“I felt like the only person and woman in the city”
13:21, 21 Jun 2025Updated 13:25, 21 Jun 2025
Liverpool’s Board Girls Club, made up of women who love to surf(Image: Board Girls Club)
Liverpool might not be the first place that springs to mind when you think of surfing. But one group of women are making waves, friends and memories through a shared passion for the sport.
When Texas-born Julia Auchey moved to Liverpool back in 2017, she was a newbie to the surfing world but after a surf holiday to North Wales in 2022 she fell in love with the sport, ending up accidentally forming a social surfing community.
She said: “I felt like the only person and woman in the city who had surfing as a hobby.”
Julia assumed that making new surfing friends would be tough, but after becoming tired of having only her partner as a surf buddy, in August 2024 Julia decided it was time to reach out to a surfers’ Facebook group, her sights set on finding just one like-minded woman to ride the waves with.
However, almost immediately, 10 women responded. They all were united in the feeling that there was no space for them where they felt fully welcomed as women on the Liverpool surf scene. This is where Board Girls Club was born.
Liverpool’s Board Girls Club, made up of women who love to surf(Image: Board Girls Club)
With members ranging from their 20s to their 50s, proudly aiming to foster a community spirit open to all, many of the women even bringing their children along to shred in the waters.
Julia said there were “a lot of married women with lives but who feel they want a group to surf with” and describes how inspiring it is to see so many mums in the group pursuing their passions.
The group founder goes on to point out how many of the LGBTQ women in the group said they had never felt a sense of belonging before, but Board Girls Club offered an inclusive and warm environment.
Liverpool’s Board Girls Club, made up of women who love to surf(Image: Board Girls Club)
One of the most passionate members of the group is Pat, a mum of three.
Julia said Pat was one of the most spirited members of the group, always ready to pick up a board and head to the beach between her children’s school pick-up and drop-off times.
Now, the 30 women in the group go on weekly surf trips to beaches like Leasowe Bay on the Wirral.
The club continues to grow and are planning a group trip to Lisbon later this year in October, which Julia stresses is open to all abilities.
When the weather and wave conditions are unreliable, the women meet at different skateparks to practice ‘surf skating’, the skateboard able to emulate surfing on the concrete.