Surfer Easkey Britton in Iran

I had lots of fun working on a piece about Irish surfer Easkey Britton this week, one of the most inspiring sports women around really. This video was shot when she travelled to Iran on a surfing trip. Yes, Iran. 
Easkey Britton surf en Iran- http://marionpoizeau.com from marion poizeau on Vimeo.

Surfer Justine Dupont and Aileen's Wave in Ireland

On Sunday Frenchwoman Justine Dupont joined the tiny number of people who've surfed Aileens Wave in the west of Ireland. It crashes in under the Cliffs of Moher climbing up to 12 metres on its way as you can see in the video below.

A note with the video says: "The swell came courtesy of Hurricane Rafael, a fast moving system which shot a powerful beam of condensed swell in an arc around the Atlantic basin. The 21-year-old World Tour surfer travelled with the Billabong Adventure Division from her home in Lacanau, France to surf the big-wave spot.

In the over-subscribed and unquantifiable "best ever" category, this barrel has got to rank up there in pure heft with any tube ridden by a female surfer in Europe.

"That was an amazing day of surfing," Dupont said afterwards. "It was more than a session, it was a mission. From getting smashed paddling out to surfing that perfect beautiful wave, it was a day I’ll never forget."


Thanks to broadsheet.ie for showcasing this!

Surfer Justine Dupont and Aileen's Wave in Ireland

On Sunday Frenchwoman Justine Dupont joined the tiny number of people who've surfed Aileens Wave in the west of Ireland. It crashes in under the Cliffs of Moher climbing up to 12 metres on its way as you can see in the video below.

A note with the video says: "The swell came courtesy of Hurricane Rafael, a fast moving system which shot a powerful beam of condensed swell in an arc around the Atlantic basin. The 21-year-old World Tour surfer travelled with the Billabong Adventure Division from her home in Lacanau, France to surf the big-wave spot.

In the over-subscribed and unquantifiable "best ever" category, this barrel has got to rank up there in pure heft with any tube ridden by a female surfer in Europe.

"That was an amazing day of surfing," Dupont said afterwards. "It was more than a session, it was a mission. From getting smashed paddling out to surfing that perfect beautiful wave, it was a day I’ll never forget."


Thanks to broadsheet.ie for showcasing this!

Surfer Justine Dupont and Aileen's Wave in Ireland

On Sunday Frenchwoman Justine Dupont joined the tiny number of people who've surfed Aileens Wave in the west of Ireland. It crashes in under the Cliffs of Moher climbing up to 12 metres on its way as you can see in the video below.

A note with the video says: "The swell came courtesy of Hurricane Rafael, a fast moving system which shot a powerful beam of condensed swell in an arc around the Atlantic basin. The 21-year-old World Tour surfer travelled with the Billabong Adventure Division from her home in Lacanau, France to surf the big-wave spot.

In the over-subscribed and unquantifiable "best ever" category, this barrel has got to rank up there in pure heft with any tube ridden by a female surfer in Europe.

"That was an amazing day of surfing," Dupont said afterwards. "It was more than a session, it was a mission. From getting smashed paddling out to surfing that perfect beautiful wave, it was a day I’ll never forget."


Thanks to broadsheet.ie for showcasing this!

It's Pure Magic kiting over the waves

Every now and then I get to mix work with sport. I have a piece in this week's FIT magazine about kite-surfing, and spoke to Catherine Etienne, one of the few female riders in Ireland. That's Etienne in the pic below, with her part of the article underneath that again. 

And this is what I learned from her: 

On Dollymount Strand in Dublin, Frenchwoman Catherine Etienne explains the kite has to be at 12’clock on that semi-circle shape when you start. The kite hangs there – parked as Roche says – and only picks up power when you drop it down. Into the ‘power zone’, obviously.

The next lesson is just called ‘body-dragging’. Etienne says the key to having fun here is keeping warm.

“There are different thickness of wetsuit but generally people wear the 5mm all year round and in the winter add a neoprene vest underneath. In the summer the water can be quite warm so when it’s eight degrees like now, you don’t feel the cold as much as you think in the water,” she says.

Eight degrees – yes, welcome to an Irish summer. But she says the wind always blows and that’s what counts.

Etienne came to Ireland on Erasmus six years ago but fell in love with the winds on Dollymount and never left.

