Where the Girls Are - A Sports Guide to Getting Away from the Guys

Where the Girls Are - A Sports Guide to Getting Away from the Guys
(Excerpt from Asian Wall Street Journal Article - 2009)

Sometimes men just can't help being boys when it comes to sports. For those who prefer to pick up their sporting skills away from the guys and all that competitive zeal, here's a guide to some top spots for golf, surfing, skiing and trekking -- for women only....

Daphne Tan doesn't consider herself much of a sportswoman, but when she went searching for a trip she could take on her own, what she settled on was a one-week retreat to learn to surf.

Ms. Tan, 31 years old, a Singaporean who works for a hotel company in Hong Kong, says she was in dire need of a break from the job, from the hustle and bustle of city life -- and even from herself. "I thought about going to a resort on my own and chilling for a week," she says, "but I realized I couldn't stand it on my own for three days, never mind a week."

While hunting around for an activity that could give a focus to her holiday and offer a chance to meet new people, she chanced upon Surf Goddess Retreats. Its pitch: a little surf, serenity and sisterhood in Seminyak on the Indonesian island of Bali. Ms. Tan made up her mind: She would take the plunge into "something completely new."

"It turned out to be the best thing," Ms. Tan says. "I loved it! We surfed three hours a day, and they made it really simple. We did yoga every morning, and I got to meet this great group of women."

Surf Goddess Retreats provides luxury surf, yoga and spa retreats which groups get eight days of surfing lessons, daily yoga sessions, health-oriented organic food, spa treatments and cultural tours of Bali.

The morning yoga classes focus on core training, balance and concentration, meant to complement the afternoon surfing lessons, which are delivered by certified instructors. The cultural tours take in temples, markets and art studios; one highlight is a visit to Wayan, a traditional Balinese healer from Ubud made famous in Elizabeth Gilbert's novel "Eat, Pray, Love," the story of a year-long spiritual journey.


Surf Goddess offers surfing retreats between March and November when ocean conditions are considered optimal for all skill levels. Clients come mostly from the U.S., Australia, U.K., Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore and range in age from their late 20s to their mid 40s. Most, like Ms. Tan, come on their own.

"I was at this crossroads in my career, and I met women who were very successful, a woman who was a mother of two, and my roommate was my age and at the same point in her career as me -- thinking, What next? And another lady who was traveling for two years straight," says Ms. Tan. "It was special for me -- I met all these people who were at different stages in their life and it was a real boost for me." She keeps in touch by email with the women she met on the surfing holiday.

Tokyo resident Mami Kistler, 28, who works for a French investment bank, also took a solo trip to Bali, with the encouragement of her American husband. "When I saw this on the Web, I decided I wanted to go because I wanted to meet other girls who want to do exactly the same thing," she says. "The group was great -- all girls, all very chilled out, laid-back and just wanted to be there to have fun."

Mrs. Kistler, who grew up in Kochi, in southern Japan, and studied in the U.S. and Canada, had recently tried surfing in Japan, but hadn't yet gotten the hang of it. "I'm a beginner -- my goal from the retreat was to be able to actually go out and surf myself," she says. "It was really a fantastic experience. By the end, I was surfing by myself. When you catch a wave, it's a feeling you can't explain."


—Cris Prystay is a writer based in Singapore

For current information visit http://www.surfgoddessretreats.com

Choosing the Right Surf Board

The board you ride makes all the difference to your surfing. Choosing the right board for the waves and your experience can affect whether you have a great ride or a frustrating time in the surf.

One of the most common mistakes that new surfers make in choosing a board is that they want to start off riding short boards similar to the ones they see professional surfers ride. Short boards usually have a very pulled in or pointy nose, are not very thick in the body and are usually 6 foot or under in length.

The problem with a beginner or inexperienced surfer riding a short board is that these boards are designed to be very responsive in the water, their reduced surface size makes them turn easily to do ‘cut backs’ and other maneuvers; but what this means for the new surfer is that they are really hard to balance on for both lying on the board and also for standing up and riding a wave!

Also, because they are light and thin, when they are paddled in the water, the surfer’s body is half immersed in the ocean rather than lying on top of it, so it creates a lot more drag and they need a lot of upper body strength to get up the speed to paddle onto most waves.

So what happens to inexperienced surfers who ride short boards is that they struggle to catch unbroken (or ’green’) waves because they can’t paddle fast enough and when they do get up they find it hard to stand up to ride the wave and fall off very easily….not much fun really!
The best boards to ride when you are first learning are long boards which are also commonly known as Malibu boards (named after the famous long boarding surf break of Malibu in California).

Long boards are generally wide overall having a full nose area, are long, starting from around 8 + feet, and are 2” to 3” thick. They are perfect for learning as the board is very stable for riding and because they float high in the water it makes them very easy to paddle onto waves. I think of them as the ‘instant gratification’ surfboard as its is so easy to catch waves and have a fun ride in most conditions. They are great for learning the basic skills of surfing because you get lots of practice when you can paddle successfully on to waves and also once you catch the wave you can work on improving your skills instead of having to put all your focus on just trying standing up on the board!

After mastering your balance on a long board and developing the basic skills, many surfers often move onto Fun boards, Mini Mals or Hybrids. These are either a shorter version of a long board or a hybrid / combo of long board and short board features. They are most often between 7ft to 8ft long and are still quite thick (around 2” ).
There is a reason they are often referred to as ‘fun boards’ as they are ideal for most recreational surfers as they have a high degree of manoeuvrability on the wave, while still being stable to balance on and floaty enough to keep it fairly easy in paddling onto waves…so your pretty much going to have a good time when you go out surfing!

The important thing to remember when choosing a board is start BIG and move your way down in size as your skills improve. Even for experienced surfers, smaller doesn’t always mean better, there are many surfers who love to ride only Malibu boards and skilled wave riders turn surfing these boards into an art form with graceful dance like moves that require amazing balance and timing.

The main thing is to have fun and the simplest way to do this is to ride boards and waves that are suitable to your surfing level, fitness and experience.

Live Well, Laugh Lots and Surf with a Smile!


http://www.surfgoddessretreats.com