Makena Burke, a 19 year old surfer from Ventura, California, has made history. Currently in her second year at the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) as a Public Health major with a concentration in Medicine Sciences, Makena paves the way for other female surfers. Competing as a shortboarder in the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) for the collegiate divisions, Makena is a stand-out athlete.
Being a leader in a male
dominated sport is a challenge!
Makena comes from a surfing family and quickly took-up competitive surfing at age 11. Growing up in Ventura meant easy access to beaches, where Makena could surf alongside professional surfers that inspired her. Over the years, she has progressed in competitions, catching the attention of sponsors like O’Neill Womens, Revolution, and Betty Belts, along the way. Currently, Makena holds the title as the first female Team Captain on the UCSD surf team. She continues to make history as the first student athlete to be awarded a scholarship to attend UCSD for surfing, whereas most colleges don’t award scholarships for surfing. Burke describes being a female leader in a male dominated sport as “a challenge”, but one that she does not shy away from. Makena emphasized that “[UCSD Surf Team] has a great dynamic this year, with a lot of great new surfers on the team.” In her experience, the hardest part of organizing a team in a male dominated sport is “developing respect as a leader and having a sense of trust with your members,” which she believes “comes with time.” Both Makena and Shannon agree that expressing your power in a male dominated field can be hard, adding that “standing up for yourself, being heard–it’s intimidating!”
Makena’s mom, Shannon, who supported her on the beach, brought up an interesting point regarding gender equity in surfing, specifically, women in longboarding. Currently, the NSSA doesn’t have a Women’s Longboarding division, instead it is coed. She says she’s witnessed the problematic system first hand, with the division being limited to about 3 longboarders per school, restricting women’s opportunity to compete in longboarding. In light of this, Shannon shared that the women on the UCSD team plan to create a Women’s Longboard Invitational Contest some time in the near future. It’s time that women have equal opportunity in the surf world.
As a surfer, Makena doesn’t shy away from heavy topics or heavy waves. Going to college in San Diego, Makena has gotten, “pretty familiar with Blacks…” and the local spots, which she said has made her feel “more comfortable” surfing bigger waves in this weekend’s competition. This definitely worked in her favor during this first contest, with an average of 6-foot waves and many broken boards over the weekend.
Surfing and forming life-long friendships
— That’s what it’s all about!
With the season just starting, Burke said she’s most looking forward to the contest in Santa Cruz, giving the team an 8 hour drive– lots of time for team bonding. Makena shared that being Surf Team Captain and a student is “definitely very difficult to manage… while also managing extremely hard classes.” In the future, Burke hopes to organize more surf trips with the UCSD Surf Team to take time away from the rigorous pace of being a college student, “form life-long friendships”, and of course: surf! After all, that is what she believes “surfing is all about.”
After our interview, Makena competed in her final heat of the competition, claiming first place in the Women’s Shortboard division. Most recently, she was named NSSA’s “Surfer of the Week” for the week of October 24th. Makena’s feats of being an incredible surfer and woman in power inspires us all.
