What a better way to start off International Women’s Surfing Month, than a Camp Bella with our idol Tia Blanco?!! We asked girls and women across the globe what surfing means to them and the first word many of them said was Freedom. So, it’s all about Freedom for 2016!(If you’d like to know more about our partners, Making Waves, or the Wahine Project, or get some more information about supporting International Women’s Month- hop over to https://internationalwomenssurfingmonth.splashthat.com/)
The first Monday of May, your very own Chica Brava team had the honor of collaborating with Project WOO (Project Wave of Optimism) to work with the inspiring 19 year old professional surfer Tia Blanco. Nicaragua and Chica Brava welcomed back Tia with open arms after her gold medal win at the ISA (International Surfing Association) World Games back in June 2015, but this time, she was not only coming back for more than just a medal, but a memory to last a lifetime.
Tia was in Nicaragua for a couple of days for her most recent shoot with Sony, when Chica Brava was approached to possibly allow Tia to surf with some of our chicas that participate in our women empowerment program, Chicas Adelante. And not only could the chicas not turn it down, but neither could any one of our team members! We all jumped in the truck on Monday afternoon and went straight to Playa Gigante, where she was filming. Can you say R-O-A-D T-R-I-P!
After the 4 wheel drive bombed hills, massive bumps and mud covered truck, we finally arrived to Playa Amarillo where Tia and the Sony Team were anxiously waiting. Upon getting out of the truck, Tia greeted us all with a huge hug, and we all thought, “she’s just as great as we all thought she would be!”
We immediately got her partnered up with one of our chicas and into the water they went. Wave after wave, the conditions were getting better and so was the relationship between a young Nicaraguan girl and her idol, surfing till the sun went down.
Check out some of the pictures of Tia (in our FaceBook photo album) with our team and continue following/supporting her journey as a professional athlete at such a young age! Now she, is Chica Brava!
Annaleigh Jaildagian
Surf Instructor Extraordinaire
May 9th, 2016