Written By: Aidyn Fischli
Photo By: Josie Clarke
In late September, dozens of girls flooded Carlsbad’s Tamarack Beach for the first annual For The Girls Surf Contest CA. Inspired by the all-girls contest started by Carly Coble in New Jersey, Christian Surfers (CS) Southwest teamed up with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Surf and Ride Nature to put on their own West Coast version.
“Every year, there’s an FCA Contest, and it’s for boys and girls. But every single year, it’s such a struggle to get girls to sign up. I think it’s just the intimidation of doing it with the guys,” says Nina Coons, the Christian Surfers U.S. (CSUS) West Coast girls coordinator. “So we were like, ‘You know what would be sick — if we did a contest that was just solely for the girls.’”
Beyond the Contest
The contest held five categories: open longboard, open shortboard, open midlength, U18 and U12. The original goal for the contest was to have 20 girls compete — they ended up with 80.
“The majority of the girls that did the contest, I didn’t even know,” says Nina. “It was cool to see their interest, and I was just praising God because this could be their first introduction to Jesus.”
Each competitor received a gift bag that included a Surfer’s Bible along with some info cards for CS, FCA and Ride Nature. “We want this to be an outreach, not just a Christian huddle,” says Nina. “We want to
reach the local girls that we don’t know yet.”
A Common Love
The For the Girls Surf Classic ended up being more than just a contest. It was an opportunity for girls of all ages and skill levels to connect on a common love — surfing. “It was so much less about how you did and more about the fact that we’re all girls. We all get to surf together,” says one of the competitors, Gigi Garbarino.
Gigi, a member of the CS Point Loma chapter, was nervous about surfing in her first contest. As she paddled out, she struck up a conversation with the other girls in her heat, admitting that she was feeling anxious about competing for the first time. As it turns
out, the other girls were feeling the same as Gigi.
“They were all like, ‘me too!’ And so my heat was entirely girls that had never surfed in a contest before,” says Gigi. “We just chatted and cheered each other on, and it was super sick. It just eliminated my fear of competing.”
For the contest, the team was intentional about filling all of the judges’ and commentators’ roles with women. “We really want this to feel like this is by the girls,” says Nina. “We’re girls rooting girls on.” Star judges and commentators included Autumn Hays, Caity Simmers, Dax McGill, Indie Hoffman, Lara Claydon and Star Delia. The judges are all female surfers in the community and know a lot of the competitors.
Support for the Contest
Even though this contest was by the girls and for the girls, Nina says, “All the guys from Ride Nature, Christian Surfers and FCA showed up and served the entire day.”
“I think it’s super important for the guys to back women’s surfing,” says Noah Rhen, a member of the CS Carlsbad chapter. “When we’re working together, it fully models the body of Christ.”
Along with the local ministries, the contest also had the support of sponsors, including Betty Belts, Cobian Footwear, Creatures of
Leisure, Get Back Necklaces, Mamala Surf, Mad Hippie Beauty, Odie’s Pizza, Reign Storm, Revolution Roasters, Shoots Fish and
Beer, Sisstr, Sun Bum, Surf Ride Boardshop, and Xo Coco Surf.
“We meant for it to be a blessing to the community and to local businesses,” says Nina. “I’m excited if we do it every year, I feel
like there can be a lasting blessing.” Matching the goal of encouraging women and girls of all ages in the surfing world with the love of Jesus is the true heart behind For the Girls Surf Classic.
“I’m excited to see the growth and the stories to come,” says Nina. “Maybe someone was like, ‘I got a Bible in that goody bag, and I started reading it.’”
Christian Surfers Southwest plans to run the contest again next September, with hopes of continuing to reach more and more surfer girls with the gospel. To learn more about CS Girls, click here.