Tara shares details of this recent all-female surfing festival on the Isle of Wight . Ed
The idea of the all-female surf festival came from a candid discussion between friends after a surf.
Madi suggested we should get together to create a surf festival on the Island. But then we thought, would it not be great to show younger girls that there is a great female surf community on the Island?
Surfing in different places around the UK or the world, we realised it was quite unique to have that many women in the sea all year round. iSurf’s Chris and Eddie’s Surf Academy have for many years offered courses for girls/woman to feel more confident in the sea. They have been a big part in developing this community.
We tried a different format for the day; fun competitions, beach games and serious competition, but we realise that to create a real sense of community, a fun surf all together would be the best.
So, this year the plan was to paddle out altogether, have a cheer and a smile and then catch lot of fun waves together. In the morning, we might have outnumbered men in the sea and the atmosphere was really chill and great vibes all around. We could hear hooping from one side of the beach to another. Martin Richomme came in the sea with us to immortalise the day and shoot really cool pictures with Bert capturing it from shore.
To make it a special day, we collaborated with other great business on the island and invited Balance and Glo and Emma from IoW Pilates to teach yoga and Pilates class. We made a deal with Slomo Wellness for a discounted Sauna price. Basically we organised our favourite day: Surf, yoga, Pilates and Sauna!
Thanks to National trust, we were allowed to invite some merchant and other professionals to have stalls in the main car park, to give a bit more of a festival vibe.
We had Katie and Lauren from Elixir freshly frozen serving nice pressed juices, Emma and Laura from Naturethreads.co selling Wetsuits and other apparel, Ollogitherapies offering skin care products and reflexology, Amanda Buggy was un-knotting tight neck and shoulders with massages, Laura McConnell showcased her beautiful Sunfish silver jewelleries and the ladies of Wetsax had their collection of swim bags.
We also had a stand for Surfer Against Sewage who organised a beach clean, Planet Aware IW did a great nurdle hunt, Theo of Wight Coast Fossils lead a fossil walk, Martha of IW Biosphere raised awareness about the beauty of the Island, and the Wave Project IW did a bake sale to raise funds for their surf therapy courses, raising £217.
National trust coffee van and Plaza ice creams kept the public caffeinated and happy on ice cream.
We could not have picked a better day for it, it was sunny and the swell showed up, as if we had manifested the perfect conditions for the event.
