The Rip Curl Girls Go Surfing Day, presented by Virgin Blue had a practice day yesterday at Torquay Beach, Victoria with over 100 surf retailers from around the State taking part. Rip Curl’s young surfing sensation Nikki Van Dijk (Phillip Island, VIC), a 2009 Rip Curl Women’s Pro Wildcard and the 2009 Rip Curl International GromSearch Champion was also on-ground to encourage the girls and help them stand-up for the first time.

"It's awesome to see more girls getting in the water! Every year there seems to be a few extra females surfing and it’s great to see,” said Van Dijk. Fine weather made for an ideal introduction to surfing and the girls took to the conditions with enthusiasm, spending a few hours down at one of the Surf Coast’s most recognizable beaches.

The record number of participants converged on the beach where “Go Ride A Wave” surf school took all participants through a professional lesson. With such a high number of participants on-site at the one time, the girls were split into groups of 32 to ensure a good instructor/participant ratio. By the end of the afternoon most girls had stood up, and more importantly all were smiling.

"The Girls Go Surfing Day is a great initiative. It's a super fun day and it encourages girls to get together, have some fun and go surfing. This is the second time I’ve come down for it and I'm stoked, there are so many people here!" continued Van Dijk. After the session all the girls received their official Girls Go Surfing Day ‘goodie bag’ with an event singlet and other assorted gear, and then enjoyed the rest of the day.