When you think about surfing in Canada, images of breaks with snow-capped mountains in the distance, bears on the shoreline, and neoprene-clad surfers braving the cold water likely come to mind.
That picture’s not that far off (especially the cold part), but what you might not expect, and as a contest this weekend celebrated, those hooded neoprene figures in the water are just as likely to be women as men.
The fourth annual Queen of the Peak all-women surf championship took place October 5-6 in Canada’s self-declared surf capital of Tofino, British Columbia. This is a rugged, windswept place on the outer reaches of Vancouver Island where storm season means surf season. The sport came late here, arriving with draft dodgers from California and only really catching on in the 1990s. In part due to this late start, Tofino is unique in that the ladies take to the water in near even numbers as the men.
Early Tofino female surfing pioneers like this year’s shortboard champion Catherine Bruhwiler and Surf Sister Surf School founder Jenny Stewart started surfing by tagging along with the boys in wetsuits that were too big and boards too short for them with little to no instruction.
But they eventually learned, and then they recruited their friends.
Stewart said she started her female surf school—one of the contest’s co-sponsors under current owner Krissy Montgomery—just to have more women to surf with.
Now there are hardly enough slots in the shortboard, longboard and Princess of the Peak (under 16) categories to accommodate the over 100 entries.
The amateur event is also attracting female surfers from the U.S. and the east coast of Canada.
Sara Taylor, an aspiring professional surfer from Huntington Beach, California, who was Queen of the Peak last year and placed second in the shortboard division this past weekend, comes for the surf, the big trees and the community.
“There’s so many girls in the water,” she says. “I think it’s really cool to see and the girls are ripping. Here’s the real deal: it’s cold out. You really surf— there’s no just kind of surfing. It’s cool to see the dedication and all the girls out there.”
Local surfboard shaper Stefan Aftanas donates a board to the winner of the contest and also works with local female surfers to shape boards especially designed for them. He said he supports the contest because he likes the grassroots nature of the event and because of what women bring to the sport.
“The girls are charging and they always have,” he said. “The surf culture here is fairly new and there weren’t any rules. It’s not like soccer or hockey that are old boys’ clubs.”
“Girls come at competition in a healthier way—they compete but they have fun.”
The idea for an all-female contest came about when it became clear that the women were being relegated to the time slots in co-ed contests when the waves were “shitty and onshore,” as one contestant aptly put it.
In other words, the girls weren’t having fun.
“When you have a dual event with the men and the women, a lot of women will shy away and not participate,” said Kait Fennel, a competitor from Cape Breton Island on Canada’s east coast. “When you have a full-on girls’ event dedicated to women, it gives women more confidence to get out there and actually compete.”
The Queen of the Peak includes a number of events designed to bring competitors together including a breast cancer fundraiser, a wine and cheese event check-in, yoga classes and a gala awards evening at Shelter Restaurant–the other co-sponsor of the contest.
During the two-day competition, there are massage and chiropractor services on the beach as well as babysitting available to competitors.
Recently, the contest organizers have been quietly chatting with the ASP about potentially hosting a sanctioned women’s event in the area, but Montgomery says it would be separate from the Queen of the Peak (which could be a qualifying event).
“This contest works so well we don’t want to change much about it. We want to keep it a grassroots, community event,” she said.
A highlight for everyone at this year’s event was a perfect 10 scored by 10-year-old Princess of the Peak winner Matea Olin, who paddled out in challenging overhead conditions.
And, of course, crowning a local female surfing great as Queen of the Peak was about as good as it gets.
“Cath [Bruhwiler] is always the bridesmaid and never the bride. Sunday was her wedding day,” said Montgomery. “She is in the finals in every contest she enters so it’s nice to finally hand it to her.”
“She’s a phenomenal surfer and an incredible role model for all these kids.”
Seeing Canadian women’s surfing reach new heights makes all those frosty mornings seem worthwhile.
