP World Tour surfers Yvonne Turner and Kim Wooldridge, as well as former Australian surf champion Greg McCann, specifically for the girls and women in the club.
“We've got a few members at our club that have been on the world tour before… [and they] have all stepped up to help coach the girls each point-score,” Kirby says.
“They're sitting on the beach giving feedback, showing them where they can improve their surfing – so that's a really good help.
“They'll sit there and, for example, maybe talk about a different topic each month: wave selection, choosing the right equipment, things like that.”
With Tarrawanna's Reub Goldberg Brewing Machine sponsoring the club’s Junior Girls and Women’s Open divisions, Woonona Boardriders will also send 10 junior members to the Hyundai Surfing Australia High Performance Centre, an Olympic training centre that hosts multi-day camps designed to improve the skills of novice, intermediate and advanced surfers.
The club will register a girls’ team at the 2023 Her Wave Teams Classic, a two-day competition and workshop in Kiama on April 1 and 2, with additional surf trips, social events and external weekly coaching also planned.
Kirby says that by providing more opportunities for growth, introducing more women judges at monthly point-score events and increasing the focus on fun, learning and building deeper connections, more women and girls have found their place at Woonona Boardriders.
Over the past four years, the number of women members has risen from four to 29, and more have expressed interest.
“[It’s about creating an] overall better atmosphere at the club, [with] more balance,” Kirby says.
“[We’re] definitely encouraging younger kids to get involved through the MicroGroms program – girls and boys – where I think that is a little bit more balanced, and then [we’re] hoping over the years that turns into… older members, and hopefully there'll be a balance with the older members in years to come.”
Woonona Boardriders is open to surfers from age three – through their MicroGroms program – to Women's Opens and Men's Over-55s. To find out more about their monthly point-score events, social calendar and how to join, click here