Indonesian gals hit the surf
Indonesian gals hit the surf
Jenny H.Backstrom, Contributor/Kuta
Consider the following commonly known facts about Indonesia: the
rather non-extreme activity of badminton is the national sport
the country; Indonesian girls commonly aspire to have white skin
and thus dread the rays of sun more than hard-core skin bleaching
products; and that in either case, "Indonesian girls are not that
much into exercising". With these facts in mind, it might come as
a surprise that an increasing number of Indonesian girls are
actually taking up the sport of surfing.
"You definitely see more Indonesian girls on the beaches in
Bali now, and in the last two years more of them are also getting
out in the water surfing," Head Coach of the Rip Curl School of
Surf Jonni Morrison-Decker said after finishing a full day of
teaching Indonesian and foreign girls how to surf at the Rip Curl
Girls-Go-Surfing Day in Seminyak last Saturday.
Contrary to what people might think, being a girl is generally
not a physical disadvantage in surfing, but rather a benefit.
"Girls naturally keep their balance better and are easier to
teach," Morrison-Deaker said while adding that the only thing
really stopping Indonesian girls from becoming great surfers were
mental barriers.
"Girls can surf just as big waves as guys can, if only they
set their minds to it," he said confidently.
Although learn-to-surf camps for girls have been arranged in
various spots throughout the archipelago, Bali still remains the
most popular island in Indonesia for learning to surf.
Rip Curl Indonesia is one of the many surfing companies in
Bali that organizes events aimed at promoting surfing to
Indonesian girls, who, although generally fascinated by the sport
and already well acquainted with its fashion, might need some
extra encouragement and support in order to actually get out in
the water.
Thus, following the international successes of numerous Rip
Curl Girls-Go-Surfing Days held around the world, last Saturday
on July 16, Rip Curl Indonesia held their third-ever all-girls
event on Double Six Beach in Seminyak, Bali.
"We really want to empower and support these girls by showing
them how to step into it," Rip Curl Indonesia's ad & promo
manager Clemens Birger said about the event.
Seventy-seven girls of various ages and nationalities,
including MTV Indonesia's top VJ Catherine (Cathy) Sharon, signed
up for the six scheduled one-hour surf lessons, in which they
were taught the basic but critical skills of surfing and water
safety.
"This is a really cool event for girls; the coaches are great
and it's a safe and social way of learning to surf while also
hanging out and having fun," Cathy said enthusiastically after
her lesson.
"With events like this, more Indonesian girls will realize
that surfing is actually not just for boys."
Two other girls trying out surfing for the very first time
were Ruby Savira, 19, and Sandra Dewi, 20, both from Jakarta.
"We thought it would be difficult, and when we tried we
realized that it was," said Savira, adding that on her planned
return to Bali for a holiday in August, she would definitely surf
again.
And she would bring her friends out too.
"Although it is hard, it is fun," she said with a big smile.
Attending on this day and thus showing their support for all
surfer girls-to-be were the already sponsored surfers Theresia
Herlani (Niki) from Indonesia, and Madeleine Taylor from
Australia.
Knowing just how much it takes to become a good surfer, Taylor
was impressed with the Indonesian girls' first attempts at
surfing out in the white water.
"They have such great balance and perhaps because the
Indonesian culture is so rich in various dances, they seem to be
really flexible and quite fit, which really helps their surfing,"
Taylor said.
Having seen the girls standing up on their boards and riding
waves all the way to the shore, Rip Curl's surf coaches were of
the very same opinion.
"Yeah, Indonesian surfer girls are definitely catching up!"