Pipeline is for the girls. So are the good waves.

Women did not arrive at Pipeline in 2024. In 2024, a lot of people finally noticed.

Caity Simmers won the Lexus Pipe Pro and delivered a line that needed no communications department: “Pipeline’s for the fucking girls.”

A young woman wins at Pipeline and says that. No apology for the swear word, the win or being there. I like it. But I would like it even more if the line no longer needed saying. If watching women surf those waves felt as ordinary as watching men. Without the extra astonishment. Without having to prove a point on behalf of every other woman.

That was 2024. Not so long ago. Revisiting this story in October 2026, I still find myself asking whether attitudes have kept pace with these women’s surfing.

First, let’s get the history right

The first women’s Championship Tour finals day at Pipeline took place on 20 December 2020, as part of the 2021 season. Tyler Wright won. Surfing Australia documented that milestone.

This does not mean no woman had surfed Pipeline before that date. Confusing a wave’s entry into the women’s competition schedule with women’s arrival at that wave erases those who were already there.

Dashel Pierson’s September 2024 feature in SURFER traces that history and the role of surfers such as Rochelle Ballard and Keala Kennelly. In 2024, Caity won and Molly Picklum earned the first women’s perfect 10 in a WSL event at Pipeline. That day demonstrated what those surfers could do in those conditions.

What we see is not everything that exists

This is where the discussion matters to me as a teacher and coach. A performance cannot be separated from the situation in which it happens.

A surfer may have the ability to perform a manoeuvre without finding a wave that allows it during her heat. An early closeout can end an attempt. An open face offers room to accelerate, choose a line and prepare the next move. The difference is not entirely under the surfer’s feet.

None of this diminishes the achievement of whoever handles a difficult heat best. Adaptation is a skill too. But when we assess the standard of a sport or a group of athletes, opportunities to demonstrate ability are hardly a minor detail.

For a closer look at competition, read how to observe a surf competition beyond the manoeuvre. Before the score, there is a wave, a choice and a decision.

Inclusion also shows in the space people receive

A beautiful photograph of women with the word “inclusion” underneath is not enough for me. I am interested in what happens after the photograph has been taken.

Who can paddle into a wave without having to justify being there? Who can make a mistake without it becoming a judgement about all women? Who gets time to learn a demanding wave, repeat attempts and learn from them?

These questions belong in professional surfing. They also belong on the beach where we teach.

A surf school cannot control the ocean. It can control much of the experience around it: session organisation, the distribution of attention, equipment, objectives and risk management. Putting everyone in the water is not, by itself, equality.

We do not need to make the wave easier. We need to take people seriously.

Challenge and respect belong in the same session. Each person’s starting point, experience, motor control, physical condition and relationship with the ocean should inform planning. Being a woman is no basis for assuming either ability or inability.

Coaching requires observation, individualisation, planning and reassessment. It also requires learning opportunities suited to the person. That is the responsibility of whoever teaches, not something to leave to chance.

This is the commitment I pursue through the METSIT® method. The method guides the intervention. The person remains at its centre.

Pipeline was for the girls. What happens next?

I do not want an extraordinary day to make us complacent. I want it to make us more attentive to all the other days.

The next time someone says women do not put on the same show, perhaps we can begin by asking: on which waves, with what opportunities, and over how much time?

If you are looking for support with your surfing, book an initial assessment with me. We start with where you are, your goals and the work needed to bring them closer.

A reflection on the 2024 season, recovered and revised in October 2026. Historical facts link to their sources. This opinion article is not a reproduction of the SURFER feature.