Where Are All The Women

Lisa Malick

If you take a look at most paddle events, you might notice that surfski is really growing!  There might be twenty, thirty, even fifty skis entered in a race.  Then why are there so few women?  On the east coast of the United States, there will usually only be one or two women skis entered amongst the men. 

I cannot speak for all women athletes.  Just like our male counterparts, we come from diverse backgrounds with different abilities, fears, and expectations.  I can explain how I became involved in surfski, the unique challenges I’ve faced from being a woman surfski paddler, and how I’ve been able to overcome these challenges.  Hopefully, my story will inspire more athletes–especially woman athletes–to give surfski a try! 

Becoming Involved

I’m a swimmer at my core.  I swam competitively since I was at 8 years old, swam sprint and backstroke events for Franklin and Marshall College, and did marathon swimming after graduating.  It was during my time as a marathon swimmer that I met JC Malick.  We were swimming in an event to raise money for the Navy Seals and, like true marathon swimmers, swimming without wetsuits despite the water temperatures of 58 degrees and air temperatures barely reaching 50 at the start. JC had been fortunate enough to go on another swim adventure to South Africa…Holy Land of Surf Ski!  He was immediately interested in the sport and determined to get a ski of his own back home.  After meeting me, he wanted to share his love of surfski with me as well. 

We are incredibly fortunate to both love surfski.  I’m seeing more women enter the sport for a little bit, only to stop paddling shortly after.  Even though we both love to paddle, we are careful to each pursue surfski for our own reasons.  We each have our personal goals, paddle with each other sometimes, paddle alone other times.  We have to train differently.  Surfski takes a lot of time and dedication. I wouldn’t have gone very far if I just picked it up because he liked it.  Just like we had our own take on swimming, we have our own take on surfski.  If one of us decides we no longer want to paddle anymore, I’m sure the other would miss the convenience of the live-in training buddy, but we would still be paddling. 

Although I was able to become involved in surfski due to my boyfriend-then-husband, I see many talented lifeguard ski paddlers, including several women paddlers, but I do not see them in marathon races.  I’ve entered lifeguard-sponsored swim races and paddle races, and I know at first I wondered if I would be welcomed.  Luckily the surfski community is amazingly welcoming.  It is one of the reasons I have embraced it so much over other water sports I’ve enjoyed—other ski paddlers have indeed supported and encouraged me.   One of my favorite race memories was seeing a junior lifeguard girl race in a six-mile event last year.  I welcomed her and told her how great it was for her to be there! I saw the same girl at another race or two throughout the year.  It must take some courage and bravery to step out of your comfort zone and become involved in new events with new people.  Hopefully, we can all continue to welcome and support these athletes!

Facing Unique Challenges

I had some unique challenges to overcome once I was sure I wanted to paddle ski.  Actually, they were so difficult for me to overcome at first that I gave up on ski and only paddled prone for a while.  Now that I’ve figured things out, I love both. 

It was difficult figuring my way around surfski when there wasn’t a lot of guidance.  Or rather, a lot of leadership that was always applicable to me.  Michael Canfield once told me that I would hear a lot of advice, but none of the surfski guys knew exactly how I felt when I paddled, including him.  So the best thing for me to do was take everything in, keep what worked, and sift out what didn’t work. 

I also got my hands on Surfski with the Pros by Dawid and Nikki Mocke.  The book included pictures of how Dawid paddled side-by-side to how Nikki paddled.  I was fascinated and immediately wanted to work on improving my technique, with Nikki as my new role model.  I had seen quite a few excellent female surfski paddlers on Instagram and YouTube, but seeing Nikki juxtaposed to her husband just struck a  chord.  Having the right role model that you can relate to is a powerful motivator!

Finding the right equipment proved to be another challenge.  After one paddle workout in our typical setup—JC and our neighbor, Dave, in skis with me trailing behind on prone—Dave jumped on my board, and I jumped into his ski.  I noticed that it felt much different than the skis I’d paddled before.  JC had an Epic V8 and Fenn Swordfish.  The Epic made me feel tired (I could paddle 20 miles prone, but felt exhausted after paddling 2 in the Epic!). I preferred the Swordfish, but I don’t think I was developing the right technique, so I wasn’t improving.  In Dave’s boat, the Fenn Glide, I felt entirely different!  Taking the time to find the right ski is essential.  And, as Mike Canfield said, I had to listen to myself rather than anyone else’s recommendations.  The way stability and power work with my body were entirely different than theirs.  So the Stellar SR became my first ski that I made any genuine progress on, handed down to me by Andy Gerber with hopes that I help bring more women paddlers into the world! 

