Jacqui caught up with Nina from the surf community ‘The Dames’ formally known as the “Surf Dames” This non profit organisation continues to provide opportunities for local women to come together and spend more time on the water.
Tell us about the history of the Dames initiative.
Everything was started by the desire of bringing more women into surfing and for that the best is having a crew!
If you have a crew it’s harder to stay in bed in the morning and don’t go surfing, because you are letting them down! The crew gives you the push you need to spend more time in the water, and improve your skills!
I come from a sports family of both men and women, and everything we were involved with was 100%, not just one shot and go!! This is why I wanted to create something long term for women around here, and not just one surf lesson and nothing behind. Continuity, practice and patience are the key!
Maybe I can tell you why just women; not that I’m against gender diverse groups at all, I usually really like working with groups of men and women together, but this time was a test, really! I wanted to try and see how women react to being surrounded with women and no men, and it’s absolutely fantastic; less competitiveness, more help, less ego, more sharing, less tensions, more perseverance!
What classes and opportunities to get together are on?
The plan is to give 3 hours of my free time per week to the dames surf club to keep it groove!! Just a nice community thing that makes you feel good and hope it makes the Girls as happy as I am!
The club annual membership fee is $100; the girls get a weekly surf session with coaching and fun, 1 t-shirt and sticker.
Is it just about surfing?
The main goal behind this club is to make women understand that they can do it! In and/or out of the water. We live in a world that can be quite hard and super judgmental, and with these sessions I want them to understand that we are all here together, helping each other out and respecting one another.
What benefits have you continued to notice and what feedback have you had from the women?
I think what’s most amazing is how they realise how strong they are, and capable of doing things they would never have done before. The ocean is such a wonderful environment for that; you show up shy, unsure, and you come out strong and way more patient with yourself; you give yourself more credit too!
The girls found a place to share, a place to laugh, a place without judgement or negativity.
Do women have to have some level of competence in the surf?
The Dames sessions are for women that have surfed before; everyone is quite independent, close to the shore or at the back, but we all have some basics. Some of the girls came last year after surfing for few days only and they are now fully independent out there catching their own waves, encouraging other women, enjoying the art of surfing as much as I do and that makes me feel so so happy!
What’s happening in 2024? How do people get in touch?
2024 started strong!! We had such an amazing summer with nice gentle waves and warm water!
We gonna start on organising some land meet ups like last year, to talk about surf report, surf etiquette, surfboards, videos analysis, trips … we usually gather around at @indis and get those amazing @piace.pizzas and talk about surfing for hours !
Next plan will be to get enough mums and do some surfers / nannies swap! – to encourage and help mamas in their surfing journey and maybe teach them how to teach surfing to their children; it would be wonderful to see more mums teaching their kids surfing and less dads hahah !! Maybe that could bring a different vibe out there, who knows?!
You can easily find us on Instagram: @the.dames or email us here: thedamesraglan@gmail.com
Thanks so much to all the women that are making the sessions and the beautiful wave of change!