“It’s probably not the image of the Caribbean but it’s actually the perfect spot. Flat water, shallow water, good wind all year round and a very good community,’ she says, in the Pure Magic shop which doubles up as a meeting-place for Dublin’s riders and wanna-be riders.

One of the sports unwritten commandments is talking to other riders to find out about wind currents or water hazards. This gives a real communal feel to the sport says Etienne.

The third lesson is when you get introduced to the board. And this is where it gets fun.

Yes, lots of fun but lots of hard work too. Holding the kite upright requires solid core-strength, instructors tell you to relax your shoulders so the power comes from your core.

Your legs are working as hard as on a surf-board to stay balanced while your arms are at full-stretch against the wind. But don’t rush to the gym to load up on weights as Mother Nature expects high levels of flexibility.

And like most sports, the more you do the more you will build up the physical skills you need. Swimming is pretty important for beginners as you do spend a lot of time rescuing the kite and starting over … and over and over. 

Find out more about Pure Magic here. 

Surfing really is a man's game in Gaza

Today's issue of The Red Bulletin has incredible photographs from Irish photographer Andrew McConnell's time with the surfers in Gaza.

But one shot is different. Two young girls float happily on boards, while the caption reads: "Sabah Abo Ghanem and Kholoud Abo Ghanem, Gaza's only female surfers. The girls ... will have to stop when they reach puberty as their older sisters did before them. Surfing is not considered an acceptable pastime for women."  This Guardian video interviews the same girls.

Wordless Wednesday

Inchydoney Beach in Cork  - Ladies in the water!

Pictures only on Wordless Wednesday

Visit the FLOW - for ladies of watersports

Amy Carter from ‘FLOW - For Ladies Of Watersports’ in England took some time out of her hectic week to tell us why the world needs more windsurfers.

Amy edits Boards magazine as well as working on her own website promoting women in watersports, but was a professional windsurfer until injury came knocking last year. She won two Formula Youth World Championships, and holds a number of British and European racing titles.

“I competed internationally from about 12 years of age, I grew up with windsurfing really,” she says. “There are lots of things to love about it. 

"It’s really challenging, you can’t pick it up straight away. But whatever level you get to, there is always something new to learn.”

Cornwall and the south-east of England are some of her favourite places to get out on the water, so it’s maybe a good thing that she’s recuperating in London she says – far away from temptation.

“I never forget about the water, but it’s easier here,” she says while explaining her shoulder injury. “It’s like any sport, when you get to obsessive levels where you do the same sport every day, you get injuries.”

Not that anything like surgery and up to six months of recuperation is going to keep Amy away from her boards… 

Why windsurfing?

“There is a complete feeling of freedom in windsurfing. When you plane, you can glide quickly over the top of the water instead of ploughing through it. That feeling when you first start going quite quickly, well it’s just hard to explain,” she says.

But like lots of other watersports, there is one drawback to being a woman in windsurfing – being a woman in windsurfing. Amy says she was often the only girl on the national squad and even now she estimates only about 10 per cent of professional windsurfers are female.

And what happens on FLOW ? 

That’s where “FLOW” comes in. Amy set up the website when she was working in Tenerife in Spain and she says the main aim is to encourage more women to take up all watersports. 

“It’s about role-models. I never wanted the site to be about me, it’s about getting women involved in the sport. We’ve had great feedback on the site, there is definitely more buzz about women’s windsurfing now which is positive,” she says.

Amy says there are more women’s only events taking place in the UK now, which she sees as a good thing to encourage beginners. And she’s happy to see some women’s only events taking place for professionals too as that means the numbers are slowly increasing.

Slowly … she says a British Windsurfing Association event which normally attracts three or four women managed to pull in 14 last year. So yes it’s four times more but still lots to do.

Is success all about the money?

Sponsorship is another tricky area she says. Getting small sponsors to give surfers a 10 per cent discount on equipment isn’t so hard she says, the problem lies in getting enough money to travel to events. Women can be stuck in what she describes as a Catch-22 where they don’t want to say No! to the small money but then sponsors think there is no need to give more.

Looking to the future, she says: “I would like to see more coverage of women in windsurfing and other watersports. It all comes down to money, there needs to be more videos and photographs of women.”

Pic from UK Windsurfing

You can read more about Amy and other British watersports stars on FLOW - For Ladies Of Watersports

Coming soon to a blog near you

A quiet blogging week due to a hectic off-line time, apologies to everyone who has popped in for a look.But there are some exciting interviews coming soon to a blog near you ...

