1999 - present

For more than 20 years, the Bondi Girls Surf Riders club has been inspiring females of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to take to the waves. The club promotes women's surfing on the eastern beaches by creating a friendly, inclusive environment for ocean lovers to support each other as they improve board-riding skills and explore new surfing spots.

This unique club began in 1999 when local surfer and founder of Bondi's iconic Lets Go Surfing Surf School, Brenda Miley, with Jo Evenden, led a group of like-minded women in a "board" meeting and decided to set up the first "girls-only" surfing club at Bondi welcoming all ages and ability. Brenda had established Let’s Go Surfing out the back of a van at Bondi in 1995 with five surfboards and a desire to improve the way girls experienced the sport.

Those early women surfers remember the days when there were no surf schools, it was hard to find wetsuits, boardshorts and other surf paraphernalia for females and even harder to find photographs of women surfers in the sport’s magazines.

There was little prizemoney for women, compared to their male counterparts, and very little sponsorship. One of the young Bondi grommets from the early days was Pauline Menczer, who went on to become a world surfing champion with no sponsors and limited prizemoney.

With the advent of surf schools, girls started flocking to the sport. Women on the surfing circuit can now make a good living from the sport and surfwear for females is one of fashion’s largest growth markets.

Among the club’s most successful surfers is Jessi Miley-Dyer, who began surfing aged 8 and became a professional surfer in 2006. She finished her rookie season by winning the Billabong Pro Maui, beating world champion Layne Beachley that year. She is now the Senior Vice President, Tours and Head of Competition. Nicola Atherton was on the professional circuit for 10 years, winning the world junior surfing championship at the age of 20 in 2007.

One of the highlights of Bondi Girls Surf Riders club membership – apart from the weekly sunrise surf sessions and club competitions – are weekend trips away surfing. The inclusion of all female surfers from beginner grades through to advanced with everything in between makes the club a popular community focussed club.

Courtesy Let’s Go Surfing.