Over the last few years Sri Lanka has become a global surfing hotspot with tourists from all over the world coming to enjoy the waves. The local surfing scene is also developing.
Now Sri Lanka has its first female athlete on the national surf team. Martha Dixon met Senuri Madushani.
Coconut Beach on the Southwest shore of Sri Lanka is one of the best surf breaks in the country.
On the palm-fringed stretch of coast she calls home I meet a confident young woman – the only female on the Sri Lankan national surf team.
“Growing up in Sri Lanka as a woman is not easy”…says 22-year-old Senuri Madushani as she tells me her story.
Surfing not an easy path
“In Sri Lankan culture we stay inside the box” says Senu “We do our studies and have children. When I started my family and friends said ‘you’re getting dark- and nobody does that- why are you doing that’. The beginning was so hard.”
Surfing wasn’t an easy path for Senu. It’s rare to see local girls in the sea in Sri Lanka.
Just a few meters along a sandy path from the sea is Senu’s house. She was raised in a modest one-story building with her extended family and three dogs.
Growing up, owning a surfboard was too much of a stretch for this family – for a start there was a loan to pay back for the repair of their home after the 2004 tsunami. For Senu, surfing was something to dream about from the shore.
“I didn’t have any equipment” says Senu. The first few times I was just reading the ocean.”
Traditional stilt fishermen
Senu’s father works as a traditional stilt fisherman.
In the shorebreak Kalu balances on a narrow wooden perch – using a rod to catch fish. Strength and balance are vital, perhaps something he’s passed along to his daughter.
Tourist surf hotspot
Just beyond his place of work on the reef – tourists come from all over the world to enjoy the waves.
As a young teenager, although she couldn’t afford a board and didn’t know how to surf, Senu spotted an opportunity.
She asked to borrow one from the visitors.
“I smiled to the people and asked can I have your surfboard” she explains.” Then I paddled out like a turtle.”
Now, eight years later, Senu is making her presence known in the local surf scene and the trophies are stacking up. She has represented Sri Lanka in the Maldives and is headed to Japan in September for the Asian Games It’s the first time surfing has been included in the competition – a major step up for surfing across Asia.
“My dream is to win the competitions and to show how people have an open path,” says Senu. “My biggest dream is to have a female surf camp. I am the first female national surfer. Then I can help locals get into the water.”
More girls in the water
Senu and her father are close. In their yard they talk about her progress and the board she’s using.
He was sceptical about surfing to start with but says he is is now proud.
“I am happy that Senu is surfing” says Kalu. “Sri Lanka has no girls (surfing). My daughter going surfing means I am happy”.
Senu has now also qualified as one of Sri Lanka’s first female surfing instructors. She believes change is on the way.
“If people look and see me” she explains, “ in a couple more years there will be a lot more girls in the water”.
