Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Women surfers from left are Imani Wilmot, Esther Beckford and Elim Beckford.
Keisha Hill, Staff Reporter
SURFING! Flip through the pages of a typical surfers' magazine and what do you see? You won't see any scantily-clad male surfers in the advertisement for equipment or clothing. But you will see that many companies now offer product lines catering to women surfers.
Until recently, surfing has been portrayed as a male sport. The glossy, colourful pages of magazines once featured images of only male surfers riding the waves and executing fancy manoeuvres. Chances were that if a woman appeared in any of the magazines, she was tanning on the beach rather than being a serious surfer.
During the late 80s and early 90s, women comprised only five to eight per cent of all surfers. Today, they comprise 15 to 20 per cent, and drive a significant demand for products from the surfing industry.
In Jamaica, the final decade of the old millennium produced a crop of very talented women in surfing. The new and promising group is made up of a number of second-generation Jamaican surfers including Esther and Elim Beckford, Imani Wilmot and Danielle Ohayon.
These women have been surfing right alongside the men from the very moment they became interested in the sport close to eight years ago. They are not daunted by the fact that the surf industry tends to ignore women surfers but are making bolder steps and are becoming more aggressive in the sport.
Situated in the north western Caribbean Sea, Jamaica seems an unlikely place for surfing to develop. Trapped in the middle of the tranquil, Caribbean Sea, there would seem very little potential for receiving good surfing waves, except, maybe, for when a hurricane passes by. However, Jamaica is blessed with an eight-month surfing season with the remaining four months of flat time broken up into short one- or two-week spells.
Wilmot, daughter of musician and actor and a pioneer of the sport here in Jamaica, Anthony 'Billy' Wilmot, has been competing in all local surfing competitions organised by the Jamaica Surfing Association (JSA) since 2001, including Gromfest, the National Open Series and the National Qualifying Series.
In 2002, she won the title of Best Female Performer at Gromfest. Since 2001 Wilmot has held the title of National Female Junior Champion and National Female Open Champion (2003-2006).
Exposure and experience
She also has under her belt a wealth of regional and international exposure and experience beginning with the World Surfing Games (2004) in Salinas, Ecuador; World Junior Surfing Championships (2005) Huntington Beach, California, U.S.A,; Jupiter Fall Classics Pro/Am (Professional/Amateur) (2005-2006) Jupiter Beach, Florida; World Surfing Games (2006) Huntington Beach, California; the Caribbean Surf Network Makka Pro 2007 in St. Thomas, Jamaica and the Pan American Surfing Games 2007 held in Iquique, Chile, recently.
Wilmot was ranked third overall in the recently-concluded Jamaica Surfing Association Open Series meet held at the Boston Beach in Portland.
"I really enjoy surfing," she said. "I am very happy to have had a win in the 2007 five contest open series and I hope to continue being competitive in the sport."
Her performance as a woman surfer comes as no surprise. As a matter of fact, recorded images of Polynesian women surfers have been captured in etchings by famed author, Mark Twain, as early as 1819. Many Hawaiian chants also tell the stories of female surfers, illustrating that women on the islands were surfing right alongside men from the very moment surfing was born in Hawaii.
One of the most famous legends tells the story of a woman named Kelea, whose surfing attracted the attention of an Oahu chief in Maui, an expert surfer, whom she eventually married. Several miles down the coast from Waikiki, a break called Ke-kai-o-Mamala (Sea of Mamala) honours the Oahu 'chieftess', who was also a famous surfer.
Legends also tell of women surfing the waters in Tahiti, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The first person to try surfing in Australia was, in fact, a woman. Isabel Letham was the first to ride tandem with Hawaiian legend, Duke Kahanamoku.
Sisters in action
It's also a thrill to catch the Beckford sisters in action, commanding the waves as if they have never set foot on dry land. Both started surfing in 2001 at the Jamnesia Surf Club, located in Bull Bay, St. Andrew. They are from a family of seven children, of whom four are surfers.
Esther, a first-year architecture student at the University of Technology (UTech) was also a member of the national team to the World Surfing Games (2004) in Ecuador in which she also performed the dual role as team manager. The elder of the two sisters, Esther also surfed for the national team at the Jupiter Pro/Am Fall Classic in Jupiter Beach, Florida in 2006.
According to Esther, she enjoys surfing for its deep connection with nature. She admits that over the years she has not been very strong at competitive surfing.
"I have improved over the last season and I am very happy to have had a win in the 2007 five contest open series. My goals for next year include making the top two and securing a spot on the national team," she said.
"Travelling and surfing with the national team is a wonderful experience that stays with you for a life time and I'd like to have more experiences like that," she added.
At only 17 years old, Elim, a graduate of St. Hugh's High, is the top female, locally, in 2007. A title she also held in 2004 at 14 years old. In 2004 Elim was also a member of the national team that participated in the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Surfing Games in which she was the first female/Jamaican to make it through an international heat.
Since her debut six years ago she has also competed in the 2005 ISA World Surfing Junior Championships in California, U.S.A., Jupiter Pro/Am Fall Classic in Florida (2006), and in 2007, the ISA World Surfing Junior Championships in Portugal and World Surfing Games in Chile.
"I am very happy to have the overall win this year and I look forward to competing in the 2008 contest series both locally and internationally," she said.
Danielle, the team motivator who is currently on a visit to Morocco, has participated in all of the competitions.
All four women are gearing up to compete in surfing tournaments this year including the ISA World Masters Surfing Championships in Peru in March, the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in France in June and the ISA World Surfing Games in Portugal in October as well as JSA, ISA and Pan American Surfing Championships.
Although these women agree that surfing still remains relatively a male-dominated industry, they believe that the waves now belong to both genders as attitudes have changed.
Recognition
They argue that, "serious female surfers have been riding the waves all along and have gained more recognition today, to the extent that numerous professional female surfers are now endorsing the sport's products", and touring the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) circuit.
President of the JSA, Billy Wilmot, is extremely proud of where the women have reached in their surfing careers, despite the difficulties they face in surfing on an international level.
"The fact that they are women and surfing and have attained these levels is a significant milestone not just only for Jamaica but for surfing in general," Wilmot said.
"The level they have reached locally was achieved in a shorter time span as in Jamaica discrimination is less and they get more respect in the local waters, unlike their compatriots overseas. I hope they will continue to improve on their talent and get more exposure to compete in more international events," he added.
keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com
