Tidal 9 Women’s Pipeline Pro

This year the Women’s Pipeline Pro will be have their holding period from March 31st to April 14 on the infamous Banzai Pipeline on Oahu’s North Shore. They will hold 3 days of competition from 8 am to 4 pm in women’s longboarding ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals), shortboarding ASP, and bodyboarding IBA (International Bodyboarders Association) allowing 180 female competitors coming from all over the world. This year will mark 20 years for the Women’s Pipeline Pro which began on 1988. The Pipeline Pro was orginally started by women bodyboarders, who were the first ever to charge this male dominated surf break. This year’s purse is the highest in 20 years at $50,000.

This year, pro surfers have teams up with Girl Scouts of Hawaii to help celebrate Women’s leadership. Pipeline Pro’s 2009 contest theme is courage, confidence, and character, which are common threads between female surfers and scouts. The women’s surfing community is hoping to inspire young girls to become leaders and live a healty active lifestyle and excel in sports. This year’s contest will be dedicated to Women leaders who help make surfing what it is today. One of those leaders is Patsy Mink a Hawaii congresswoman from the 1970s who worked hard for equal rights for women. Because of the legislation that was passed by Mink, the Patsy T. Mink Equal Oppurtunity in Education Act of 1972, women were able to get federal funding to play sports in school.

The Hawaii women’s surf community is excited and fully charged for this years Pipeline Pro. As a female surfer I feel women’s surfing has come a long way. Women are only now being more respected and recognized in the water for their strengths and accomplishments. Young girls growing up can look forward to becoming anything they want to be including fierce waterwomen. My good friend, professional bodyboarder Ayako Ancheta is sitting this contest out this year, but only because she is 8 months pregnant. She has competed in the world tour from 2000 to 2005 and she is an excellent example of a strong water sportswoman. Not only does she work as a real estate agent, she is also already a proud mother of a three year old son, and she still finds time to surf the north shore with me, pregnant and all. Women like Ayako give young girls much to look up to.