Written by: Priscilla Burr
Photos by: CS Pensacola

Known for its emerald-green water and powdery white sand, Pensacola Beach is a vibrant, bustling vacation destination. It’s home to a growing surf culture and ideal waves for surfers of all levels. Yet, like most of the nation, the lineup often has only a few females sprinkled in. Within a male- dominated ocean, the Pensacola chapter of Christian Surfers is trying to turn the tide.

Over the past three summers, the Pensacola chapter has held an all-girls surf event in late July called Sister Surf Camp. The event
provides a cost-free opportunity for females to learn to surf and hear the gospel. The camp is open to females of all ages who can
swim. Consistently, the Pensacola chapter has found that the event’s success stems from a focus on females serving females,
from the organizers to the volunteers.

“There’s nothing in our area that targets or supports the girl surf community,” says Amanda Mattair. “We know from speaking to
women that some don’t feel comfortable in a typical surf environment. So we’ve created a specific space for them.”

The event is the brainchild of Amanda Mattair, Dana White and Erica Karr, who have been a part of the Pensacola chapter for several years. The trio first spearheaded the event in 2022. Each brings something different to the table with varied surfing backgrounds and life experiences, from learning to surf within the past few years to having surfed for over 25 years.

“The event being all-girls is huge,” says Dana. “When I was trying to start surfing, I didn’t know where to start. It can definitely be
intimidating. The camp is a great opportunity for girls to come out, get some tips, get in the water and use a board. The success of the event speaks to the need in our community to have a stronger presence of CS Girls.”

In 2022, Leason Dancaescu, the Gulf Coast regional coordinator for Christian Surfers United States (CSUS), mentioned growing the female portion of the chapter (CS Girls). Soon after, Dana was introduced to Erica through a mutual friend. The two met at a coffee shop, where they shared their aspirations to create an encouraging space for females to learn to surf and grow their love for the sport. The two recruited Amanda to co-lead the camp with them.

“We talked about the need for an all-girls surf camp. That was something that’s been on my mind for a long time,” says Erica.
Dana adds, “It can be intimidating for girls to surf. With the CS Girls portion of the chapter, we were trying to create a safe and secure place where we could just meet and grow spiritually as surfers.”

CREATING A SPACE

The first camp was held in July of 2022. More than 70 females, aged six to 60, registered. The trio worked diligently to recruit female volunteers and instructors to help. Volunteers varied in age from 12 to 50. “The turnout was
insane, but God blessed us with the perfect number of volunteers. I look back and think, ‘How did we do that?’ But we didn’t; God did,” says Erica.

After the success of the first year, the team recognized the need to set a cap for the event to maintain a comfortable ratio of instructors to surfers. In 2024, they had 34 participants, and in 2025, there were 16 (with a waitlist of 50). The most recent year had a decline in participants due to lower volunteer numbers. Over the years, there has been a consistent age range of participants, including mom and daughter duos.

“If we had not put a cap last year, I guarantee we would have had close to 70 again,” says Erica. “We all knew that women and girls
want to feel confident when they are trying something new. What we found is that an event like this removes a level of intimidation. Girls want to come and have fun and not feel intimidated. When you’re in the water with guys, the intimidation level is just different.”

The annual camp follows a similar structure every year. The day starts at 9 a.m. with registration. Once everyone settles in, they huddle together for an opening prayer. Amanda then provides the structure for the day, and she breaks them into groups. Before splitting up, Amanda explains surf etiquette, safety measures and demonstrates a pop-up. After the first group feels comfortable with pop-ups, they head into the water with a one-to-one ratio of volunteers to participants.

“A part of my role is to intentionally match girls with an instructor and also keep an eye on them when they are in the water for safety measures,” says Amanda. From the beach, Amanda helps guide the volunteers on how to help each female improve in surfing and to encourage one another.

The volunteers position themselves in the water, helping participants get onto boards and sending them into waves. A couple of the volunteers are on the beach to receive the boards when the girls come out of a wave
and to help them get back into the water. “We have an incredible group of volunteers. It’s amazing when one of the girls catches a wave, because they all cheer,” says Dana.

