New Film shows how Surfing Helps Women find Friendship and Purpose Later in Life

When Margaret "Marg" Cummins closes her eyes, she can still remember the moment her love affair began. 

And like all great love stories, it began with locking eyes. "I have never forgotten the first time I was on a wave … I looked over and there was my friend on the same wave — I just shouted, 'Look at us'," she said.

Three years ago, in front of the Gold Coast's picture-perfect Currumbin Alley, Marg caught her first wave at 70. It took months to be able to stand up and to share her first ride on a "party wave", but in that moment, Marg knew she had found her community. "I never had an opportunity to do it when I was young … in fact, it was very much discouraged," she said. "I came from Sydney and Bondi Beach. If you went out surfing as a girl, that was just an absolute no, no."

A chance invitation to join a female surfing group changed her life. “My takeaway from surfing is no longer being invisible as an older woman," she said. "It's hard to explain but there's just a sense of community and belonging … accepting one another for who you are, and not what you've done in life."

Film captures dreams in the making

Marg is one of several older women featured in a new documentary — Taking Off: Tales of Older Women Who Surf — which premiers this weekend on the Gold Coast. It showcases women aged from 59 to 72, who come from various backgrounds and have differing surfing abilities, who are trying to find their place in the crowded surfing line-ups on the Gold Coast.

Jennifer Jefferies and wife Alice MacKinnon are the documentary makers, and passionate surfers, behind the film. Jennifer picked up a board for the first time at 56 and became one of the founding members of the Surf Witches Boardriders Club. With no documentary filming experience, the couple was inspired to give those over 55 a voice and a visible place in the world surfing line-up. "This film does more than tell stories about surfing … surfing becomes a metaphor about what's possible for women as they age," Jennifer said.

"It invites its audiences to think of the dreams they haven't yet lived into and reminds them that their time is now to pursue their own dreams and passions, no matter what their age. "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."

She explained it was common for older women to wonder where they fit into the world, and this impacted negatively on their self-esteem and confidence. "Their kids leave home and without the immediate responsibilities of parenting anymore, they can feel lost," Jennifer said. "Others find themselves feeling sandwiched between, and overwhelmed by, caring for kids, grandkids and ageing parents.

"However, this season of women's lives can also give them an opportunity to reinvent themselves and remember the dreams they still want to fulfil and 'take off'." While Marg hasn't mastered the sport yet, she is excited to share her journey — alongside paddle buddies the Spring Chickens — with the world.

"We're from all walks of life, a totally eclectic group of women, but when you're out in the water, you know that each and every one of them has got your back," she said. "Young people will come up to me now and say, 'I can't believe that you did something like that at your age'," she said.

"People say to me, 'You're such an inspiration' and I think, 'No … what am I doing that's so wonderful? I'm just doing something that I love'."

The film had its world premiere on Saturday 20 May at Southern Cross University. bit.ly/TakingOffDoco.