We are helping to create a new healthy foundation for a more inclusive surf culture here in Ireland. The first step in this journey is to create a space that nourishes and encourages strong females in the surfing environment. Our women’s spaces are open to anyone who identifies as female.This is not designed to exclude the amazing men and boys in our community, but rather to make space for women to grow on their own terms that has not previously been available. The whole community wins when women step into their strength. We need more strong, independent and experienced women in the surf environment for our children to learn from and witness.

The Challenges

Many women find the surf environment intimidating, out of their reach, sometimes aggressive and often a trigger for fear or frustration. Up until recently there haven’t been many women surfing at the breaks around Ireland, so finding like minded women has been challenging. Surfing alone is not always attractive when partnered with lack of experience, fears or feeling not good enough to paddle out.

When I started surfing twenty years ago I was the only woman 99% of the time. It can feel quite pressurised to be the only woman in a crowd of fifty men. There are many eyes watching for different reasons when a woman catches a wave, many positive, some negative. Catching waves in those environments can require being more assertive and holding your ground quite forcefully. Sometimes verbally and most often through body language and movement. This is not something that culturally we women have been encouraged to do until fairly recently, even now labels fly with assertion in a female body.

The Space

I kept seeing the same things being taught in surf schools that just didn’t work for women, hence the drop off in uptake. Very quickly there was a steady flow of keen women coming to me, learning and connecting with each other every week. I still run these surf sessions as my core heart of the company and it’s still once or twice a week. The women also go on to join my mixed sessions, private coaching, intermediate and advanced sessions. 

These women become independent at their own pace and able to surf competently by themselves, taking their place in the line-ups. They benefit from the new surf connections they have found through the sessions and continue to connect with daily but also the style of teaching they receive has empowers them.