Surfing has until recently lagged behind other sports in recognising women as equals, but there is no better sign that the glass ceiling has finally been shattered than the focus on women at this year’s Noosa Festival of Surfing.
The festival’s celebration of Queensland Women’s Week kicked off last Friday evening at a SurfAid fundraiser in the Beach Bar with a fascinating chat show featuring three women who in different ways have reached the pinnacle of achievement in surfing. Festival regular and seven-time world champion Layne Beachley was joined by Rip Curl chief executive officer Brooke Farris and rising surf star and eco-warrior Pacha Light in a session moderated by surf journalist Nick Carroll.
Layne and Brooke recounted tales of tough love from older brothers and having to fight the boys for waves as they rose to prominence in surfing, while Pacha, growing up a generation later, revealed that while a lot of the prejudice had been broken down, there was still room for improvement.
On Saturday, for the first time in the festival’s three-decade history, a woman, Noosa World Surfing Reserve president Kirra Molnar, led the traditional paddle-out to open the event.
While competing in the professional and teams events at the festival, Kirra also made time on Tuesday to join in an International Women’s Day celebration in the Beach Bar, featuring Tracey Naughton’s She To Sea art exhibition and guest speakers.
While the men’s surfing divisions still outnumbered the women’s, female competitors of all ages praised festival organisers for presenting perhaps the “least blokey” event ever.