While the first group is in the water, Erica and Dana lead the second group in practicing pop-ups, followed by a discussion on
anything related to surfing – from what type of surfboard to use to how to improve in surfing. After 30 minutes, the group switches. When the first group comes back onto the sand, they get water and a snack and sit down for a time of questions and to share their experiences. The event concludes with a devotional and an opportunity to share the gospel.

THE KEY TAKEAWAY

“I want to see the event grow because it’s an opportunity for people who have never heard the gospel,” says Erica. “They know it’s Christian Surfers, and they are still signing up, so they are not opposed to it. God is doing something there. I don’t want to lose sight of how important that element is. We are helping introduce people to Jesus and give them a bit of encouragement.”

At the most recent camp, Erica shared a devotional and donated necklaces she made from her business, Glassy Day Studios. All
the jewelry from her studio is made from surfboard resin and is named after women in the Bible. The necklace she handed out during the event was one of her favorite designs, called Anna.

After each girl received a necklace, Erica shared a devotion from Luke when Jesus’ parents first took Him to the temple. “Anna
was only married for seven years,” says Erica. “She became a widow and spent the rest of her life in the temple, waiting for the Messiah and worshipping God. Then, Mary and Joseph came, and she immediately lifted up the name of Jesus.”

Erica shared that the necklace is a reminder of the sandbar and how surfers love sandbars because sandbars often lift the
water into a predictable, rideable wave. She then spoke about how Anna lifted up Jesus and how Jesus can also lift everyone up. She encouraged the girls to remember that when they experience challenges, Jesus will lift them up. And that surfing will always be a challenge, no matter what level. At the end, Dana prayed for everyone before they left and invited them to come to a CS event.

“Although we’ve downsized over the three years, the impact hasn’t changed,” says Amanda. “You see the same joy on the girls’
faces when they leave. If you interact with one person and talk to them about Jesus, it can make a huge impact. It’s the one person who can affect so many people. You may be talking with this one person, but then they go out, and then they talk to so many other people. It’s just like a little ripple effect.”

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

The Pensacola chapter plans to continue to hold the Sister Surf Camp indefinitely. The goal for Amanda, Dana and Erica is to recruit more volunteers so they can accommodate more participants. Erica adds, “When we saw the waitlist this year, we realized it’s definitely not meeting the need. We want to meet the need, but we also want to be safe. Our vision for the next year is to go back up in terms of slots for campers. We are going to start recruiting volunteers and be very intentional about that earlier.”

A major contributing factor to the event’s success is the community that rallies behind the team. “The event is free to the girls thanks to the amazing partners in our community,” says Amanda. “Our local surf shop, Innerlight Surf Shop, lends us boards. And Waterboyz Surf and Skate Shop provides us with swag and different equipment. It’s one of those things that is wonderful to see that the community believes in and is asking for.”

The team is also grateful for all the men in their chapter who support them behind the scenes. “We couldn’t do it without the men
in our chapter and community,” says Erica. “Even if they are not at the event, they are definitely super supportive of this. When we
brought up the event in the first place, they totally got it, and they told us they would help with whatever we needed. We are super
appreciative toward them.”

As the Gulf Coast regional coordinator, Leason has been able to see the event flourish since its inception. With the growth
of the event, Leason says that local shop owners ask him about the event every year because women in the community are asking
about it. His favorite part has been seeing young women transition from participants to helpers and eventually volunteer leaders. “It has really created a sense of ownership with some of the grom girls who have grown in their confidence to serve and connect with other women,” says Leason. “We are so blessed in Pensacola to have amazing, selfless women willing to sacrifice their time and pour into the female community of surfers and women who want to learn to surf. This event is such an epic example of CS in a microcosm – surfers serving surfers and sharing the gospel with them.”

To learn more about events like Sister Surf Camp or the Gulf Coast region, visit christiansurfers.com.