A History of Women's Surfing

Women’s surfing is sometimes told as a recent arrival. It isn’t. Women have ridden waves for as long as surfing has existed — the story is really one of visibility and recognition catching up to the water.

Ancient roots

In pre-contact Hawaii, heʻe nalu was for everyone. Women surfed alongside men, and chiefesses were celebrated for their skill; legends and chants record women riding the great waves. Surfing was not gendered the way later Western sport would be.

The modern pioneers

When surfing was reborn in the 20th century, women were there from the start, even as the cameras pointed elsewhere. Mid-century standouts like Marge Calhoun and Joyce Hoffman won major contests and proved the obvious. In Hawaii, Rell Sunn — the “Queen of Makaha” — became one of the first female professionals and a beloved ambassador of the sport, while Margo Oberg and Lynne Boyer traded world titles in the 1970s and early 80s.

Building a tour — and a profile

The professional era brought breakthrough stars. Frieda Zamba dominated the mid-80s; then Wendy Botha and, most transformatively, Lisa Andersen, whose four straight world titles (1994–97) and powerful style reframed how women’s surfing was seen — famously fronting ad campaigns aimed at the whole sport, not a niche. Layne Beachley then piled up seven world titles, six in a row.

The modern generation turned that momentum into stardom and, eventually, equity: Stephanie Gilmore’s eight titles and effortless style, and Carissa Moore, who added Olympic gold when surfing debuted at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Toward equality

A landmark came in 2019, when the World Surf League became one of the first global sports bodies to commit to equal prize money for men and women at every event it runs. It was overdue recognition of a truth visible from the beginning: the lineup was never men-only. The waves don’t check.