Bondi Surf Girls
Photo by Bondi Surf Girls Community and Confidence in the Waves
“Originally a competitive swimmer, Caterina found herself drawn to the world of surfing after moving to Sydney. Despite her initial struggles with the sport and feeling like an outsider in the predominantly male surf scene, she persevered. This journey led her to create Bondi Surf Girls, a club aimed at providing a safe and supportive space for women to learn and enjoy surfing together. The club has grown organically through word-of-mouth and social media, and aims to become a hub for surf workshops, events, and even international surf trips.”
Background
Growing up I was part of a very big very Italian family, just like the ones you see in the movies – loud and feisty and very very opinionated. We were part of this huge ecosystem of cousins and grandparents, across so many different generations, and while our family was spread across continents, to this day we work hard to maintain this sense of family and belonging.
While the perks of a big family are endless, it is sometimes easy to get lost in the chaos and big personalities, and as a naturally very introverted person, I did grow up feeling misunderstood, even when I was surrounded by so many people and so much love.
Our parents always encouraged us to lead a sporty life and we were thrown into all sorts of activities from a very young age and when on holiday we were always either by the sea or up on the mountains, following my grandpa who was a big mountaineer well into his 80s and inspired in us a strong sense of love and respect for nature and the outdoors (also a big inspiration for my move to Sydney).
All of us had different strengths, but swimming was probably my biggest love and achievement as a child, and I was enjoying it at a competitive level until I went to university. Some people find the idea of pool swimming boring, but there was nothing that gave me more peace than the sound of silence the moment I would dive into the water. To this day, there is nothing I love more than being by water – whether the peaceful Mediterranean where I grew up, or the stormy and unforgiving ocean of my new home in Sydney.
Photo by Bondi Surf Girls What’s your surfing story? How did you originally get into it?
I would love to be able to say I’ve been surfing for years but it really only started when I moved to Sydney two years ago! It’s not a common sport to take up in Europe and it was never something I imagined would become such a big part of my life. I would also be lying if I said that right from the start it felt right, but in all honesty, it took a lot of time, patience and resilience (and a few bad injuries) to reach the point where I feel like I was actually doing something right. I never took classes but was lucky enough to have a very patient and determined partner who supports me to this day, as well as lots of friends who are in the same learning process.
I have now definitely caught the surfing bug and can no longer shake it off. As I mentioned earlier, I have always loved the outdoors, nature and ocean, and it’s been the easiest transition turning this into my way of living. These days you’ll often find me running towards the beach with my board on any given day of the week, and we’ll only plan holidays to destinations with good surf breaks!
Photo by Bondi Surf Girls What’s your favourite thing about surfing? Is it the feeling of being out in the ocean, the challenge, or something else entirely?
Part of it really is just being in the ocean and the feeling of peace you get from being in the water, even on a rainy day. There is just something so simply magical about the ocean, no matter in what condition.
The other part is the mindfulness. When you catch that wave, no matter how many seconds you’re on it for, your mind goes completely blank, and you and the wave just become one. And then you just want to do it again and again and again. “Just one more wave” easily becomes the biggest lie ever told.
We live in a really fast paced society and are constantly surrounded by these expectations and responsibilities and to-do lists. I’ve personally struggled a lot with anxiety but when I’m in the water, time does really seem to stop, and it slows down my mind too. When you can get out in the waves on a Tuesday morning before work and there is that fresh ocean breeze and that stunning sunrise Bondi often gives us, life really doesn’t get much better than that.
Photo by Bondi Surf Girls You run a wonderful club called the Bondi Surf Girls in Sydney, Australia. Can you tell us your club and how it came to be?
Over the past two years of my surfing, I’ve struggled with feeling like I am not good enough to be out there in the water, especially on the bigger days when I’m mostly surrounded by men and locals who can be very intimidating and territorial. There have been plenty of surfs where I have gone out extremely excited and energized, only to not catch a single wave – those days can be very demoralizing and I actually stopped surfing for a few weeks last year because my confidence took such a big hit.
At the same time, as my interest in surf was increasing, my Instagram algorithms started showing me a lot of these female surf communities around Australia and other parts of the world, and I always found it so inspiring to see. I would spend hours on Instagram looking at photo albums from the latest girls surf trip to Indonesia or the latest surf workshop in Byron.
I did some research and was so surprised to see that there wasn’t anything similar set up in Bondi. So, on a very random night in March I just set up the Instagram page, thinking that not much would actually come out of it. The response was immediately so positive, and my phone started blowing up with messages of encouragement and girls asking for more details. The community is slowly growing and we’re starting to see so many girls come and join when possible.
