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September 3, 2009
4986 visits
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One of the coolest things about Europe in the summertime is how late the sun sets
-- you can surf all day then stay up late partying and dancing. So when Billabong invited me to come out for their Girls Days Surf Camps in Europe, I was all over it.
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So now that the timing worked out better, I was all ready to take on France, Spain and the UK. Each country had a two-day event where 150 girls could take over the beach, surf all day, do yoga and then party the night away. Are you beginning to see the theme here? Europeans like to dance the summer nights away. The first place I hit up was France. It was so good to see so many girls out in the water paddling for waves, standing up, falling down, laughing...being girls. It was a safe, comfortable environment where they could be out in the water, surfing without being heckled and discouraged by boys. "I am always impressed by people who are willing to brave the cold water to catch a wave."
-- Keala Kennelly
It's a luxury to have such an encouraging atmosphere to take a risk at trying something new -- and these girls were taking full advantage. That night, I started DJing around 7 p.m. but it wasn't until 10 p.m. that the sun finally touched the water. We had a great dance party that turned into a dance-battle thanks to pro snowboarder Anne Flore who got everyone to form two lines and bust out their best dance moves to try and out-do each other. The next stop was Woolacombe in the UK. We left sunny France and arrived in rainy, cold England. The weather was so junky that the crew wasn't able to get the campsite set up ahead of time. Strong winds kept threatening to blow all the tents away. They ended up having to wake up super early on the first day of the camp to get everything in place. But it was well-worth it because the girls in England were the most appreciative, stoked group of surfers I'd ever met. I am always impressed by people who are willing to brave the cold water to catch a wave. I, on the other hand, tend to chicken out when the thermometer drops below a certain number. So props to the girls in England. Last stop: Spain. I did some more coaching and meeting with the girls there, while other groups of females were being coached in skateboarding or sitting down with Surfrider Foundation to learn about keeping the ocean clean. There was also an art station in the camp where paint, brushes, stencils and spray paint were available for the girls to learn how to do graffiti art on t-shirts or surfboards. I even got a chance to show some of the girls how to spay their own board designs. Like I said before, the dance party in France was pretty killer, but I think the most intense one was in Spain. My DJ set lasted over five hours in Spain! They go crazy for the drums in tribal house music. If I'd just kept delivering the beats, the Spanish girls would have gone all night but everyone needed to go to bed so they could wake up for the last day of the camp. It had been three incredible weeks of surfing fun beachbreaks, DJing, dancing, painting and hanging out with hundreds of grateful, young girls. I headed back to the United States with lots of pictures and great memories which will have to hold me over until I can get back to Europe again next year. MORE WOMENS SURFLINE HOME PAGE |