One Day I'd Like to Do This For Pinay Surfers

Record numbers turn out for the Rip Curl Girls Go Surfing days in Bali

29 May 2011, Double Six beach Legian – Bali.

Bright sky’s and perfect 2 -3ft waves decorated Sunday morning at Double 6 beach Legian, Bali for the 2011 Rip Curl Girls Go Surfing day.

A record breaking 130 girls of all ages and nationality turned out from as far away as Malaysia and Thailand to register and join the annual Rip Curl Girls Go Surfing Day now in its 8^th year.

The day began with registration at 9.30 followed by the first class of the day ready hit the surf at 10.30. Joining the lesson were Rip Curl facebook photo competition winners from Jakarta who had won an all expenses paid trip from Jakarta by posting pictures of themselves to Rip Curl’s fan page. Girls started out with a warm-up and stretching followed by basic standing, positioning on the surfboard and how to paddle. The introduction was made by Rip Curl School of Surf Pro instructor Jonathan Deaker who made all the girls feel right at home with his relaxed and fun spirit before they took to the perfect clean waves.

While the first group was getting amongst the action on the water, the beach scene was hotting-up with fun and games to win top prizes, girls having manicures, body massages and temporary tattoos in the specially designed beauty booth.

As the third and final session of the afternoon came to a close around 3pm, live music kicked-in on the stage and the crowds of girls gathered to dance together to a hot salsa music lessons with fun choreographer and dance instructor.

A beach BBQ added to a perfect afternoon of fun and games in true Rip Curl style with hot dogs and cold drinks ready to feed the hungry girls.

To end the day on stage, the prize giving of the Coca Cola ISC Women Division Tour was announced with Rip Curl team rider Diah Rahayu Dewi taking first place starting her 2011 campaign on a high note. The presentation was followed up with some special awards for best wipe-out, best ride and best style that was won by Rip Curl’s media guest’s form Thailand and Malaysia.

“It was a great start for the women's pro tour. We had some good waves and the girls were challenged but showed that they are more than motivated and are frothing to compete. We are looking forward to a tough and challenging competition for the 2011 women’s championship.” (Tim Hain - Media Director- Coca-Cola ISC Tour)

Thanks to Rip Curl’s co - sponsors and media partners; GUS, All Seasons Legian Hotel, Rip Curl School Of Surf, Coca Cola ISC, OZ radio, JUICE, Magic Wave, Sister Girlfriend and Go girl.

Wahines in the Water: full version

I submitted this article to Elev8 Magazine's second issue. The last few paragraphs didn't come out due to a printing glitch. So here is the full article in all its unedited self.

There was a time that the idea of women surfing brought to mind Gidget, the Hollywood Beach Blanket icon. While cute and perky, she didn’t quite portray the most empowering image of female surfers.

In recent years, the presence big-wave riders such as Layne Beachley, Malia Kamisugi, power wahines the likes of Sofia Mulanovich, Keala Kennely and new talents like Chelsea Georgeson have made it quite clear that there is room for bikinis in the land of boardshorts. Whether it is in Australia, Hawaii or as far south as Brasil, women are definitely holding their own in the liquid arena.

Here in our neck of the world, more and more women are paddling out and taking waves in a sport more often than not designated for men. Point in case – the Philippine Surf Federation’s 2005 Circuit included an all-women’s surf competition was held at Siargao island’s Cloud 9, a right hander famous for its hollow barrels.

Anyone who watched these Filipinas charge Cloud 9 that year came away with much respect for them. These girls grew up in a line-up peppered with boys. This is especially the case for Nildie Blancada and Manet Alcala (Siargao) and Mocca Edusma (Daet) where they are often the only females out with the boys.

The event was seen as a gigantic step forward in the arena of women’s surfing. This year, the competition saw an even larger contingent of participants, including Australian pro surfers Sheridan Shields, Lyndsay Noyes as well as local wahines hailing from all over the country. The ripple effect of seeing women taking on monster waves has inspired a younger set of girls to get on a board and get in there. Only months after the comp girls as young as 6 began paddling out with Siargao’s normally all-male grommet posse.

Even back in Manila, the number of wahine weekend warriors has tripled in the last two years. The membership roster of the Manila Surfers’ Association has a nearly equal number of men and women.

On a personal level, it is not only empowering to see more girls in the line-up. It is, quite simply, more enjoyable. I am no longer the only girl on a weekend road trip, having to put up with pranks, fart jokes or actual farts. Now, there is always at least one other female to talk to about the more substantial aspects of life, namely: shopping, shoes and spas.

I am not a professional surfer. I am not even an intermediate level surfer. What I am is a chick with a waxed stick that enjoys every wave that she gets, whether it’s a wall that just keeps going and going or a party wave shared with four other friends. And it’s just fun that now, the chances are higher that those friends I share that one ride with are also fellow females.

From observations and conversations with other female surfers (and yes, even in the line-up, we girls like to yack it up), it seems that The Philippines is among the best places to be a chick in the line-up. The boys are less aggressive, more accommodating and actually quite encouraging. I don’t know if it is the way that Filipinos are raised to respect women, if it is the intrinsically mellow personality of Filipinos in general or a combination of both that makes these local line-ups a good place to be a woman surfer. Granted each line-up will have its fair share of macho men that will never see women as equals in the water. But they are, thankfully, the exception and not the norm.

My good friend Mille Fairhall is a free surfer who surfed competitively in her teen years. She shuttles back and forth between her two homelands of Australia and the Philippines. We were talking once about the state of women’s surfing in the Philippines and she said “There have been a few women who have dared to challenge the stereotype (that surfing is for boys). And I think that gender has no relevance on a wave. If women can get past that intimidation factor, the old guard thoughts and physical inhibitions there would be a lot more of us out there… enjoying surfing for what it is.”

By the way, Millie charges and rips so if you happen to be one of the rare aggro boys, don’t even think about asking her to move to the shoulder.