MTV series gives ambitious young 'Surf Girls' their due

Gidget's modern-day descendants are tearing up the small screen, fighting for good waves in the MTV reality series "Surf Girls." As the channel's Web site explains, the premise of "Surf Girls" involves "14 babes with boards" visiting exotic locales "where the sun is almost as hot as the ladies."

Judging by this lurid description, MTV recognizes that many "Surf Girls" viewers are tuning in for the wiggle, not the wave-riding. "Surf Girls" does feature many lingering shots of the contestants adjusting their swimsuits. But it still manages to avoid beach-babe stereotyping and to fully show the power, grace and athleticism of women's surfing.

It airs Mondays at 10:30 p.m., and this Monday is the season finale. Tomorrow, the network will air a "Surf Girls" marathon from 1-7 p.m., and again on Monday from 5 p.m. to the final episode at 10:30.

An MTV spokeswoman said the consistently high ratings for "Surf Girls" have contributed to the cable network's record-breaking ratings for the summer. "Surf Girls" has reached 53.5 million viewers, including premieres and repeats.

All the 14 original contestants fit the profile of the young, beautiful Roxy girl. Roxy, the women's surf brand of parent company Quiksilver, financed "Surf Girls" and will sponsor the winning surfer's spot in the Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour (www.aspworldtour.com/).

The popularity of the show — not to mention movies like "Dogtown and Z-Boys," "Blue Crush" and the upcoming documentary "Step Into Liquid" — make this summer the perfect time to explore the surf-girl culture — without even getting wet.

First, some basics.

Surf girls are evenly divided into shortboarders (those who rip aggressive, exciting tricks on pointy boards designed for quick turns and fat air) and longboarders (riders of 9-foot-plus boards, who strike elegant poses and trace graceful curves on the water).

Shortboarders, who resemble skateboarders in the water, have garnered the most attention for 30 years. "Dogtown and Z-Boys," a documentary tracing the evolution of skateboarding as an extension of surfing, "Blue Crush" and "Step Into Liquid" all feature shortboarders thrashing waves and throwing spray. These movies give audiences impressive shots of shortboarders spinning backward over waves, or holding tight in the center of a barrel (formed when a wave curls over on itself, forming that famous "tube" in the middle). Shortboarders are crowd-pleasers and have traditionally had an adolescent, macho arrogance that goes with the praise.

Longboarders, on the other hand, continue a stylistic tradition stemming from surfing's earliest days in Polynesia. Picture a surfer standing tall, arms held out in balletic extension, gliding down the wave's face with her toes on the nose of the board.

The defining move of longboarding is "walking the nose," or "hanging five or 10," depending on how many toes reach the tip. Longboarding fell out of fashion in the '70s as new materials and shapes revolutionized surfboard design, but it's enjoyed a newfound popularity in recent years.

With styles so disparate, longboarders and shortboarders have to be good at different things. "Surf Girls" contestants' water skills are judged in two groups, until the final winner is announced. Four contestants now remain for Monday's finale: Mary and Kula in the longboarding contest, and Molli and Jen in shortboarding.

(Many aficionados have their bets on Mary, whose longboard skills have been consistently impressive.)

The competition

All season, the judges evaluated the women for attitude, enthusiasm and how they performed during physical training tests. They did sit-ups by the dozens. They ran submerged on the sea floor carrying heavy rocks. Day after day, they hit the surf until their skills improved.

Over the weeks, the surf girls learned the ins and outs of surf culture beyond their home breaks.

Lauren, a 22-year-old shortboarder from California, decided to leave the show because she realized she was a "soul surfer." (Soul surfers enjoy wave time purely as a leisure activity, not a competitive sport.)

April, a longboarder from Florida, was reprimanded for being a "wave hog" who "dropped in." She charged into waves, denying the other riders' right-of-way.

"She's always trying to 'paddle battle,' " another surf girl complained. The judges agreed — but not without a touch of admiration for her aggressiveness.

In one episode, the contestants were "towed-in" — a new and extreme form of surfing, almost exclusively pursued by men. A boat takes surfers offshore, where huge swells break. A jet watercraft pulls the surfer right onto the face of a massive oncoming wave and waits to pick her up in case she "gets worked."

Tow-in is where surfing skills truly take precedence over looks or perkiness. With the stakes raised to scary heights, some of the girls clearly couldn't keep up, and some were eliminated.

In their quest to go pro, the surf girls received countless hours of expert surfing guidance. They also got drool-inducing, all-expenses-paid trips to the top Pacific surf spots.

The Gold Coast of Australia, Tahiti, Hawaii — each destination tested their ability to surf in different conditions and face danger. In Oahu, fierce winds challenged them; in Teahupoo, Tahiti, the waves broke sharply on jagged coral reefs.

Let her rip

"Surf Girls" represents a long overdue sea change in surfing — the welcoming back of women into the sport. After all, it was only when surfing migrated out of Hawaii in the '60s that it became decidedly testosterone-driven and "aggro." Unlike the heroine in "Blue Crush" — whose pretty head was digitally grafted onto a pro surfer's body — MTV's surf girls represent the real thing.

Women pro surfers are a chummy bunch who have emphasized camaraderie as much as competition. They have shown a refreshing ability to laugh at themselves as they fight for a place in the lineup. Every day on the beach, pro women surfers earn as much respect (if not as much money) as their male counterparts.

"I do want to get the [surf magazine] cover shots," one of the contestants says, "but not because I'm standing on a beach. I want to be the girl ripping in the water."

With "Surf Girls," she may have her chance.

Therese Littleton, mosshead@speakeasy.org, is an avid longboarder. Jennifer Buckendorff, jenb@elvis.com, cheers from the shore.