Northland surf coach pushing to lift female participation in the water

Northland surfing coach Ellen Snelling is keen for more women and girls to take up surfing.

Northlander surf coaches Ellen and Grae Snelling are on a mission to get more women and girls to take up surfing.

Ellen, who grew up in Western Australia and has been surfing nearly 30 years, said surfing has historically been, and largely remains, a male‑dominated sport.

It can be intimidating for women to surf in a line-up of mainly men, she said.

“It can be a hard sport to break through.

“If you paddle out and there’s 20 guys and two girls, it can be quite confronting.

“It can be challenging to feel confident in that situation.”

The Snellings moved from Australia to Bream Bay in 2016 and bought the Learn 2 Surf School at Waipū Cove a couple of years later.

Ellen initially took up the sport after sustaining a back injury during a car accident aged 18.

During rehabilitation, she took up swimming which led her to a new group of women friends keen to try surfing.

She said women often had to work harder when progressing in the sport.

The Snellings run surf programmes through their school in Waipū, helping women navigate the surf with others, and learn about line up etiquette.

“Surfing has always been a male dominated sport, you only have to look at the history of women in surfing ... Layne Beachley and Jodie Cooper, coming up against the boys.

“There was a time when women didn’t even have wetsuits or boardshorts, they wore men’s stuff because women weren’t included in the sport.

“Now women are way more included.

“The opportunity for girls to have a go is way different now, there’s been a big shift across the industry.

“It’s opened the way for women and girls to feel they can have a go.”

The Snellings run programmes through their school, including women’s surfing retreats and the Wahine on Water event, helping women navigate the surf with others, and learn about line up etiquette.

Surfing New Zealand chief executive Ben Kenning said female participation in surfing had increased by around 40%, though it was still largely a male-dominated sport.

Over the past 30 years, Ellen said she has seen progress.

“There’s something cool about surfing with women.

“It’s about giving women the confidence to be able to be out there in the water.”

There are more than 300,000 recreational surfers in New Zealand, according to Surfing New Zealand.

Chief executive Ben Kennings said events typically had around 27% female participation.

Overall, female participation had increased by around 40%, he said.

“It’s certainly a male dominated sport but it’s evening out.

“Those figures show that, but it’s still only 1 in 4.”

Kennings said a national surfing survey showed people surfed for mental health over physical and social activity “but it really stretches across the three”.

“Being out there in nature and on the ocean is a pretty amazing experience.

“Socially a lot of female surfing groups are also popping up.

“On social media you see groups like surfing trips and gatherings and promoting female surfing so that’s a really cool aspect.”

For Ellen, teaching others to surf never loses its magic.

“Some people fall in love with it, others just enjoy it as a holiday activity.

“It doesn’t matter, it’s about providing a fun experience.”

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues.