Stay paddle fit with Power Strokes. These aids slotted into an exercise regime will increase your paddling power. Here’s a little vid to show you how it works, with pro longboarder Ben Skinner and fitness guru Lee Stanbury. For more exercise tips from Lee check out the next SurfGirl at Easter. Power Strokes are available from www.orcasurf.co.uk

What girl doesn’t love a weekend mini break… the one I have just enjoyed was three days of snowboarding in the beautiful Austrian Tyrol with seven mates.

The first morning was straight up the mountain in flat light and tinged with the inevitable nerves, as it had been over a year since I had last strapped myself onto a snowboard and fired myself down a descent gradient. It was not until I executed my first turn successfully that I breathed a sigh of relief that I had remembered how to do it! That is not to say that there weren’t plenty of tumbles and failed applications to turn my board but generally things were going well.

Several runs, a hearty dinner and a few Gluhwein’s later and I was tucked up in bed in anticipation of what the next day had in store.

After a whole day and night of snow, the morning sun broke through to reveal the beautiful sight of fresh powder… and as it is the early bird that catches the worm we were up there at first lift to peck our own fresh tracks in the perfect conditions. The boys I was with (a seriously well qualified mix of ex pro’s and multiple-seasonee’s) helped me work on my technique, suggesting that I stopped trying to surf my way down the mountain (snowboarding is all about the legs and less about the arms). Although a quick stint in the half pipe felt like surfing a perfect point-break and unleashing the arms just felt natural!

With our smiles frozen in position and our faces rosy we reflected on an amazing day.

The third morning was a few dawny runs before our lunchtime flight home. the freshly bashed pistes glistened and greeted us as we indulged ourselves in our last few runs before heading off to the airport and back home…. As the plane took off I wondered to myself when would be the next time that I would be breathing the mountain air and sliding down it sideways.

Stephanie Gilmore – Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year

Rip Curl’s three-time ASP World Champion Stephanie Gilmore has become the first Australian to win a prestige Laureus Award since 2004, taking out the “Action Sportsperson of the Year” title at a star-studded gala function in Abu Dhabi last night.

Oscar-winning Hollywood star Kevin Spacey hosted the glittering Awards Ceremony, with British film star Hugh Grant and cricket legend Steve Waugh presenting Gilmore with the award.

“To win the Laureus Award is just unbelievable, it’s truly beyond my wildest dreams,” said Gilmore.

“I can’t believe it – as a surfer, I just love surfing and to be up here with all these athletes that I look up to is just amazing. Winning this award is definitely right up there with winning world titles and that’s one of the best feelings you can ever have,” continued Gilmore.

Gilmore beat out five other nominees, including two-time ASP World Champion Mick Fanning.

The 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards recognise sporting achievement during the period January 1 – December 31, 2009 and are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 46 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time.

The Awards were announced in seven categories. The winners were:

Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: Usain Bolt
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year: Serena Williams
Laureus World Team of the Year: Brawn GP Formula One
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year: Jenson Button
Laureus World Comeback of the Year: Kim Clijsters
Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Natalie du Toit
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year: Stephanie Gilmore

After taking out this prestigious award, along with the Roxy Pro at Snapper Rocks last weekend it’s no doubt Stephanie Gilmore heads into the 2010 season with the utmost confidence.

Congrat’ Stephanie!

For over 10 years, the Quiksilver Group has been working in the background under the slogan Don’t Destroy What You Came To Enjoy, a program dedicated to protecting environments through a host of different initiatives from eco-design and environmental management, to awareness-raising events and partnerships with various associations. Through the Green Campaign, Quiksilver and Roxy want to take advantage of their internationally recognised brands to promote awareness about the need to preserve our water resources, reaching out to the widest possible audience and focusing particularly on young riders.

In March 2010 Quiksilver and Roxy have  joined forces to promote the message No Water Sucks, a Europe-wide campaign aimed at protecting our water resources. On both websites www.quiksilver-europe.com and www.roxy-europe.com, internet-users can do their bit by taking part in the eco-friendly online competition. From March 1st to April 30th 2010, Quiksilver and Roxy are set to launch a picture compe tition on the topic

No Water Sucks whereby users will be invited to post their pictures illustrating ‘a lack of water.’ Winning entries must show creativity and imagination and the winning picture will be the one that garners the most votes from other internet-users in a one-click voting system. The winner will receive two cheques of €1000 each, one of which will be fully donated to one of the three charities the winner will have selected among the Green Cam paign’s partners. For every photo posted on the websites, Quiksilver and Roxy pledge to replant a tree.

Alongside the eco products that make up an integral part of the Quiksilver and Roxy collection a limited series of T-shirts and bracelets bearing the No Water Sucks slogan will take pride of place in Quiksilver Stores. For every eco-product sold during the campaign, one euro will be donated to support three water protection projects run in partnership with Save Your Logo*.

