Surfer Girls Blog

(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-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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