The first all-women's surf comp on the south coast is riding the huge wave of young women now joining the sport, marking the Sunday 5 May event at Woonona Beach as a milestone, decades in the making.
When former pro-surfer and long-time Woonona Boardriders champion Yvonne Turner was surfing in the 90s, she was the only female who surfed at her beach.
Despite years on the pro-surfing circuit, Yvonne can remember no examples where the women’s competitions sat at equal billing to the men’s, always relegated to less heats and less prize money.
Yvonne was an Australian trailblazer of her time alongside the likes of Layne Beachley and Wendy Botha. In that same spirit, Yvonne is now co-organising the south coast’s first all-female event, the Ocean Queen Surf Classic on Sunday the 5th of May at Woonona Beach, which can be seen as an epoch for surfing culture on the south coast.
“It has been a pipe dream for years. There’s never been an all-female event in this area.”
“It has been a pipe dream for years,” said Yvonne. “There’s never been an all-female event in this area. We’ve always been the sideshow act to the men’s event. We’d be lucky to get two heats in an event and take home a trophy and a little bit of product. We’ve certainly never had anything that offers up prize money before for the women.
“We have strength in numbers now with all the female memberships,” continued Yvonne. “We’re grateful to the support of our girls’/women’s manager Kirby Mowbray, and have some supportive men at the club now, which has been fantastic.”
It is an invitational competition being hosted by Woonona Boardriders, welcoming surfers from the Illawarra to the south coast with a couple of wild cards from Cronulla. It is showcasing the area’s local talent and celebrating the female surfers who have paved the way for current stars.
And Yvonne tells us there is no shortage of talent, seeing this event as enhancing a promising group of female surfers in the region, while uniting the past, present, and the future of women’s surfing in the Illawarra.
“We have some really talented surfers in this region with some that will go on to be professional surfers,” said Yvonne. “They are the top few in their ages in the country, like Lani Cairncross from Kiama Downs and Lucy Darragh from Jones Beach right down to the emerging surfers like my daughter Aimee Turner.
“You don’t ever see everyone together like this, so it’ll be an event that will help surfers see what’s possible in their age bracket and across the region.
“It’ll help give those really talented ones some money towards bigger and better things,” said Yvonne.
The contest will follow a traditional event format with each an open women’s and junior women’s divisions to be held over the day. The Ocean Queen Surf Classic will also run a ‘Heritage Heat’ to pay homage to the champions who have inspired our current generation, including the likes of Yvonne Turner, Pam Burridge, Kim Wooldridge and others.
The day will culminate with food trucks, live music, beverages and celebratory vibes, creating a memorable experience for all.
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