The teacher in the videos is surfing expert Schell Michael with film making by Patrick Eaves and are released on the youtube ehow channel.

By the way, Beckersurf is having another sale. Sorry, this one ends really soon.

Beckersurf is giving 25% off ALL backpacks & messengers (excluding Billabong and Nixon). Check it out as the sale ends Wednesday Aug, 12th!

There are some additional coupon codes in the girls surf shop!

As recently as the mid-1990’s, women were generally unrecognized as a significant part of Chile’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 – 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. “I told them it wouldn’t be a problem”, said Anderson, “but since then I have dedicated myself to encouraging more women to surf and to professionally compete in Chile”. 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 Chile’s best surfing beaches), says that the presence of female surfers on Pichilemu’s waves has increased significantly in recent years. Vargas thinks that women surfers are often more dedicated the sport than their male counterparts: “In general, they don’t party as much…they are highly interested in the sport, and are practicing because it is their passion, not because it’s in style”. 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 Chile’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 women’s category in national competitions.

Sofia Bórquez is one of the hottest figures in the Chilean surf world at the moment – the 17 year-old was named the Latin American champion at the last international competition in Mar del Plata. Bórquez 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, Bórquez says, “There is a good vibe, but it’s better to be a woman because some men leave the better waves for you, and are very supportive”. Bórquez 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 – www.surfchicas.cl.

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

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On any given day in Southern California, you’ll find surfers with professional jobs who hit the waves at daybreak before heading off to their offices. Some of them even change into their work clothes in the parking lot. For these types, a Hot Jugz portable shower is a must. After all, what better way to clean up in the morning when a hot shower at home is not an option. A HotJugz portable shower uses no batteries or propane and does not require supports for hanging. With a two-gallon capacity, the HotJugz shower can run for up to sixteen minutes with only fifteen to twenty pumps. Insulation keeps hot or cold water on temperature, and the extendable shower wand allows for easy maneuvering. Even if you’re not a surfer ,you’ll find that the HotJugz can be a lifesaver when camping or engaging in other sports activities. For any of those times you might want a hot shower, but are not be able to take one in the usual way, this portable shower will make a great substitute.

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“The quickest way to summarize Blue Crush is that it is nothing more than a guilty pleasure. There are very few redeeming qualities about this movie, which is utterly familiar in it’s plot and themes, but the filmmakers did a nice job of making it fun (albeit trashy fun) to watch. It is similar in tone to Coyote Ugly, another film that revels in the throes of girl power (and empowerment). This time, the girls are not bartenders, they are surfers. Chief among them is Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth, Remember the Titans, The Horse Whisperer), a one time rising star in the world of women’s surfing. A near death accident three years ago scarred her emotionally. She stopped competing professionally and now balks at any wave that is remotely dangerous. Still, she entered the Piper Masters contest, which will take place in eight days on the north shore of Oahu. Of course, the waves are extremely dangerous, and Anne Marie is ill prepared to win (dum dum dum!)”

Read the rest of the review!

Surfing Mums Press Release

Statistically at least 90% of all women who surf will at some stage become a mother. Being a mother and a surfer yields its own unique set of challenges. Mums are committed to a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week job. There is no time to surf before a job or after, they can’t jump in for a quick surf while the baby is asleep or sneak off while they are playing contentedly on the sand. The double drama is as a surfer they all tend to be beach people so suddenly mums are down on the beach while the surf is perfect and can’t go for a surf. Suddenly mums have so much more time than they did before and they can’t use it to surf! So surfing mums have to come up with some creative ways to make sure they still get plenty of water time while still being full time careers of their children. They often have many friends who surf but don’t have children; they need other surfing mums who understand their needs as a surfer and as a mum. They need a mum that wants to surf as much as they did before they had kids. A partnership that makes sure instead of the occasional surf, they surf everyday. Mothers who can swap ‘beach sitting’ times with the kids on the beach while one of them get to surf, and vis versa. So surfing mums was born! Surfing mums is a network of mums who surf that can call on each other during the week and set up beach sitting sessions with the kids. The group meets once a month to make new friends and to get to know each other while the web page provides a space where meeting times can be posted and group news shared. At the moment surfing mums exists only in Byron Bay, Australia but the dream of the founder Vanessa Thompson is for there to be a surfing mums network in every place where mums surf. The webpage www.surfingmums.com has been set up so that each location can advertise their group meetings and mums can share news about the distinctive challenges of being a surfing mum. Please contact vanessa@surfingmums.com if you are interested in setting up a group in your area.

No surfing is not just for guys and there is increasingly more woman who take pleasure in and even excel at surfing. Those women who practice this amazing activity say that it is a magnificent means for relaxation, for getting in touch with their inner self and reconnecting with their spirituality. Riding the waves also makes one feel that they are one with nature. Let me say here when you are waiting on and watching the colossal waves from a hurricane that is perhaps over 100 miles distant you will totally recognize the supremacy of Mother Nature.(Note here she is called Mother Nature, not Father Nature)

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At the recent tryouts for the 2006 British Columbia Surfing Association Junior Team, six young men were chosen to represent B.C. and Canada at the World Junior Championships in Brazil in early May.

These teens will have the chance to compete against the best in the world and will also get to train with some of the best instructors in Western Canada before they head for the competition. Unfortunately, B.C. will not be sending any girls to the championship.

The reason?

No teenage girls tried out for the team.

The lack of young women competing in surfing competitions is troubling. Many Canadians are aware of the international reputation that Canada has regarding women in sports. Canadian women shine in world sporting competitions, especially in events that were traditionally male-dominated. Canadian female figure skaters rarely achieve lasting success, but our women’s hockey team is undeniably the best. Our women’s gymnastics team is nothing to be feared, but our women’s speed-skating team makes victory look easy.

The recent Winter Olympics in Torino showcased the strength of Canadian female athletes. Of the 24 medals won by the Canadian team, 16 were won by female athletes. Cindy Klassen broke records, received international recognition and earned the admiration of many after winning an impressive five medals in long-track speed-skating. In Torino, Canadian female athletes showed the world Canadian sporting associations are doing the right thing by supporting male and female athletes in an equitable way.

Thanks to female athletes from Canada, the U.S., Australia and European countries, more girls are choosing to participate in sports worldwide. Despite those international successes, female competitive surfing has taken a back seat on Canada’s West Coast.

Those involved in surfing in Tofino, Ucluelet, and other towns on the Island realize too few girls are competing, but nobody knows how to remedy the problem.

A supportive surfing community exists for young women interested in surfing: from surf lessons focused on making women comfortable, to official surfing websites calling for more female competitors, to the presence of former women champions living in Tofino.

The ingredients for success for women surfers on the West Coast are definitely present. By not having any Junior Girls competing in Brazil, Canada takes a giant step backwards. On an international level, we have been leaders in the struggle to achieve equality between male and female athletes.

When a country such as Canada cannot field a team of Junior Girls, countries that do not have good track records when it comes to women in sport will take notice. Canada has missed an opportunity to further showcase the strength of women in sports. It is too late now to send a strong team of B.C. female surfers to Brazil: both Canada and the world lost this round.

It is significant for us surfing historians and writers of surfing history because it indicates that the first USA mainland surfing was NOT performed by Hawaiian princes schooling in the Santa Cruz area in 1895. It was most likely performed by an unknown Hawaiian girl or woman in Ashbury Park, New Jersey, in 1888!