Word: sported
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...there, a boom in surf schools makes learning to surf as common as enrolling in a yoga class. No longer content to sit on the sand and watch the guys feel the ocean beneath their feet, an estimated half a million women in the U.S. are taking up the sport (twice as many as in 1996), along with the freewheeling way of life it symbolizes. "Most people get hooked straightaway to the rush of standing up and getting pulled along by the waves," says Australian surfing star Pauline Menczer. "Then the lifestyle comes with it. Once you've experienced both...
Australian women have long dominated the sport; 10 of the top 16 hail from Down Under, including current world champ Layne Beachley. But women from France, South Africa, Spain and Japan are breaking into the ranks. And U.S. surfers like Abubo and Julia Christian are moving up. "The strength of the women is phenomenal now compared to what it was five years ago," says Beachley...
...three times," she says, referring to the professional surfing competition held at Teahupoo each May. With her sun-bleached blond hair and slim, muscular build, Kennelly, 24, is one of the growing cadre of elite female surfers who are transforming the once male-dominated sport of surfing into both a passion and a pastime for a growing number of women around the world. Fierce and strong yet graceful and elegant, she represents a new kind of athlete that girls can dream of becoming...
While professional women's surfing has existed for decades, only recently has the sport gained much visibility. Since Surfer magazine was founded in 1960, it has had only five covers featuring women, including legends Linda Merrill from the 1960s and Margo Oberg from the early 1980s. "Surfing is the ultimate male club," says Surfer editor Sam George, who adds, "Men don't want to see women in the water...
...women's competitions have a different feel to them. "Obviously, women aren't as powerful," says Brenda Miley, national women's director for Surfing Australia, the country's organizing body for the sport. "Men are doing really radical maneuvers, while women are more stylized and working with the wave." For example, men can propel their boards higher out of the water for "aerials." But for Kennelly, that's beside the point. "Do people compare how hard a woman can hit a tennis ball versus how hard a man can?" she asks. "Men can handle gnarlier waves, but I think...