Top ranked women surfers from all over SA will be waiting patiently to be called out to the most innovative womenaEUR(tm)s surf event of the year, The 2007 ROXY Invitational.

With womenaEUR(tm)s surfing growing in leaps and bounds, it is no wonder that more and more surf events in South Africa are being held exclusively for women. Each surf event in SA has its own unique ethos, however up until now there has been no other event where women are personally invited to compete outside of the usual aEUR(tm)CT rankings.

Bryony McCormick, SWG Assistant Editor, comments that, aEURoeThe ROXY Invitational is a groundbreaking step for womenaEUR(tm)s surfing in South Africa. Together with ROXY, Saltwater GIRL have huge plans to take womenaEUR(tm)s surfing to a new level, to break barriers and to set new standards. This compo really raises the bar, and shows the genuine support we have for the future of girlsaEUR(tm) surfing in this country. ItaEUR(tm)s positive and itaEUR(tm)s exciting and Saltwater GIRL, as the exclusive media partner, couldnaEUR(tm)t be more stoked to be a part of it. ItaEUR(tm)s contests like this that really put South African surfing on the map, and give our girls experience that can only stand them in better stead when it comes to qualifying for the World Tour.aEUR

The event consists of a five-month waiting period, starting from 1 February to 30 June 2007. When the siren signals, 10 of the best will travel up to a perfect right-hand break in Mozambique for six days of non-stop surfing action. And the cherry on top aEUR" the astounding R15000 prize purse being put up by ROXY.

aEURoeWe are very excited to be doing something different and taking an alternate avenue with womenaEUR(tm)s surfing. This event will really push and test the cream of womenaEUR(tm)s surfing and is a perfect channel to showcase the talent that South African womenaEUR(tm)s surfing offers,aEUR comments Dane Patterson, Quiksilver Marketing Manager.

The 10 invited surfers include the likes of Rosy Hodge, Stacey Guy, Tammy Lee Smith, Nikita Robb, Heather Clark, Michelle Hill, Chatelle Rautenbach, Sarah Maritz, Tasha Mentasti and Tamarys De Maroussem, while the seven alternates who are waiting enviously on the sideline are Sarah Baum, Penny Robarts, Kirsty Delport, Nicole Annells, Heidi Palmboom, Telana Flanagan and Tammy Robarts.

aEURoeThe Roxy Invitational is a first of its kind in SA for women's surfing. It is not only a surf contest but an amazing adventure that offers girls the opportunity to surf great waves and gain maximum exposure,aEUR says Natasha Hurst, Roxy Marketing & Team manager.

This is one event not to be missed - an event all about serious waves and not to forget, serious surfing.

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(February 5, 2007) Women surfers are on the rise in Chile, making their presence known on the waves and in national competitions and rapidly gaining the respect of their male counterparts throughout Latin America.

As recently as the mid-1990aEUR(tm)s, women were generally unrecognized as a significant part of ChileaEUR(tm)s surf community, and were virtually non-existent within the professional competition circuit. Juliette Anderson, a California came to Chile in 1994 and became the first female surfer to place in a national surf competition. Males surfers at the Region IV competition in Totoraillio were initially anxious about sharing the surf with a woman aEUR" and were shocked when Anderson finished third. Sponsors and organizers were dismayed that a woman beat nearly all of the male-only competition and asked Anderson to officially accept fourth place to avoid embarrassing her male counterparts. aEURoeI told them it wouldnaEUR(tm)t be a problemaEUR, said Anderson, aEURoebut since then I have dedicated myself to encouraging more women to surf and to professionally compete in ChileaEUR. The efforts of women surfers like Anderson have paid off over the past 13 years - women surfers are now recognized as a force to be reckoned with on the Chilean competition circuit.

Ignacio Vargas, an instructor at the Lobos del Pacifico surf school in the region VI town of Pichilemu (widely recognized as one of ChileaEUR(tm)s best surfing beaches), says that the presence of female surfers on PichilemuaEUR(tm)s waves has increased significantly in recent years. Vargas thinks that women surfers are often more dedicated the sport than their male counterparts: aEURoeIn general, they donaEUR(tm)t party as muchaEUR|they are highly interested in the sport, and are practicing because it is their passion, not because itaEUR(tm)s in styleaEUR. Vargas believes that Anderson, and her daughter Jessica, are greatly responsible for the increasing popularity of surfing among women - for years, the two Anderson women spent every Sunday on the beaches of Pichilemu, teaching women how to surf.

As the number of women riding ChileaEUR(tm)s waves has increased, so has female presence in national and Latin American surf competitions. In 2005, the newly founded Chilean Surf Federation officially created a womenaEUR(tm)s category in national competitions.

Sofia BA3rquez is one of the hottest figures in the Chilean surf world at the moment aEUR" the 17 year-old was named the Latin American champion at the last international competition in Mar del Plata. BA3rquez began surfing in her Region I hometown of Arica at the age of 13, at a time when the waves were dominated by men. Of her native surf community, BA3rquez says, aEURoeThere is a good vibe, but itaEUR(tm)s better to be a woman because some men leave the better waves for you, and are very supportiveaEUR. BA3rquez is currently training six hours a day and has her sights set on becoming an international champion.

Another pioneer on the Chilean surf scene, Maria del Mar Pacheco, recently created the first Chilean website dedicated to promoting female surfing aEUR" www.surfchicas.cl.

SOURCE: LA TERCERA
By Laura Gillis (editor@santiagotimes.cl)

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