The eco products in the Quiksilver and Roxy collections are distinctive by their recycled label tags that feature green versions of both the Quiksilver and Roxy logos. The products are mainly made out of organic cotton or recycled polyester. When a product is developed by the qualified eco-design team,  its impact on the environment is taken into account throughout its lifestyle. For a Roxy or Quiksilver product to be classed as an eco-design it must be simple, durable and made out of environmentally friendly materials. The product must also be shipped to stores by river or land based transport. At the end of its life, it can be returned to a Quiksilver Store for recycling and the lifecycle starts again. A selection of eco products can be seen throughout the Quiksilver and Roxy Spring/Summer 2010 collections, these include Roxy Jam Green Watch, Quiksilver Ray Watch, Quiksilver Infinity Jacket and the Roxy Spot On Boardshorts to name but a few.

Audio giants JBL and leaders in the sport and lifestyle space, Roxy are two credible brands synonymous with music and female culture, and are the brains behind this aspirational contest.
The contest will be facilitated on the world’s leading mix sharing platform www.letsmix.com

Next Girl DJ will provide one girl DJ with a life-changing opportunity (not to mention heaps of prizes) whilst changing the face of dance music history in the process – in the recent DJ Top 100, only one woman was represented. Thanks to JBL, Roxy and you, all this is about to change.

This contest is not about slinging male talent to one side, but about providing a space for girls to showcase their skills. More females are needed to exhibit their talent in what is, still, a male dominated environment.

So are you passionate, ambitious and know how to throw down some tunes? Then what are you waiting for?

Here’s how it works. The competition opens today and is open to any girl in Europe over the age of 18.
1)      Entrants are asked to upload their mix to www.nextgirldj.com, using the mp3 upload function or Letsmix editor, to be voted on by a community of dance music lovers. The length of the mix should be around 30 minutes, but no restriction will be placed on the style of music. The contest will run online for two months and public voting will stop on 16th April.
2)      Five girls will then be selected from each location to go through to the semi-finals in the four music capitals of Europe – London, Paris, Brussels and Berlin.
3)      The grand final will see the four local country winners go back online to upload a beach-themed mix at www.nextgirldj.com.
4)      One winning girl will be announced, from public and expert panel voting,  as the Next Girl DJ and will go on to play their mix at the Roxy Jam in Biarritz in July, win a year’s contract with Roxy to produce music, and a whole host of other prizes including a special customised Next Girl DJ surfboard, a Pacemaker device and stylish JBL and Roxy products. They will also appear on German DJ Anja Schneider’s radio show in Berlin.

Contestants will get the unique opportunity to learn from the expert judging panel containing some of the industry’s most influential and inspirational females – Anja Schneider, Noura Labbani (Beatport), Caroline Hayes (Spun Out) and Fanny (kill the DJ) are all involved, amongst others.
Next Girl DJ judge, Anja Schneider said: “I was really shocked to see so few female DJs featured in the annual Top 100 DJ chart in DJ Magazine this year. This is crazy because I know that there are so many talented women DJ’s out there. I think some women are holding back too much and perhaps waiting for other people to push them, when really they should support each other and do it themselves. I hope this competition will be a good incentive for girl DJ’s to show the world what they can do!”
Watch this space for announcements.

Rules

Inclusion in the Next Girl DJ contest requires you to be European and over 18.
Only one 30 minute mix per Letsmix.com member may enter the contest. All styles of music are welcome! For further information please see the Next Girl DJ Terms & Conditions.

Prizes

Next Girl DJ partners Roxy, JBL and letsmix.com have conjured up some magic prizes for the talented winner:

·         A one-off special DJ set at 2010 Longboard World Championship
1 year contract with Roxy to produce clips for European BoardRiders TV and 1 hour “Instore mix”
·         Full profile focus on roxy.com
A customized Next Girl DJ surfboard
·         Pacemaker device
·         JBL and Roxy products
·         Radio show appearance
·         DJ spot at a ‘Secret’ festival date

Twitter: twitter.com/nextgirldj

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&gid=322386231697#

-ENDS-

About JBL
JBL is a unit of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com). Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, and maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia.  The Harman International family of brands includes some of the following: AKG®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Mark Levinson® and Soundcraft®.

About Roxy
Roxy is a brand of Quiksilver, Inc. (NYSE:ZQK), the world’s leading outdoor sports lifestyle company, which designs, produces and distributes a diversified mix of branded apparel, wintersports equipment, footwear, accessories and related products.  The Company’s apparel and footwear brands represent a casual lifestyle for young-minded people that connect with its boardriding culture and heritage.
www.roxy-europe.com

About letsmix.com
Let’s Mix is the world’s leading online platform for sharing music through mixes. On www.letsmix.com you can listen to music mixes as well as upload, share and promote your own music mixes. The mix community consists of hundreds of thousands members and supplies more fresh compellations every day than anywhere else online.

Organisers have announced that the headliners for Friday 6 August will be Brit award nominated American blues man Seasick Steve and the chart topping, million selling, acoustic troubadour Newton Faulkner will be headling on Friday 6th August. This compliments the announcedment last week that that 90’s dance legends Leftfield are due to headline the Saturday night
Seasick Steve is a man who needs no introduction and is no stranger to the event after he played a Relentless Beach Session back in 2007. Since then we have witnessed Steve become a household name and one of the hottest ‘new’ artists around, the result of being catapulted into the public consciousness following an electrifying performance on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny.
Since then, he’s won the 2007 MOJO award for best breakthrough artist, sold-out major shows including a prestigious Royal Albert Hall date, charmed every festival from Glastonbury to Latitude, became the oldest Brit Award nominee in history and his most recent album ‘Man From Another Time’ entered the charts at #4, making it his highest charting release to date.