Photo by Bondi Surf Girls When it comes to purpose, I guess I simply just want this to be a safe space for all water babies like myself to have some fun no matter their level. I want every girl in Bondi (and surroundings) to feel like there is a place for them in the waves and to get to the point where they go “Ah yes, now I get why people are so obsessed with surfing”. It’s a reminder that everyone starts somewhere.
Photo by Bondi Surf Girls To me it’s also more than the surfing – when I moved to Sydney I didn’t know many people and it was a hard and sometimes lonely journey going from a city where I had heaps of friends and family to rely on to knowing absolutely no one. I felt that missing sense of belonging which I knew only so well from my childhood and understood this was a reality for many of the people who move to Sydney every year. So, if I have the power to make people feel less lonely and feel like they are part of something, no matter how small, then that’s my biggest accomplishment.
Can you describe for us what a usual club meet up consists of?
We will typically meet on the beach at first light, with official time and meet up area announced the night before on socials. Bondi beach is great because it has so many different spots to choose from depending on the swell so I will just make a decision based on what I think is best for the level of surfing we have in our community.
Once we meet up, usually between 6.30am-7am, we do some stretches on the beach and then jump in the water all together. As most people have to get to work, we’ll be out of the water around 8am for a coffee and croissant at one of the cafes around Bondi. Some girls stay longer, some head to work straight away – the idea is to create that space for women to get in the water, and then everyone does with it what they will. Some girls only join for the coffee on the colder days!
Photo by Bondi Surf Girls Do you have any prerequisites for joining your club?
All we look for is someone who is willing to give it a go and bring the right energy to the group. We’re all about supporting each other and having fun, so it’s really just about the mindset. Obviously surfing requires a board and a wetsuit unless you’re not afraid of the cold, so that’s a must, but our community is big, and we can share around if anyone is just getting started.
I do also want to say that it’s not exclusively for women! I have a lot of male friends who are also in the learning process and feel intimated going out amidst the good surfers, and we don’t want anyone to go through this journey alone.
How long have you been running the club for now and what are you hoping to achieve?
We’ve only been running our meet ups for a few months now. Because of the winter swell and weather, the meetups have been a bit more inconsistent, and the hope is that as days get longer and the water gets warmer, we’ll be able to get even more time in the water and do more than one day a week.
When it comes to the long term it’s much bigger than just community surfs. I’m a planner at heart and have millions of ideas that I want to start bringing to life once the community is at a certain point. In the future, the community can expect to see workshops, events, talks, weekend retreats as well as full blown surf trips to the hottest breaks in the world!
We’re really just in the starting phase and I didn’t even think we would get this far. The response has been so heartwarming that I want to keep doing this and making it better and more established just so we can create something big that can reach more and more people who are looking for their own community.
Photo by Bondi Surf Girls How do you go about advertising your club?
At the moment we’re only on Instagram and have done some ads, but a lot of it right now comes from word of mouth which is great to see because it means that people are excited. We’ve also got some nice merch which some of our community parades around Sydney – so keep an eye out for that if you’re in the area!
If you could have any surf gear, regardless of cost, what would it be and why?
One of the best things about surfing is that once you have your board and the waves, you’re good to go. Since I’ve been dedicating so much time to my surfing, I’ve just recently gifted myself the surfboard of my dreams – a custom-made Cape Collective fish tail in lavender colour, and I can’t wait to surf the waves of Australia with it.
Aside from that, it’s hard to say. The better you become at surfing the more you start spending on different board shapes and sizes as well as gear but I’m not at that level yet!
Do you have any advice out there for someone who is interested in getting into surfing but wouldn’t know where to start?
Don’t give up and be proud of the small improvements. Surfing is hands down the hardest sport to pick up as an adult and I always say this, but it is truly a very humbling experience to try surfing when you’re older. You’ll be falling on your face, getting injured and making mistakes well into the process, but that day that you do finally catch a wave, it’s all going to feel worth it. And then you’ll never want to stop.
Photo by Bondi Surf Girls My second tip is stretching. Especially in the early stages when you’re building the technique and strength, stretching before and after will make a huge difference and give you the mobility and balance you need for the speed and movement – it will also make sure you don’t get sore from all the falls and body movements you’re not used to. I’m personally a big yoga lover and am a strong believer that the days I practice yoga before a surf, the session is just so much better.
Finally, and most importantly, find people who support you. The beauty of surfing is being surrounded by the sound of the ocean, but having someone in your corner to cheer you on and help you when you’re struggling is going to make even the hardest of sessions feel good. Surfing is not always going to be easy, so at the least make sure it’s fun.
Photo by Bondi Surf Girls