/ˈhuːi/

noun

(in New Zealand) a large social or ceremonial gathering.
- (in Hawaii) a formal club or association.

When 23 waterwomen from all around New Zealand (and Byron Bay!) the stoke juice runs freely, but so do the ideas and pivotal conversations.

What started as a ‘brain fart’ by former professional NZ wahine Kelly Murphy (Clarkson) evolved into a gathering and discussions between women who are formerly separated by region, but intertwined by their love for surfing and the experiences (and frustrations) they’ve shared in the water.

The idea is to drive a positive change within womens surf culture, to challenge the status quo for female surf businesses operating in patriarchal industry and most importantly to *awhi the next generation of female surfers so that they feel supported.

The setting was arguably the most beautiful location in New Zealand. The upper Northland area which is home to our very own left-hand wave garden. With zero swell forecasted on the charts it was a welcome surprise to show up to 2ft peelers after the 7.5 hour trek from the Coromandel, and so the Hui opened with a very appropriate surf session till dark.

Over the course of the weekend, key speakers shared their expertise to open up the table for the topics to be discussed within the group. We had VIP visits from legendary Womens Surf Culture Doctorate, Rebecca Olive ( http://makingfriendswiththeneighbours.blogspot.com/ ) and surfwear pioneer businesswoman Danny Clayton of Salt Gypsy ( https://www.saltgypsy.com/ ) share their thoughts and experiences as well as NZ ex-professional surfing legend Pauline Pullman and myself touching on the media aspect of the industry.

Overall, we have opened up the dialogue toward the first steps toward fostering a healthy positive evolution of womens surf culture in New Zealand and I’m absolutely frothing with the steps we’ve implemented to materialise this discussion. Watch this space!!

We couldn’t have done it without the generous support from the local businesses of; Toms NZ, The Huts, Dive Tutukaka & Ceres Organics.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world”.

*awhi is to grow, support, nurture, aid, embrace