image: Sebastian Imizcoz

The Cindy Lauper song from the 80’s resonated with people around the word, proclaiming that “Girls just wantta have fun”. I’ve seen that attitude when coaching girls my entire career, and even though essentially that’s why we all take the sport up, for those girls who want to go places, it can be a major limiting factor to their development.

The thing I’m seeing is that many of the more serious girls are still surfing for fun, and as a result, their performances have plateaued.  Whereas when they surf, their outcomes should be more about being successful, pulling off difficult moves, and taking waves off the guys to ride the day’s best waves. This takes concentration and effort, both characteristics of all successful surfers.

The most important skill women surfers should be working on is their surfing technique. Technique is the foundation of good surfing, and it’s the base off which the higher order skills of the sport can be built.

I would make three recommendations to girls around the globe in how they could improve their surfing:

1. Work on their surfing technique
2. Work on their surfing technique on a daily basis
3. Work on their surfing technique in preference to other training activities

The reality is women’s surfing is being compromised globally by poor technique at every level of performance. The challenge for most aspiring female surfers is to get the balance right between having fun and focusing on improving their performances. Technical development should be their first choice in any developmental schedule.

If surfers are uncertain where their surfing could be improved technically, check out Martin Dunn’s online surfing analysis here