For surfing instructor Heather Peck, the ocean is her home and the waves her friend.
Ms Peck started surfing more than four decades ago at the age of 18 – and though the waves could be a lonely place, that didn’t stop her.
“When I started I was the only girl out in the water,” she said.
Now 65, Ms Peck’s love for the surf has definitely not waned, and she’s actively helping other women to enjoy the sport she loves. Surfing has become one of the fastest growing sports among Australian women.
“There’s definitely a lot more interest and I really noticed a lot more girls out in the water,” Ms Peck said.
According to data from the Australian Sport Commission’s latest national AusPlay report, 196,000 people aged 15 years and older have taken up surfing since 2020 – the majority of them women.
The surge in women taking to the surf, which has been traditionally dominated by men, is in part due to the COVID–19 lockdowns, a representative from Australia’s surfing peak body said.
Against a backdrop of lockdowns, peppered with restrictions, including gym closures and strict limits on travel, surfing became a welcome escape for those with the right melange of curiosity and access.
“As lockdowns were in place, people were yearning to be outdoors, and we know many people used surfing as their exercise during lockdown,” said Sean Dyball, Surfing Australia Participation and Community Manager.
Just you and your wave
In 2014, Ms Peck founded her organisation, Women who surf – based in Ocean Grove, Victoria – to create a community for women surfers and lend her expertise. As people took to the waves for an escape during COVID–19 lockdowns, Ms Peck noticed a surge in her clientele.
“You don’t need a court … you don’t need to hire a special place, you just go to the ocean and there it is,”
“It helped my business, a lot of people had a lot of free time and maybe extra money to spend … they chose to do surf lessons.”
As the number of Australian women taking to the waves continues to climb, Mr Dyball also credits the increase to the growing presence of women surfers on social media.
“[It] has been a great thing in showing women they can get out there and give surfing a go,” he said.
“We have seen this change over the past 10-or-so years, with lots more girls and women taking up surfing recreationally and choosing this as their professional sport thanks to equal pay at women’s events,” he said.
Beyond surfing’s benefits for physical health and wellbeing, Ms Peck highlighted the sometimes forgotten mental health benefits.
“You really have to focus on the moment, so you forget about everything else – it sort of changes people,” she said.
“I’ve noticed a lot that people are quite different once they’ve been in the water … you really have to focus on the moment so you forget about everything else.
“A lot of people do it for mental health without even realising how good it is.”
Echoing Ms Peck’s sentiments, Mr Dyball said the “liberating feeling” found in surfing was what separated it from other sports.
‘Deep connection to nature’
“While you’re out in the ocean, there’s a deep connection to nature which cannot be replaced anywhere else,” he said.
The freedom of being out on the water is not lost on 13-year-old twin sisters Valentina and Cordelia Korman, who are fairly new to the sport.
“All you really think about is trying to catch a good wave,” Valentina said.
Valentina and Cordelia were only 10 when they started surfing in a SurfGroms program in Tasmania after their mother, Emily Korman, enrolled her daughters during their summer holidays.
“They really loved it … and I just thought it was a really good way to have them be active when we were on holiday … I want them to be off their phones,” she said.
But what started as a way to steer attention away from screens quickly transformed into an enduring summertime hobby for the girls.
While they are also busy with other physical activities, including springboard diving and netball, the twins are quick to highlight the distinction in surfing as a sport.
“You’re not really focusing on all the hard things … you’re just … really in the moment,” Cordelia said.
The girls have outgrown SurfGroms, which caters to children between five and 12, but they still look forward to summers out on the water, where they can experience the unique independence found in the waves.
“I think it would be something really fun to continue learning and getting better at,” Valentina said.
As for Ms Peck, well, she’s never far from a wetsuit – her unrelenting passion for surfing continues to flourish.
“You’ve got to be ready for anything, it’s the constant challenge of dealing with the elements and different moods of the ocean, it’s never ending and it’s always challenging,” she said.
“It’s an amazing sport, really.”
