The Extraordinary Tube Dance Of Bethany Hamilton

First of all, big ups to Rip Curl for bringing fifteen-ish female sliders all the way to Bali, where they can practice getting tubed.

Without both financial and emotional support, there would be no progression in female surfing, and trips like this make a world of difference to women surfer of the future. I’d hope that other brands would follow suit and bring their young female teams to pumping locations, perhaps also throwing some air waves into the mix for good measure. Once females start to properly tube and punt on a wider scale, the landscape of our sport will truly change. 

Next, it can’t be stressed enough how incredible Bethany Hamilton is. The world’s most famous shark attack victim has become such a prominent figure in the mainstream media, that one can forget just how impressive her surfing accomplishments are, kind of like with Kelly Slater.

But regardless of books and movie deals, and especially regardless of appendages, Bethany is inarguably one of the top ten female surfers in the world, and probably the second-best female tuberider (sorry, but Steph is on another level). 

The way Beth drops in late at Padang and Ulus, reads the line, and drags her front (and only) arm with style and precision is a thing of mastery, and something we should all aspire to but never expect to achieve. 

“She seriously makes me want to charge bigger waves, and get a tube,” said my decently-surfing girlfriend after watching this clip. “Like I’m genuinely inspired.”

And that is what the next generation of female surfers needs – someone to genuinely inspire them. 

Thanks Rip Curl and Bethany for leading the charge.