Starting with interviews with the Irish rugby team - fingers crossed for a win tonight against Italy so they'll be in a good mood for talking - and Irish MMA fighter Aisling Day, as well as English windsurfer Amy Carter and the boxers behind American gym Striking Beauties. I'll be uploading some interviews I did for 'Irish Fighter' magazine as soon as the March issue hits the stands: South African fighter Ferial Ameeroedien - based in Dublin - and her stablemates Kelly Creegan and Frenchwoman Cecile Chemin.

These interviews and a few more including some print articles on funding for women's sport in Ireland will be trickling through in the next few weeks. Tomorrow night I'm taking part in a radio-panel discussing women's sports so if I can get a recording of that will upload it, should be interesting.

In the meantime have a great weekend, and enjoy this inspiring piece on women in sport from the International Olympic Committee!

Wordless Wednesday

Was delighted to see a mention of  surfer Easkey Britton's art the other day here.

Wordless Wednesday blogging with photos once a week

Taking your dog surfing?

Bruce takes to the waves as Raquel watches!

Anyone’s who has spent time on a surf beach will have seen bored dogs, lying on the sand waiting for their owners to come back in. Surfer Raquel Noboa has found an unusual way to keep her dog occupied – she takes him with her on the board.

Raquel has been surfing for six years, and a dog-lover all her life but it was only last year that she thought to put the two together.

“We used to walk on Lahinch beach with the dogs. There are two big worlds on any beach – the surfers and the animal-lovers,” she says. “Then I just had the idea, looked it up online and friended a few Americans who are big into it. They helped me get going.”

Lahinch (on the west coast of Ireland) is one of the most well-known surf beaches in the country so she was in good company. But she says the first time she approached a local surf school about doing a doggy day out on the waves, the owner thought she was mad.

Apparently the trick is to get your dog used to the board – don’t just take him into the water and think he will love it.

“We fed Bruce his meals on the board, so he started to associate it with something good. That gets him used to it,” she says. “So he was up on the board first day then in the water. But he only surfs with me, he still hasn’t surfed with another person.”

And it seems there are surf-styles for dogs. Raquel says if you have a long board, you can take the dog at the front – sitting or lying – and you both balance the board together on the waves. But for regular boards, you need to push the board out to about chest-deep in the water with your dog swimming along side and help him to jump up on the board. Then push and hope for the best.

Raquel and Bruce on dry land. (check out the shades to the left)

She organised the first Doggy Surfing Day in Ireland last year through her non-profit site My Pet Review, raising money for guide-dogs in the process. And says she has plans for an international day, hoping to join up with surfers from California. Who knew?

“Any dog can be trained to do this, but some are easier than others. You don’t need to be a surfer to do this either, it’s just another way to get off the couch and get healthy,” she says.

More pics from the first Doggy Surfing day are on Dog Surfing Ireland. And if you have any questions about how to get going, leave them here (or there!) for Raquel.

Women in sport talk new year's resolutions

I just heard a medical expert on the radio here in Dublin telling us that giving up alcohol or ...(fill in with your choice of vice) for one month isn't enough - you need to change your approach during the whole year. Well, duh! Now if only it were as easy to do as to say. Thanks mainly to the power of Twitter, here's what some of women in sport are planning for 2012.

Surfer Claire Bevilacqua says her mission for 2012 is to "encourage and inspire" starting with teaching her 9 year old niece to surf. 

Wombat Sports: Lots of ambitions for women's MMA here, they plan to re-organise the weight divisions and bring European + Japanese fighters to train in the US. More plans here.

Like so many Olympic athletes swimmer Femke Heemskerk is looking to the Olympics saying it's her dream and "go for it, never surrender" is her message to other hopefuls.

Snowboarder Tara Dakides left this slightly crptic thought for us: "When changes come I close my eyes and see a door. A door that opens to another world another chapter and chance 2 grow n discover greatness." 

Women Talk Sports:  Over on one of my favourite sites, Rebecca says "ditch the dieting". 

Boxer Laila Ali looks like she's planning a nutrition overhaul with lots of links to Healthy Eating sites. 

