Female surfers have fought for years to be included in big wave competitions, despite overarching patriarchal attitudes that insisted that they weren’t up to the challenge. Pioneer big wave surfer Paige Alms will even tell you about the time when an announcer at the Mavericks Big Wave Invitational said that "girls just aren’t good enough", even though she and her friends were already surfing the same waves as men.
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Thankfully, women like Alms have continued to persevere despite the odds stacked against them, and we’re now seeing a community of female big wave surfers emerge. Red Bull’s newest TV series “No Small Feat” highlights the women who charge the world’s heaviest swells. Episode one kicks off with Emily Erickson, one of Hawaii's best-known, young big wave surfers, and Izzi Gomez, an up-and-comer searching to find her footing in the mountains of Peʻahi.
Tessa J
September 12th, 2020
As a woman who surfs, this is invigorating. It’s been a long road uphill and it can only get better for women in sports.
-Tessa - from SJ Junk Removal
About The Author
stash member Katie Lozancich
TGR Staff Writer and photographer. Fond of bikes, pow, and dogs. Originally from Northern CA, home for me has ranged from the PNW to a teepee in Grand Teton National Park.
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