Surfrider Foundation, MAKING WAVES, Feb. 2003

- page 2 of the article:

Can Surfrider turn Blue Crush into Green Activists?

Jessica Trent Nichols, Marketing Manager for Billabong, USA agrees. "I go back East twice each summer for our women's team athlete signings at surf shops and also for the Billabong East Coast Wahine Championships in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Traveling up and down the East Coast, it is incredible to see the large numbers of girls and women in the water."

Trent Nichols credits the increasing popularity of surf schools in helping to grow women's participation in the sport. "I think that surf schools are a huge indicator at the true interest in women's surfing." Surf Diva, one of the original all-women surf schools, reports that sales have doubled annually over the last several years. Staff size has grown from three instructors in 1996, to thirty-five instructors and five full time, year-round staff in 2002.

Women are a highly coveted demographic in the world of philanthropy. A recent study by Merrill Lynch reported that women contribute a larger percentage of their dollar to dollar income to charity than men, and the number of women donating to philanthropic causes continues to grow, outpacing their male counterparts. Other studies have shown that more women than men volunteer their time to charitable organizations.

So how are these trends affecting the Surfrider Foundation in terms of membership? In 1993, approximately 13% of Surfrider's members were women. By 1999, female membership was up to 25%. In a recent poll sent out to Chapter Chairs, most respondents indicated that the growth in women's surfing has yet to translate into any definitive increase in membership.

However, several chapters did report that they have begun to notice a rise in interest from women and women oriented groups and businesses. "We have seen more activity on the women's surfing scene," says Sean Gibson, Chair for Surfrider's San Francisco Chapter. "A new group called Women on Board popped up several months ago. They organized a surf festival and donated proceeds to our chapter." In New York City, the local Surfrider chapter reported that their beach clean-up efforts are co-sponsored by Surf Diva.

"I think that it's important for the Surfrider Foundation and its chapters to recognize the various opportunities that exist for increasing membership and move to capitalize on them," said Kim Novick, Surfrider Foundation's Director of Development. Novick recently closed a deal with SG (formally Surfing Girl), which offers readers an opportunity to receive a year's subscription to the magazine along with their paid membership to Surfrider Foundation. "Women's surfing represents a lifestyle market whose potential has just now started to be realized," she says. "The challenge now is finding a way to connect with them."

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