Perspectives: Women On Waves 2024

Over the course of the Women On Waves event, I was able to roam around the contest site as a roving reporter in order to ask participants and volunteers to give their take on this beloved local gathering and celebration of women’s surfing. It was such a treat to see so many happy faces enjoying the festive and friendly atmosphere present on Capitola Beach. Here’s what they had to say!

Aimee Mangan

This is probably my fourth time and I look forward to it every time they run, it’s a way to connect with the community and support local non-profits.

I surfed yesterday and I was fortunate enough to “auto advance”.

At this event, people are always happy to get together and just support one another. There are times where you’ll see people riding the same wave and smiling and being happy about it and high-fiving each other. It’s unique and wonderful.

It’s the only contest that I know of where I get to compete with the women I surf with throughout the year here in Santa Cruz. I hope one year they have a shortboard division (laughs).

When we don’t have to compete against men, it allows us to be more relaxed and comfortable. This allows the competitors to progress and be willing to try things they wouldn’t necessarily try in a co-ed event.

Danyelle Carpenter, Babel Rose Graphic Design

I think events like this are great community building. Our surf community is pretty small, so sometimes it can be hard to connect. Especially up north, I feel that cold water surfers tend to paddle out and sit by themselves- we’re cold and we’re just trying to focus on getting our waves. But events like this really bring us together. As we’re paddling out we’re all sharing our thoughts, like, “Oh gosh I’m worried about this heat”. This helps because we end up realizing that we’re all nervous, so the camaraderie is really strong.

Every year, I meet new people. We see each other in the lineup but this is the one day that we end up all together, where usually we’re all on different schedules. Lot’s of my friends are moms so they’re on a completely different schedule. Here we all get to surf together so it’s a great opportunity to support and cheer each other on. To encourage each other and just get stoked.

I surfed yesterday afternoon and this morning. Yesterday was better than today, but that’s surfing, right? A lot of people are like, “I could never compete at this event”. But I think it’s designed to be your first introduction to competitive surfing, if you want to continue doing that. So if you want to come hang out and get some experience competing in a low-pressure environment, this is the one to do.

Nikki Brooks

I’m fully enjoying it! Even though the waves are small, the attitude and outlook everyone’s got is amazing. It’s a testament to how positivity can set the vibe and pace at a community event. Bringing women and girls together to celebrate surfing and all the men and dads involved is very appreciated. It’s a great community building event.

It has a long history, almost twenty years now! We have multi-generations surfing in the event. Just now Nan had a heat in the Senior Women’s. She’s been a long time surfer from the point for decades and it’s really cool to bring everyone together. Life takes us all in so many different directions so it’s really cool to come together. I think Santa Cruz has a really good perspective. It’s a good way to support women’s surfing and include everyone, to keep that all going!

Julia Powell

It’s been unreal so far. I just love that people are not exactly here for the competition, they’re here to connect with other women. They have new categories which is really cool. There’s the Adaptive division for women with disabilities and Bodyboarding, so now there are more opportunities for women to compete in the event.

Micheal Amster

Despite the waves being small this weekend, it’s been an awesome community building event. We’ve had incredible turn out and the spirit has been really high. This weather has been unparalleled, we couldn’t have asked for better conditions. It’s a great way to celebrate the end of our summer.

This event is really about our collective love of the ocean. It’s not just about surfing. So we really want to make the event inclusive for all lovers of the ocean. We had our two swimming events, as well as our bodyboarding and adaptive surfing divisions for anyone with disabilities. I’ll be curious to see if we come up with more next year!

Rivi Hunter

The heats I’ve surfed have been pretty fun. This is the first contest I’ve been able to do with my mom, and we both made it to the final. I think it’s really cool that they do all ages so all girls have a chance to compete, all the way from little kids to grandmas. It’s nice for everyone to have fun together. You know, the waves weren’t the best, but we made the most of it.

For me, contests like this help keep surfing fun. It’s not super competitive and everyone’s just laughing the whole time with their friends. Definitely very low pressure.

Aylana Zanville and Marisol Godinez

Aylana-I have to say, I’m giving Marisol the credit for being the inspiration to add the adaptive division. She surfs out here all the time and met Erin, an adaptive surfer who also surfs out here all the time. She’s amazing and inspiring, so Marisol was like, “Hey, what do you girls think about this?”. We thought it was a great idea, and if we could do it, we would. We had a meeting with Erin, and she was motivated to make it happen. They needed a lot of support, just in case, and she was able to put together a crew, so we were able to offer that division.

We did get an inquiry yesterday from someone who wanted to compete, but we were full, so if there’s more of those inquiries next year, then we can offer even more heats. They’ve been so inspiring to everybody.

So far, the weather has been incredible, the energy has been incredible. The only thing we’re lacking is waves. Last year we had the waves, this year we have the weather.

Marisol- With the waves being small, it demands a different set of skills for these women. You have to have a lot of control to balance on these tiny waves and not hit the rocks.

I’ve been involved in this event since 1996. I look forward to this event every year for the camaraderie and for the fact that this is the one time every year that we get to have Capitola all to ourselves. We’re giving a space for all these females to shine, and encourage each other. Today is just for us, and it’s great to see how everyone else in the community respects it. I love all the anticipation leading up to the event, it’s something everyone looks forward to.

Every year, we have a different theme. This year, it’s, “I Sea You”. It allows us to develop a conversation around the event. Leading up to the event, we had a friend doing all these write up and featuring women who’ve participated as well

Laurie and Lily Davis

It’s her first time. I’m able to get out there in the water with her since it’s a Push-In division. This is her first year surfing. She just did Junior Guards this summer and now she’s really getting into surfing. She was so excited in the days leading up to the event. She kept asking me how she wins (laughs). My advice was to just have fun. I told her to stand up and ride it all the way to the beach. 

It’s fun because the crowd is cheering everyone on, the girls are all talking to each other, telling each other “good job”. When we were out there this morning there were about four otters swimming around us, so that was really special. This is such a good group of families, and it makes it really fun for everyone.

Anastasiya Bachmanova

It’s so fun being amongst so many fellow ocean lovers at the Women on Waves event. Though the waves were small, the sun has been shining all weekend and it seems like participants were making the most of it, having fun throughout. The thing that sticks out the most to me about this event is the positivity and inclusion of this event. It’s all friendly competition and supportive vibes among the surfers just starting out as well as lifetime water women!