So as if having the legendary Seasick as a headliner wasn’t enough the main stage will be closed on 6 August by firm Cornish favourite, Newton Faulkner.
Newton Faulkner has had a hugely successful past few months. With his already gold-selling second album Rebuilt By Humans debuting at number three in the official charts and storming straight in at the top spot on ITunes, and his biggest Mar/April tour already sold out.
The follow up to 2007’s number one, million-selling, debut Hand Built By Robots, is called Rebuilt By Humans for a very important reason.  At the start of 2009 Faulkner broke his wrist and dislocated his entire right hand. A bad enough injury at the best of times, but if you’re a guitarist – and a virtuoso finger-picking one at that – it’s catastrophic!
One extremely intricate operation later to save movement in his hand and Faulkner was sneakily playing guitar again, his own form of DIY physio. He was back doing what he loved. Newton Faulkner had been rebuilt by humans.
Buoyed by radio play, Hand Built By Robots became a rare and precious thing: a word of mouth phenomenon. The same can easily be said for its follow up.  It is phenomenal: ‘Won’t Let Go’, propelled by driving strings and an urgent, jump around backbeat, is already a live classic, as anyone who heard it at last summer’s Glastonbury and Latitude festivals will attest, not least because Faulkner plays the song accompanied by a tape of the backing track, which he whips out of his pocket and sticks in a cassette player.
Live, if you haven’t already witnessed his genius you are in for a treat. Faulkner is a one man band with his inventive, tech-savvy ways of triggering and presenting some of the backing tracks which were crafted in the studio for these big, bold new songs which are guaranteed to be massive crowd pleasers on the Newquay cliff top.
So how does Newton feel about sharing his headline status with Seasick Steve? ‘’I can’t wait to do Boardmasters with Seasick Steve, the man is a legend!’’
Tickets are now available on general release via the website, www.relentlessboardmasters.com and, with more than 30 bands per day across three stages (full line-up details to be announced in coming weeks), are without doubt the best value festival tickets money can buy.
Day tickets are just £35 while a weekend ticket is £60 or £80 with 2 nights of camping.
For tickets go to www.relentlessboardmasters.com

The Relentless Boardmasters in association with Vans has something for everyone and is the ultimate staycation! (stay at home vacation). Go to www.relentlessboardmasters.com now to see why the RBM is the most unique event of its kind!

Rip Curl’s Stephanie Gilmore has kick started her quest for a fourth consecutive world crown in perfect style by taking out the season-opening event at Snapper Rocks today in front of a raucous hometown crowd.

In punchy 2-3 foot waves, the reigning three-time ASP World Champion was able to capture an early heat lead and defeat Hawaiian veteran Melanie Bartels in the final, claiming her third title at Snapper Rocks.

“It’s definitely a dream start,” Gilmore said. “I didn’t really expect to win here. The waves weren’t so great. I definitely didn’t put in as incredible performance as I would have wanted to, and I’m sure Mel (Bartels) has the same feeling, but at the end of the day, I’m happy to win, that’s awesome!”

Gilmore first won her hometown event as a 17-year-old wildcard in 2005 and claimed top honors again in 2009.

The defending event champion led from start to finish in the 30-minute decider, posting a solid 6.83 on her very first ride and later adding a 5.57 to give her a combined two-wave score of 12.40 out of a possible 20.

Bartels tried hard but never seriously challenged the champ, managing only a 6.33 and a 4.03 for a combined two-wave score of 10.36.

“I was definitely really relaxed but kind of nervous at the same time – just a little mixture of feelings,” Gilmore said. “As defending event champ and defending world champ, I guess it put some pressure on me to win this event so it feels god to win.”

Gilmore maintains her lead on the ASP Women’s World Tour rankings as she heads into the second event of the year, the Rip Curl Pro Surf & Music Festival at Bells Beach from March 30 to April 5.

Stay tuned at ripcurl.com

March 6, 2010 - Opening day - Women on Waves Exhibit - Oceanside, CA

From old-school to new-school, the WOW exhibit is nothing short than AMAZING

A successful opening

The exhibit brought into focus the many dimensions of women in surfing...

Hollywood played a role in women's surf fashion

Early swimsuits were made of wool...

Brushing up on a little surf history.

Dedication to Linda Benson...

Linda Benson's 1959 championship trophy

Linda Benson is a remarkable woman who broke ground in a man's world. She continues to be a voice for surfergirls everywhere.

One of the 'Golden Girls' - Jericho Poppler - gave women's competitive surfing fire and drive...

Look! That's ME!!!

Such an honor to be mentioned in this wonderful exhibit!!

Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman - aka - Gidget. A dear, sweet friend...

da bu girls - Ashley Lloyd, Carla Rowland, Julie Cox

For more info… California Surf Museum

All images courtesy of Zamora Surf.