South Bay girls take off surfing
by John Joseph. Photos by Dave Gregerson
The 2012 high school surf season produced the deepest, most talented and youngest group of girls in the 20 year history of the South Bay Surf League. Surfing is unique in high school varsity sports in being truly co-ed. The girls’ events (short and long board) count for 40 percent of contest points, the same as the boys’. The open co-ed bodyboarding division accounts for the remaining 20 percent.
The South Bay Surf League has always had some outstanding female surfers, the most notable being Peninsula High’s Holly Beck and Natalie Anzivino, who attended both Peninsula and South High. Other notable female surfers from recent years include Maddie Hawks, Carrie Kintz, Ashley Kelsey, Kelly Moore, Hannah Stiles and Lisa Tuttle. But until recently, even the top programs had difficulty filling all their girl heat positions. But not this year, when the number of girls and their level of performance improved dramatically.
Jordon Wible and Rachael Tominaga from Mira Costa and Jessica Dustin and Jessie Rowan from Palos Verdes now all have league titles already and will be returning for at least two more years. The underclass girls right behind them also are prospective league champions. They include Mira Costa’s Sara Korhogi; Redondo’s Sara Curren, Elle Inscore, Ailidah Sheldon, and Katie Parkinson; Bishop’s Natalie D’Angelo; South’s Kelsey McClure and El Segundo’s Stephanie Gee and Samantha Vinzon.
Several factors are responsible the improvement in women’s surfing at the high school level. One reason is the example being set by the current crew of professional women surfers. They flat out can surf and are proving it in all conditions, large and small. Most of them out-surf 90 percent of the male surfers. Another reason is increased media exposure for the women. South Bay photographer Dave Gregerson is as responsible for this as much as anyone. He has been photographing pro and upcoming women surfers or over a decade for the major surf publications. Local surf camps and the LA County Junior Lifeguard are attracting increasing numbers of girls and learning to surf has gotten easier thanks to improvements in soft boards and the more buoyant epoxy boards.
One other reason, at least locally, for the improvement in women’s surfing is Holly Beck. In and out of the water, through her example and mentoring, she has raised the bar for women’s surfing.
John Joseph is the director of the South Bay High School Surf League. DZ