Cyclist Deborah Atkinson lays out her plans on Snowcatcher to keep up the 60-mile bike-ride. (96.5km)

Katarzylna at A Runner's Life is planning big changes to her running and fitness routine - summed up as "Train harder and smarter. In 2012 I need to be more systematic." Details here. 

Surfer Stephanie Gilmore: "Christmas is about celebrating the year past with the ones you love, but it can drag on to a few days of over-indulging, so I try to pace myself, and make sure the day is full of physical activities so I can enjoy myself – eat like a king and then dance it all off!"  from Body and Soul 

I loved snowboarder Helene Olafson's wish - "May the new year bring you all sparks!!" with a link to this gorgeous photo

And me? If you've been following for a while, you know I'm on a long-term mission to get fit again having had some nasty stuff happen about 2 years ago. So the small steps continue! What about you - what are your healthy resolutions for 2012?

Inspiring Sports Women in pics 2011

And the end of the year is almost here. Thanks to the mysteries of download counter, these are the photos and the women you loved the most this year. And yes, Wonder Woman was one of them - this pic held the top position for months, was beginning to get a bit worried!

As always, if you are downloading pics from here, please link back to the photographer's site if it's not mine or at least to here where people can follow back to the original sites.

What you loved on this blog 2011

They say a week is a long time in politics so a year ... So much happened in 2011 that events from January or February seem to have happened in another decade not just a few months back. And scrolling through the stats for this blog to see what you liked reading isn't any different.

Diana Nyad

The most popular posts were the attempts by American swimmer Diana Nyad to swim between Florida and Cuba last summer and again this year. Like many of you I was disappointed for her but also impressed that she even thought of attempting the 103 mile swim at 62 years of age. That's complete with sharks and jelly-fish. 

Following close behind numbers-wise were the stories of Australian surfer Steph Gilmore and Kyrgyzstan MuayThai fighter Valentina Shevchenko.  

You also loved the personal stories from American cyclist Deborah Atkinson, and fighter Melissa Ray's retirement interview. Australian fighter Caley Reece just keeps popping up in the stats and lots of you were inspired to get climbing by Alaskan mountain-lover Ti Conkle.

Irish women you enjoyed reading about included soccer- goalie Emma Byrne, Down Under Aussie rules player Sandra Ryan and listening to MuayThai fighter Siobhan Foley prepare for competition. 

Martial arts and boxing pages definitely strike a cord which maybe says something about where I promote the blog, but it seems you're happy to take inspiration from anyone as long as she's doing something she loves - that's where the real passion lies. 

These great photos from the World Freestyle Kayak Championships by Emily Wall were a huge hit - pun intended - as were the photos from Siobhan in France. 

As the seasons turned, the snow queens have been sneaking up the list again. I haven't interviewed them (yet) but profiles of Swiss-French champ Anne-Flora Marxer and American veteran Tara Dakides are your favourites. 

Getting fewer hits but making you stick around were women like Egyptian rower Heba Ahmed, the story of the Palestinian soccer team and this short film on soccer in Brazil.

Have I missed any of your favourite posts? Leave a comment, share why you loved it.

Tomorrow: your favourite photographs (thank you download counter)

Torah Bright, Australia

Naming sportswear sites

It might be all about location for housing but when it comes to sportswear sites, that name just has to stick in your mind. These are some of my favourites - though I should point out I haven't shopped in any of these so don't take this as a recommendation. Just a bit of fun on a chilly Thursday when it's time to think about stocking up on warmer running gear.

Sweaty Betty

There's just something perfect about it. I used to hang out with a woman in Bangkok who referred to herself as Bangkok Betty so everytime I hear the name of this UK clothing company it makes me smile. Don't think I've ever actually used their products but the name alone makes me want to send some money their way.

Bitch Boards

I kid you not - this one is an Australian company making snowboards for women. Well, for the "empowered and beautiful female snowboarder." I'm wondering what their sponsorship logo is - do you tear down the mountain with BITCH emblazoned on the board? Or do you go for a more subtle BB?

ChicaBomb

Yes, not quite sure if I'm missing something obvious here because of a lost-in-transatlantic issue - does ChicaBomb scream women's surfboards to you? But it did make me stop scrolling so ... and I liked the idea of the Mermaid Board on their site. Cute. 

Do you know any others? 

Adventure Links in Ireland

Antrim Northern Ireland

There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. That’s what my kayak-mad sister says whenever anyone mentions the water this time of year in Ireland is just a little chilly. Just a little you know.

