W
hether you’re a 15 year-old grom, or a 50
year-old just learning to surf, age doesn’t
matter in the line-up. The stoke you get
when you take up surfing is timeless. So,
in this issue we’ve bought together women spanning the
decades, to find out what surfing means at their time in
life, whether they’re busy juggling kids with trying to surf,
or defying what’s expected of ‘a certain age’ and surfing
into their 70s –like Robyn Strano. It’s all about having a
positive mindset and staying fit to surf. Bear this in mind
and we could all be like Robyn in years to come!
Today women’s surfing is booming. From inspiring
performances by pro surfers on the world tour, to
women-only surf camps and female specific surf gear, the
sport is bigger and more accessible, and there are more
women in the line-up than ever before. However, the surf
scene of the 80s and 90s was a different story, and one
of testosterone-fuelled line-ups and sexism in the sport.
It’s taken a couple of decades for the sport to open up
to female surfers in a big way, and it’s thanks in part to
strong women such as Layne Beachley, Lisa Andersen
and Rochelle Ballard, who paved the way for pro surfing
as we know it today. Read their stories in this issue. Plus,
there’s a gallery of archive photos collated by the California
Surfing Museum, to get a feel for what surfing was like for
pioneering women in the era of Gidget and the early 20th
century.
While we take a look back at the past, we also need
to be mindful that we hold the future in our hands too.
Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet, our
world is a delicate ecosystem that needs balance to
survive. Even if the leaders of the world aren’t listening, we
still have a part to play, and as surfers we need be aware
of the environment in which we play. We have some tips
on how you can help in The Knowledge section – they are
small steps, but we need to get on the right path for the
sake of future generations.
Our insert in this issue, Saltwater Surfer, is all about
finding the confidence to surf better, with some hints and
techniques to perfect your performance. Whatever level of
surfing, or whatever your age, have fun in the ocean and
enjoy it for as long as you can.- Louise Searle