“We Can Do Anything”: 6 Surfing Women Over the Age of 50 Break Stigma in the Sporting World With Their Latest Adventure

Who doesn’t love an inspirational story? From plus-size surfers to surfers who went back to the water even after losing their limbs, the examples are endless. While the surfing world is full of them, we are not done yet! The news has come from the Gold Coast that 6 older women are creating waves in the surfing world by getting their sea legs after they turned 50.

Their story is being told by a newly conceived documentary which will be released under the name ‘aking Off, an appropriate salutation for these women who have negated all age stereotypes when it comes to surfing as a sport. The film will focus on the journey of all these different women who are united by their surfboards.

Bash the stigma around age in surfing with these 6 women!

The association of these women soon turned into therapy, community, and support system, all rolled into one awesome package. Each of these women is above 50 years of age, and they are not afraid to get their surfboards wet. They all started surfing for different reasons, and pretty soon found themselves to be a part of the Gold Coast lineups.

Alice MacKinnon, a co-producer of the documentary, said, “To think that we can come around and learn in our 40s, our 50s, our 60s, our 70s… and reclaim our place out there in the lineup, in the surfing lineup, on the Gold Coast! We can do anything.” Jennifer Jefferies, in conversation with 9News Gold Coast, revealed that the idea came alive in 2021, and added, “We view surfing as a metaphor, as a place for finding community… and just… that’s gonna support you and lift you up. And help build that confidence in you again.”

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Liane Wild, who stars in the documentary, started surfing when she was 54 years old. She soon joined the local surfing club called the Surf Witches, and that is how her surf journey sprouted wings. “Friend of mine bought me a surfboard for Christmas, and I’ve never looked back. I hope that me being part of this will give some woman somewhere some inspiration, to… to have her try it.” Soon, these women decided to share their incredible story with the rest of the world.

The birth of Taking Off, the documentary

The Founding President of the all-women surfer club Surf Witched, Jennifer Jefferies, is also the Executive Producer of the documentary. Hannah Jessup, founder of Surf Witches and renowned Gold Coast surf photographer, will be the Director of Photography for the documentary. In an interview with Blank, Jefferies revealed that the film is more about lifestyle than about entertainment. According to her, “When many women hit their 50s they face a huge risk of feeling invisible, disconnected from society, and sometimes losing jobs because they’re told they’re too old.”

This documentary is an attempt to explain to such women that loneliness is not the only option. The idea of the small-budget documentary took birth when Jefferies and her then partner, and now wife, MacKinnon, went to surf film festivals. They discovered that most of the audience was made up of older women who took up surfing later in life, but women like them did not have adequate representation in film. This documentary is aimed to cure this defect in surf cinema.

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