New Jersey has been a bit good recently. As has anywhere from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean that's been getting the energy from winter storm Riley. Not jealous. Nope. Not us. Not at all...

OK so it ended up a bit more than ten, and there are lots more we could have added, but on International Womens day these strong independent women deserve a shout out.

Maya
No ego, great presence, funny, talkative... practically died twice surfing massive waves and went back for more...Surfs because she loves it.

Rochelle Ballard
I watched Rochelle fighting for womens rights on the beach at a ASP world tour event when they wanted to send the women in one foot slop, mainly because they were women. She absolutely gave it to the head judge. Womens surfing owes a lot to her and her crew. They cut a swathe through chauvinism, and she rode one of what is still one of the best barrels ever during a womens comp at Fiji.

Lauren Hill
Graceful, skillfull, outspoken, funny, surfer, feminist and mum.

The SurfGirl magazine team
Got to add the girls in the office... Well it’s either that or earache for the arvo... just joking...
Founded in 2002 to give women in surfing coverage and a voice SurfGirl is now 16 years old. In a male dominated world where a lot of fashion brands do not take woman in sport or their love of the lifestyle seriously, it has been and continues to be a fight, but the all women team at the magazine has developed a community of over 670,000 followers, and a magazine with a core of global subscribers and newsstand presence from the UK to USA, Australia, Portugal and beyond.

Paige Alms of Hawaii wins the women's 2017 wsl peahi challenge

All the women at the Pe'ahi challenge.
After the men had the best of the conditions and made big wave surfing history it was interesting to see how the women would fair... They did not disappoint. Equal places for women in the WSL Big Wave tour events please. It is 2018 after all...
Paige Alms, Keala, Justine Dupont, Bianca Valenti, Andrea Moller and Felicity Palmateer we salute you.

🔴BREAKING SURF NEWS: We are Sad to Report that legendary Surfer Uncle “GEORGE DOWNING” has passed away. Downing was a true innovator of big-wave surfing and board design here in Hawaii during the '50s and '60s, the Winner of multiple BIG-WAVE contests and a mentor to some of Hawaii's best surfers. From all of us here at Da Hui Our deepest condolences to Downing's Ohana. Rest in paradise, Uncle George. 🙏🏾 Video Clip: Encyclopedia Of Surfing. Edit: Da Hui #DahuiHawaii

A post shared by Da Hui® (@dahui.hawaii) on Mar 6, 2018 at 6:39pm PST

Hawaii waterman, big wave rider and environmentalist George Downing, has died at 87. Downing was one of the last of the old-time Waikiki beach boys mentored by Duke Kahanamoku. George also created the Eddie Aikau in 1984 “because he didn’t want to do just a surf contest, he wanted something special and he wanted to do it a certain way.” and was director of the event, and was solely responsible for calling it on or off, for 30 years.

He was also an early member of Save Our Surf, the local grassroots environmental organization

A Scottish self-taught surfboard shaper is to hold his first ever surfboard design and resin art exhibition in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Jason Burnett, who has been making boards for 12 years as Jay Surfboards, will be exhibiting his hand made custom surfboards in Edinburgh’s Custom Lane studios from 1st-11th March.

He creates these at his workshop in Dalkeith, and is also a regular face seen surfing around the south east and north of Scotland.

Jason said:

“I was introduced to surfing when I was 18 years old and never looked back.

“I started making my own boards 12 years ago and soon my friends asked me to make them surfboards too. My work has grown over the years and along with it my skills and interest in creating more cutting edge surfboards.

“I use coloured resin in making surfboards and for years I thought about how to re-use it and that’s how the process began in making these unique pieces of art.

“This exhibition is the first of its kind in Scotland showcasing art created using surplus surfboard resin.

The JaySurfboards exhibition preview night is on Thursday March 1st 6pm to 8pm at the Custom Lane Studios in Leith, Edinburgh.

The exhibition will run until 11th March.

www.jaysurfboards.co.uk

Back in the day there was only one way to get to international comps and that was hard graft on building sites, in pubs, in surf shops or any way to scrap and save the pennies to get the entry fee and travel costs. Then you were off to live on friends floors, or in cheap cars or even in random bushes on the North Shore - looking at you Carwyn Williams - or off the kind grace of anyone who could help you.

Then as the surf industry boomed came the heady days of sponsorship from surf, car, and drinks companies. Cars, flights, hotels, even food was paid for alongside competition entry fees and governing body affiliations. Life was sweet for a few top surfers, some rumoured to be earn +£50k salaries in the process and that was +15 years ago.

Roll into 2018 and budgets are tight. A chosen few get a few bucks from sponsors, but surfers get no funding from the UK sports agencies. They'd rather spend millions on stupid non accessible sports, like curling, skeleton bob and bobsleigh.

There's a couple of surfers in the UK that get paid to surf. Everyone else works to pay the bills. From Skindog to Tom Butler, Reubyn Ash to Luke Dillon. As for the groms, well apart from one I can think of, it's the bank of mum and dad... That was until these enterprising surfers decided to crowd fund their way to the European comps.

You should read this, then throw in a few quid. It’ll be well spent. These kids are getting creative and are hungry. Any surfer with ambition has to get out of the UK and pit themselves against the best European surfers and waves.

19 year old Noah Biersack has started a GoFundme page to help get him to the World Surf League Qualifying Events in 2018 with a prize draw for a brand new custom Footwork Surfboard, O'Neill 4:3 Hyperfreak wetsuit and an Olympus TG-Tracker Action Camera.

www.gofundme.com/noahtowslqsevents

17 year old George Carpenter achieved 2nd place at the U18s English Nationals in 2017 and was selected for the under 18s England team. This year he wants to compete on the European Junior Tour and if selected, the World Junior Championships later on in 2018.

"I am trying to raise funds to be able to enter competitions in the WSL European Pro Junior Tour being held in France in May 2018. Costs include: England training camps in the UK, entry fees to the events, travel and accommodation.”

He’s raised £1690 of £2000 which is amazing! Drop him some dollar here >
www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/george-carpenter-surfer?utm_id=92&utm_term=AnY7pYDK6

15 year old twins Huck and Woody New have raised £570 of £3,000 so far on pledgesports Their plans are are to compete in the World Surf League (WSL) European Pro Junior events for the experience and a chance to compete with the continent’s best young surfers.

Woody qualified for the Ripcurl European Grom Search events in Hossegor, France where he finished in the top 10 in Europe. Huck travelled all the way to Thurso to compete in the UK Pro Tour junior event where he got to the semi finals in the U18s.

You can help them here www.pledgesports.org/projects/twins-pro-junior-surfing-championships/