Local Focus: Pāpāmoa becoming a surf skate mecca for women

With skateboarding's popularity at an all-time high, women around the Bay are turning to "surf skates" to help advance their technique.

Unlike the skateboarding on show at the Olympics, this isn't about ollies, kickflips or vert ramps, it's about carving up the local pump track like you're riding a wave.

"I've basically been surfing for about 30 years and it became a natural progression," Shelly Jones, owner of Switch Stance, Surf and Skate in Pāpāmoa said.

"When there's no surf, you're always looking for alternatives. I wish surf skates were around when I started learning how to surf, they just advance your surfing drastically," she said.

"The freedom and ability you have to move on a skateboard imitates and feels like you're pumping a surfboard."

After selling a few boards online, Jones saw the demand and took the plunge by opening a surf skate shop that catered for women.

"I like offering female knowledge to other women that feel intimidated going to a surf or skate shop where there's potentially young teenage boys offering advice … a lot of women feel intimidated and they don't feel they're getting the right kind of advice."

The store has also teamed up with local surf coach Joe Swaine to offer surf skate lessons to women of all ages and abilities.

"He does a lot of skate lessons, he does grom lessons and we decided we wanted to do a girls session where girls can skate and feel comfortable in the environment, not feeling like they're being judged. We decided to run a trial one and it's been such a huge success," Jones said.

Swaine said, "A lot of these women come from surfing backgrounds, whether they're riding a foam board all the way up to advance surfers. These were women who wanted to spend more time with their kids but also better themselves and progress out of the water in any way they could."

The classes have been a big hit so far.

"Having a skate shop locally that's run by a woman definitely made me feel welcome," Ai Sumihira of Pāpāmoa Beach said.

"I've got a longboard, a skateboard I got when I started surfing but I've never been brave enough to get on it by myself," Mount Maunganui resident Michaela Blackman said.

"It's freedom … the freedom of movement and staying agile and fit."

Becoming a better surfer was the motivation for many women in the group.

"For my birthday my partner got me a skateboard and I realised it's actually quite fun," Polly Arnold of Mount Maunganui said.

"I find it less scary because the sea still scares me a bit ... it's quite ferocious. I feel like I can progress here and then I find it way easier when I get into the sea."

Helene Nihotte, also from Mount Maunganui, was looking for surfing lessons online when she found Swaine's classes.

"He coached surfing and that was why I originally reached out to him and then I saw surf skating was becoming such a thing, and my flatmate who I'm here with, she had a surf skate so I thought it would be a fun thing for us to do together."

Sofie Aschwanden of Mount Maunganui said, "I wanted to improve on surfing and this seems like the best way to do that."

Mount locals Lilly Hudson and Claire Vanderpoel also wanted to improve at surfing.

"Dropping in and skateboarding seems to be a good way to do that," Hudson said.

"After I did the first workshop, I felt immediately more confident on my surfboard so now I'm really into it," Vanderpoel said.