Surf Cat

Take the furthest route west in British Columbia and you’ll eventually come to the end of the road and be rewarded with a stay in Tofino.

Tofino is a place to relax, be still and enjoy all the Pacific Northwest mellow vibes. From hip food trucks, to arty stores and of course some of the most beautiful beaches made for surfing, Tofino is an amazing spot to give this sport a try.

Surf Sister located at the luxe yet friendly Pacific Sands Beach Resort is a surf school with a difference. The 30 plus instructors who teach at this school are all women and as such Surf Sister is the biggest all-female surf school in the world.

We spoke with Krissy Montgomery, also known as “Surf Momma,” the owner of Surf Sister to find out more.

Tell us about your history at Surf Sister.

Krissy Montgomery: Surf Sister was created in 1999 to offer a safe, fun and inclusive environment so women felt more inclined to take up the sport of surfing.

I came into the business in 2002 after a drawing of mine ended up in the hands of the old owner. She loved the drawing; it became the company logo and I was hired on as an instructor.

Within a couple of months, I became the manager and eventually purchased the company in 2009. 

When did you first start surfing? 

Krissy Montgomery: I began surfing in the mid 90’s and did everything wrong. I had the wrong equipment, no idea about ocean safety and was too intimidated to go into a regular surf shop and ask for help….so basically, I learned the hard way!

I’ve been plugging away at the sport and despite 20+ years, I still get excited to surf and feel like I have so much to still learn.

What do you love the most about surfing? 

Krissy Montgomery: I love that surfing forces you to be present. It’s super challenging and constantly changing, so you are never bored.

I love that surfing is something you can do solo or with friends and that you can travel the world to do it.

Some women especially those who deal with body issues feel self-conscious about trying new sports, why is surfing a good choice for them?

Krissy Montgomery: First off wearing a wetsuit helps those who may be too intimidated to try warm water surfing in a bathing suit only. Plus, we all look like seals in our wetsuits, so it doesn’t matter!

For anyone questioning their fitness, surfing is great in that it is a low impact sport. Also, you can have fun at any level.

In Tofino, we have also built a very strong community of female surfers. Surf Sister runs a weekly surf club in the summer for women who are relatively new to surfing, and there is a very supportive female surf culture in town. As a result, women starting the sport have a greater support network and more real-life role models of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds to emulate than they do in other sports or in other places.

Why are all the instructors at Surf Sister female and how does that affect your lessons?

Krissy Montgomery: Surf Sister Surf School originally began as a ‘female only’ school. We wanted to make sure that women felt included in a sport from which they had historically been excluded.

Action board sports were primarily dominated by men and we wanted to ensure that women and children had a safe and inclusive environment to learn in.

Over the years, we felt that it was important to include everyone, so all of our lessons are now co-ed. Having a female dominated staff helps create a noncompetitive environment for learning to surf and we teach in a nurturing way. 

Tell us a bit about Queen of the Peak.

Krissy Montgomery: Historically surf contests have either excluded women or had women surfing at the worst times with their prize money being less than half of the men’s prize money. Because of this treatment, women on the west coast were not that interested in competitive surfing as it felt like the competition scene didn’t care about them.

The Queen of the Peak Women’s Surf Championship was created in 2010 to counter that. We wanted to celebrate all of the amazing female athletes and to foster competition in the younger female generation.

Thanks to the support of the town, the QOP has grown into a 3-day contest where well over 100 women (local and international!) compete for cash and prizes. The contest itself is female focused and offers complimentary babysitting, beach yoga, massages for competitors, and many other perks.

We also provide a complimentary opening ceremony dinner for the competitors and the event is live streamed so anyone can enjoy. There are also lead up events including fundraisers for future competitions and art shows featuring local female artists.

The Queen of the Peak surfing competition will take place from October 2-4 this year. To learn more visit Surf Sister and reserve a beachfront view at the beautiful Pacific Sands Beach Resort.

Visit Tourism Tofino to discover everything that this end of the road coastal village has to offer.