And the people behind new Irish website AdventureLink would definitely agree with her. Stephen says the site’s aim is to open up the outdoors to people who don’t know where to start. It’s a pretty simple idea for a website, but seems to be working well.

And it saves on the hours we all seem to spend now trawling the internet looking for deals where before we would have just taken the first thing. “One of the key features is the easy access to all adventure links and tourism from every corner in Ireland, with the adventurer in mind. There are 44 areas of adventure activity, nine extra areas and we have sub-divided the country into seven regions,” says Stephen.

They have about 800 links up already – including this blog which is how I found them, thank you trackback – and cover pretty much anything you might like to try out. Plus he says their “long-term mission” is to encourage sustainable tourism. They’ve got links up to Leave No Trace and Rothar (um, that’s bicycle in Irish) as well as a few others.

So anyone feeling lazy, no more excuses! All details at Adventure Links

Beauty queens and kettlebells in Derry

There can’t be too many beauty queens entering pageants to motivate students in their bootcamp. But that’s what Aoife Grant said at the Face of Ireland competition recently … I was curious.

Turns out the former netball player studied Sport Science and runs bootcamps on the beaches around Derry in Northern Ireland. Taking a laid-back attitude to fitness, she says: “A lot of people try to do everything at the gym, they’re there first thing Monday morning, drinking wheatgrass and things. I try to help people to do what they can, be realistic.”

It’s refreshing to talk to someone in the industry who’s not completely focused on weight-loss, Aoife talks a lot about having fun and finding ways to make exercise meaningful instead of a chore to be fitted into the rest of your life. “When athletes have a drive, they think they can always be better, that’s important to have that in your life,” she says. “Whether it’s for health or vanity.”

Aoife says she works with sportspeople from GAA, body-building and even traditional Irish dancing as well as women just looking to get healthy.

I still didn’t get the beauty pageant idea until she started talking about the links between the “healthy eating” plans she makes and looks. “The bootcamps are a normal weekly class, so I try to take away any barriers (to getting healthy) by taking away the need to cheat … (we) give them a takeaway lunch, and a snack and because they’ve paid for it, they usually eat it.”

“I try to instill in them the idea that they look as healthy as they are,” she says.

More info on Aoife’s classes at Hourglass Bootcamp

ESPN in the nude

Stephanie Gilmore pic RipCurl Australia

I was wondering why an old post on Aussie surfer Steph Gilmore was creeping up the Popular Posts list but now I get it. Nothing like a bit of booty to get attention I guess. 

At least from what I've read there are boys in the mag too. Don't really know what I think about it, but hey, maybe I'm a prude? 

It's meant in the spirit of celebrating sports, celebrating the incredible things you can do with your body with more than a smidge of effort. I doubt I'd buy it, would be too grossed out at the thought of what some customers might be doing with the mag *euw*

This article lists the athletes taking part: " the WNBA's Sylvia Fowles; LPGA rookie Belen Mozo; track and field star Natasha Hastings; hockey player Julie Chu; tennis player Vera Zvonareva; tattooed roller derby player Suzy Hotrod and bowler Kelly Kulick" for the girls and "speedskater Apolo Ohno; NHL player Ryan Kesler; UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones; IndyCar racer Helio Castroneves; snowboarder Louie Vito; boxer Sergio Martinez; marathoner Ryan Hall and paralympian Jeremy Campbell". 

What do you think - are they mad? 

Portugal are Eurosurf champions

Portugal are taking the Eurosurf title back home with them, 14 years after winning it the last time the competition was held in Ireland. Written in the stars maybe? 

The winners women's categories were Catarina Sousa in bodyboarding (Ireland's Ashleigh Smith came second by 0.07 for silver), Sarah Beardmore (Eng) in the Ladies Open. Full details are here on the Bundoran 2011 site. 

Ashleigh Smith, Ireland

One of the highlights was the visit by American surfer Bethany Hamilton, yes she of that incredible recovery-story following a shark-attack. It's all very well to talk about being committed to surfing but it's when you see a story like that, you realise how serious people can be about their passions.

What's the most inspiring recovery story you've heard?

European surfers compete in Ireland

Eurosurf Bundoran 2011 is continuing over the weekend. A few of the women out on the water in this video from this week's competition.

Have a great weekend!