Image by Hannah Jessup
Surfing NSW is providing grassroots boardrider clubs and surf schools in NSW the help they need to attract and retain more female participants than ever before.
Twenty affiliated boardrider clubs and surf schools in NSW will share in $50 000 as part of the inaugural round of Her Wave // Get Her Onboard Grants Program presented by ROXY and the NSW Government.
The Grants Program was built on the back of stage one of the ROXY and Her Wave “Get Her Onboard” campaign earlier this year, which resulted in 1100 women joining the ROXY and Her Wave community, which included being offered discounted learn to surf lessons through their local participating surf school.
Minister for Sport Natalie Ward said the NSW Government is committed to removing barriers and increasing participation of women and girls across all sports.
“I’m thrilled to support this fantastic initiative which will encourage more women and girls to pick up a board and get involved in this exhilarating sport,” Mrs Ward said.
“Through the NSW Government’s Her Sport Her Way strategy, we aim to work with organisations such as Surfing NSW to cultivate positive change and ensure women and girls have equal choices and opportunities.”
“Grassroots surf schools and boardrider clubs are at the heart of NSW surfing communities. They keep families connected, groms happy and healthy and communities safe. With the introduction of Surfing NSW’s new female surfing platform, Her Wave, there will be a greater focus on supporting and nurturing female participation in 2021/2022,” said Surfing NSW CEO Luke Madden.
ROXY Australia / New Zealand Marketing Manager Simon Macgregor stated: “ROXY has been empowering girls to get out in the waves since 1990 and the Her Wave program that has been put together by Surfing NSW and the NSW government is the benchmark inclusive platform in Australia to get more girls out in the waves, no matter what their ability is. We believe that surfing has so many positive attributes from healthy living, to better mental health, to the ability of being able to bring communities and people together, which is all emblematic of the Surfing NSW Her Wave program and what ROXY is about. This will be our second year involved with Her Wave and we cannot wait to see where we can take it from here.”
Surfing NSW’s feedback and findings from consultations with the wider surfing community uncovered numerous perceptual and physical barriers affecting female participation at grassroots levels.
As a result, the program provides boardrider clubs and surf schools with the opportunity to develop their own initiatives to encourage and nurture female participation.
Overall, the Grants Program will help grow to build a more inclusive, accessible, and enjoyable female surf culture that will attract and promote ongoing female surfing participation in NSW.
Grant applications can be made from mid-November via surfingnsw.com.au. Successful grant projects will be promoted and available for public registration in 2022.
About Her Wave:
At its essence, Her Wave aims to empower all females through surfing. It is committed to supporting gender equity, making surfing more inclusive and accessible to all women and girls of all ages and abilities in NSW and works to build a more joyful experience for everyone.
A key objective of Her Wave is to grow and nurture female participation in the sport as a collective. Here, the aim is to work collaboratively with our networks, partners and communities to deliver the Her Wave message and programs throughout the state.
