Why I Attend All Women Events...and Maybe You Should Too!
Last weekend I attended the Butterfly Effect, an all female non-competitive watersports movement. The event is all about empowering and inspiring athletic women to grow together as a community and give back to their local charities. Such a great mission! It was awesome to see so many women show up to participate in the event. I was impressed with the attitudes, the cooperation and the overall positivity that it exuded. We started the morning off with a beautiful hula dance ceremony performed by a local troupe. All the dancers were under 15 years old. They were so good and such a treat to open the event. From there we went right into a short warm-up yoga session and finally a giant group hug. Then all of the ladies took their SUP boards out onto the water for a paddle session (it turns out that 5K is quite a ways on a SUP!). Why the need to go all female? In sports, politics, media and in the career world, women are still fighting for equal rights, equal exposure, equal pay and for our voices to be heard. As a professional kiteboarder, I am constantly battling the mentality that women aren't as good. Because there aren't a lot of us we often we never get the same amount of prize money and are always fighting to get exposure and coverage in magazines. While attending the Butterfly Effect, I didn't have to worry about any of that. Because it's non-competitive it's a lot less intimidating. Any level can attend and put their skills to the test, whether that be through kiteboarding, windsurfing or stand up paddle boarding, like we did in Lake Tahoe. Community before competition brings us all together. The number one message driven home was support. We're here to support one another and spread love, light and happiness. We definitely could use a bit more of that in the world. What are your thoughts? Has a female-driven event impacted you in any way? We'd love to hear about it!
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