Surfing has so many benefits for women in Mid-Life
Emotional Wellbeing
Emotional Wellbeing
Emotional Wellbeing
- It reduce stress levels, releases endorphins, increases happiness
- Improves mental health & focus - clearing out your mind is much easier because you need utmost attention, it is one way to step away from daily life and take away your stress
- Accidental meditation, the ebbing and the flowing of the waves, the lack of artificial stimulation,
- It reduce stress levels, releases endorphins, increases happiness
- Improves mental health & focus - clearing out your mind is much easier because you need utmost attention, it is one way to step away from daily life and take away your stress
- Accidental meditation, the ebbing and the flowing of the waves, the lack of artificial stimulation, the alone time and the connection with nature cultivating a meditative state
Physical
Emotional Wellbeing
Emotional Wellbeing
- Surfing is an all body workout, it tones the body and lubricates the joints, and you don’t need to spend hours in the gym
- Surfing is extremely physical, which massively improves sleep
- It reduces period pain and hormonal fluctuations
- It improves your balance which changes with age
Mother Nature 🌿
Emotional Wellbeing
Mother Nature 🌿
- Connects you to your humans. As a social species we need to connect with other like minded people and in our more segregated world, this is getting harder to do
- Connect us to nature which impacts our overall wellness and appreciation for the natural world
- The sea and waves create negative ions which are hugely beneficial for numerous reason
- Connects you to your humans. As a social species we need to connect with other like minded people and in our more segregated world, this is getting harder to do
- Connect us to nature which impacts our overall wellness and appreciation for the natural world
- The sea and waves create negative ions which are hugely beneficial for numerous reasons including countering screen time our brain is put through, revitilise our cells, improve respiratory, improves oxygen to the brain AND SO MUCH MORE.
- Negative ions improve overall well-being by increasing serotonin release, which alleviates depression, stress and energy
The History of Women in Surfing
Opportunities for women to surf are opening up, but do you feel confident to give it a go?
There have always been less pathways for women to learn to surf and a plethora of reasons, women feel too uncomfortable to take to the waves. The opportunities for women to grow in the sport professionally is also limited. But this is all changing… You are going to change it!
When surfing began, gender was irrelevant, as was socio-economic status
‘Wave riding’ was believed to have started in the 16th & 17th centuries in Polynesia. In the late 1770s, British colonists and explorers Lieutenant James King and Captain James Cook, shared their experiences of seeing surfers in Hawaii and Tahiti, and stories soon returned to Europe.
Unfortunately, when the European settlers arrived in Polynesia, they brought disease, patriarchal gender views, and forced plantation labour. All of which had significant impact on Polynesian life and surfing almost became extinct.
Surfing almost became extinct, but it rose to popularity…because of a woman!
It was believed that Hawaiian royal, Princess Ka’iulani, took to the coast in East Yorkshire in 1890 and was the first to showcase the sport in the UK! Princess Ka’iulani was half Hawaiian, half Scottish, and is also believed to have revived the sport in Hawaii.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank & honour
Isabel Letham 1899 – 1995
Isabel Letham 1899 – 1995
Isabel Letham 1899 – 1995
Isabel Sarted surfing in the early 1900s, and was believed 'the first Australian to ride a surfboard'. She moved the visibility of female surfing across the world to California in 1917.
Rell Sunn 1950-1948
Isabel Letham 1899 – 1995
Isabel Letham 1899 – 1995
Known as the "Queen of Makaha", Rell was first female lifeguard in Hawaii, and pioneered female surfing around the globe. Competing professionally globally, Rell co-founded the Women's International Surfing Association (WISA) in 1975, the first women's pro circuit. Diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer age 32, she surfed every day through her 1 year life prognosis. Over the next 14 years, her cancer went into remission 3 times, but sadly age 47 she passed away. She inspired the song " Mother of the Sea " by Darren Benitez
Margo Oberg Born 1953
Isabel Letham 1899 – 1995
Margo Oberg Born 1953
Margo was the first female to go professional in the 1950s. From the US, she earned her first national title in 1966 in the 12-and-under division; she was the only girl in the Menehune Championships division. In 1975 she competed in men’s contests and won many championships in subsequent years. In 1976 and 1977, she was crowned Women's World Champion. In 1977 she started her own surf school in Kauai, which she still runs to this day.