Words Gemma Boothroyd | Photos Georgie Gipps @wholegrainframes
Join The Lineup [JTL] is a community of water-women based in Mid to West Cornwall – a passionate contingent of local female surfers. An idea born out of the sea, connecting women of the sea.
Gemma Boothroyd chatted with Sienna, Chloe and Kate, founders of JTL, about what made them start this growing group connecting women who love the ocean.
They told me stories of how they met and why the group came about; how they ‘courted’ each other over time. Always a nod in the lineup or a quiet appreciation of waves from a distance, wanting to say hello but finding it hard to make the first move. Finally though, numbers were exchanged with icy post winter-surf fingers, and beers were arranged before seeing more than the squished outline of cheeks fought into 5mm of wetsuit hood. In the end, amazing friendships have been built both in the surf and out but sometimes making that first move can be daunting – that’s why Join The Lineup was created.
It’s a group that offers a space for girls with the shared love of surfing to connect. They also host monthly meetups creating a chance for any of its members to hang out with some like-minded people, share some waves and ultimately find your girl gang – a sort of speed dating for surf buddies.
Join The Lineup is about connection; almost a middleman for friendships or a surf buddy matchmaker, but most importantly, their ethos is strong… girls deserve to feel welcome in the lineup and there should be a growing number of them out there shredding and sharing waves. There can only be positives associated with a group that is getting more women into the water and improving visibility, as well as nurturing confidence and friendships. This group is about representation and that representation is making a space for women and young girls to feel a natural part of the lineup.
The girls are conscious of their responsibility to balance creating a space for women in the lineup whilst ensuring they don’t contribute to crowding it. The values of keeping secret spots hidden and niche forecasts quiet is an unwritten rule within surfing and it’s no different for this group. Their goal is for girls to utilise the larger community group to help find their own mini surf crews, with the exception of once a month getting a tonne of girls together in the waves at an established break to grow representation and eventually help make this the normality. These surf meets bring contagious energy as everyone gets involved in celebrating waves and sharing the hype. Everyone there whether they know each other or not leaves smiling after a session full of positive energy and sideways slides.
It was clear when chatting to the JTL girls that this is a girl’s club that is far from a ‘girl’s club’. The idea isn’t to outnumber the guys or to create some kind of divide, after all surfing is one of those rare things that connects a certain type of person with a shared passion for the simple life, someone who chooses nature, and nature doesn’t discriminate based on your gender. If we all have such respect for Mother Nature, surely a steadily growing number of women catching waves can only be respected too.
Their growing Whatsapp group offers a place for girls to find friends to share the sea with but also to make friends to hang out with on land too! We all know how hard it can be as an adult to make friends, especially if you are new to an area. It’s clear that JTL is much more than a surfing group; it’s a community of like-minded local girls. There are often open invites to cool upcoming events, sunrise swims and last minute hang outs; sometimes even links to independent businesses belonging to the girls in the chat; there is a real sense of women celebrating women.
Paddling out with all these girls at the last meetup, I saw just what it was really about. Suddenly I wasn’t worried that I had no one to look out for me in the water or that I needed to compete for waves to earn my place. In fact, most of us happily offered up waves to each other with a smile and usually a cheer. It was such a good vibe surrounded by women who just wanted to celebrate each other and have fun whilst getting some waves.
There’s a big focus on their socials to capture realistic content. Surfing can be sold online as a sport with perfect aesthetics: tropical islands, endless noserides and bikinis when in fact sometimes it’s washing machine wipeouts, wetsuits and nose drain. Both are surfing of course, but here authenticity is encouraged and it just makes you feel comfortable to be yourself. Surfing is already hard without the added pressure of trying to look cool doing it. Wipeouts are welcomed, messy hair is normal, and passion is high… whatever the weather. They work closely with photographers Wholegrain Frames who help to capture all these elements and the general good vibes of each meet up; it’s important to share these images and hopefully encourage more girls into surfing. Here’s a little bit of appreciation the JTL girls shared about the duo: “JTL owe a lot to Wholegrain Frames, who have been our biggest supporters (and now long-time friends) since shooting our very first surf meet on December 18th 2024 (and every one since!). Dan and Georgie are incredibly talented photographers who’ve really backed the JTL community, and we couldn’t be more appreciative. Their photos showcase the surfers and stories behind Join The Lineup, making it possible to share the raw and athletic moments of the growing community”.
The Join The Lineup girls have recently made some rad stickers with the help of another talented friend and designer Alice Cunniffe with all proceeds going to the Girls Are Up project which is part of Surf Kids Shredding Senegal. This charity encourages a growing number of girls getting into surfing in Senegal and will hopefully be a small step in helping to break down the gender norms associated with surfing, particularly in less represented countries.
As a woman, motherhood can be a huge part of our lives if we choose to follow that journey. As part of JTL there is a ‘Momz and Gromz’ group to help get mums back in the sea. The group is all about allowing mums who love to surf, the opportunity to get back out there. They take it in turns watching each other’s babies on the beach so that everyone gets that much needed time in the water; something that I’m sure as a mum can be harder to prioritise even though we know how vital it can be for our mental health. It’s a great way of linking up like-minded women, helping them to build friendships whilst navigating motherhood.
Finally, the group has recently been connecting with the wider surf community by representing at the No Pro surf comp at Gwithian. This was a great opportunity to grow exposure for female surfers on a local level and a number of Join The Lineup girls threw on a jersey to make up some decent looking heats in the women’s open. It’s a great experience for all the girls involved and it really helps to integrate JTL as an established part of the local surf scene; a big thanks to the competition organisers and sponsors for making such a cool local event happen. Some amazing surfing took place over the course of the day in some tough conditions and there was a fan club of fellow JTL girls on the shore hooting and encouraging those competing, reenforcing the good energy and cheerleader mentality of all the women involved. To make the day even more of a success, one of their own took the women’s title.
Join The Lineup – An idea grown from 3 friends who love to surf.
If you’re looking to find some surfing friends and like-minded people to get in the ocean with, check out their Instagram – @join_the_lineup.
@wholegrainframes @alice.cunniffe