Next, I had to figure out how to train.  As a “swammer” I have always been incredibly protective of my shoulders.  The way a lot of the guys paddle and train would put me under the surgeon’s knife within months.  I have been able to adapt much of my college swimming program to my ski training with adaptations for the working adult life.  This means quite a few technique paddles, drills, and long moderate sessions.  I spend time in the gym to increase strength rather than wearing my shoulders out with too many upwind paddles.  Sometimes this is difficult and a little isolating.  When I was training for the 22 mile Tampa Bay Marathon swim, I kept thinking how odd it was that I was the only one doing the work I was doing.  Then I reminded myself that there’s not exactly a lot of people preparing to swim the length of the Tampa Bay!  I think the same thing applies here, at least for the moment.  If you are going to be a woman surfski paddler, you might be doing some extraordinary things because you will be an extraordinary person.  But, hopefully, more women will join, and we will all be able to train together. 

I face some similar issues with racing on the east coast.  Thankfully, most race organizers do not enforce draft rules, and I can draft the men’s OC1 and men’s surfski classes.  Even though I frequently finish 1/1 in a lot of races, I am always mentally racing these guys, and I am on their competition radar as well.  However, the conditions affect us differently which is sometimes a tad frustrating.  We might all be cruising along a relatively flat course and then hit a section that is a “washing machine,” where my size and weight seem to put me at a disadvantage.  There are also times when we hit a condition patch that is entirely in my favor…super flat, or perfectly shaped downwind for example. 

One day when I was surfing, I had a thought that helped me overcome this frustration a little bit.  With surfing, everyone has completely different waves.  Everyone’s body is unique, everyone’s board is different.  It is entirely impossible to compare a wave from one surfer to the next.  With racing on an always changing course, sometimes we judge how well we have done based on our comparison to others.  This is ever changing though.  It’s forced me to evaluate myself and look deeply into how well I’ve prepared and raced that day.  I hope the competition set up hasn’t deterred any other female paddlers from having a good time on the race course, enjoying the thrill of keeping up with the pack, and the excitement of crossing the finish line with your friends. 

To end on the most important note that absolutely must be discussed:  feeling sexy as a woman surfski paddler.  Unless you have zero percent body fat, all surfski paddlers (men and women) will get the “surfski belly:” the phenomenon that happens when you sit down in your ski and your belly roll triples in size.  I’ve welcomed my swimmer shoulders back, happy that at least it came with increased muscles in my abs, legs, forearms, and smile.  There’s a permanent leash line tan line on my left leg.  Yesterday, I took a bad spill on a big wave, and my hair was all messed up.   I looked like Deb from Napolean Dynamite, according to JC.  Since you are closer to the water, you will probably finish a race with enough sea spray covering your face to rival a sailor at sea for a year.  Guys seem to be able to take off their board shorts, through on a shirt, and look beautiful.  Paddlers from other disciplines walk around with their paddle gear skill on looking adorable.  Some ski paddle pants?  Might feel like a diaper. 

It is possible to feel cute as a woman surfski paddler, though! My paddling and surfski friend, Heather Frogge, designed her ski with mermaid stickers and wears matching clothes when she paddles. She sees the ski as a larger canvas for art.  For me, it is all about feeling clean after a long paddle and wearing the most comfortable clothes that move with you, even if it isn’t what the guys are wearing.  Shorter shorts and running tops have been my favorite, though all the guys insist paddling shorts are a must-have.  I always take my paddle bag with me and keep it stocked with mini shampoos, sunscreen, lotions, extra towels, and a clean change of clothes.  JC will be happy to jump in the car in his boardies onto a tarp.  I’m not quite fussy, but putting on clean clothes and removing fish odors from my skin can really help me feel feminine again!

As the surfski community continues to grow, I hope women do not get left behind.  It has been quite an adventure for me so far, and it is entirely understandable why other women might not begin or continue paddling.  Embracing it as our own sport, feeling welcome, avoiding injury, figuring out the right equipment and technique, figuring out how to train and race—all while feeling cute? That is an awful lot!  I wish all other women surfski paddlers, no matter where they are on their own paddle story, the best of luck!  Thank you also to the men’s surfski paddlers for supporting us.