By Alee Thompson with Chelsea Johns

Birthday: Feb. 13, 1971
Home Break: Sunset
Sponsors: O'Neill Wetsuits and Clothing, Channel Islands surfboards, Sticky Bumps wax, Nukumoi Surf Co. accessories, Honda wave runners, South Bay Toyota, H20 Audio and Kicker

Before Hollywood embraced surfer girls, before any company made women’s board shorts and before high fashion models were carrying surfboards down the runway, Rochelle Ballard was learning to surf at Koala Beach on Kaua‘i’s South Shore.

The state of present day women’s surfing is the result of the talent and determination of a select group of female surfers. Rochelle has had one of the largest impacts on the progression of surfing by redefining what it means for a woman to charge. She’s an aggressive, gutsy surfer and has set the bar higher than previously thought possible. She sits deep, she tows in and she’s undoubtedly the best female barrel rider the sport has seen yet.

After 17 years competing against the most talented female surfers in the world, 2007 was Rochelle’s last year on tour. Part of her retirement had to do with her frustration with the women’s tour. “The sport is in a frustrating place right now,” she attests. “All these incredible places are being discovered around the world, with billions of dollars in the surf industry, women’s surfing is continuing to grow and the men have this dream tour and our tour is back in the ‘80s— we’re at beach cities surfing 1- to 2-foot waves. I don’t know what happened this year. It doesn’t make sense. There are all these young girls in the top five and throughout the tour who can ride the barrel and are progressive, and I feel like we’re being sent out there with nothing to work with. It’s like putting a PGA golfer onto Kahuku course.”

In this new year, Rochelle has stepped out of the competitor’s circle and into a new phase of life. The petite and fun-loving lady is reassessing her priorities, and is giving new attention to the quality of her life. When she’s not getting pitted she’s doing something involving the other “loves” of her life: entertaining, family, children, cooking, shopping, yoga and dancing with her girls.

At such a pivotal point in Rochelle’s career, it’s important to remember the past. She joined the tour at age 21 and, after adjusting to the competitive circuit, had consistent successes. She set the standard for women charging heavier waves during competition, scored two perfect tens (both barrel rides) at 1997’s event at Burleigh Heads, and in 2004, battled Sofia Mulanovich in one of the most exciting races for the women’s world title. During the past few years, she’s served as the unofficial camp counselor on the women’s world tour by showing more recent additions like best bud Megan Abubo the ropes.

While her world tour years have showcased the focused and competitive surfer Rochelle can be, her true prowess lies in the courage and talent she shows in some of the heaviest waves in the world. She can hold her own at Pipe and Teahupo’o, and looks most comfortable when she’s covered up by a wave’s throwing lip. Surfing in waves that challenge and inspire her is one of the top priorities in Rochelle’s retirement. Lack of inspiration on tour has been replaced with inspiration from free surfing winter swells on O‘ahu’s North Shore, which she calls home, and traveling to surf some of the world’s best breaks.

Based on her talent alone, women’s surfing has much to thank Rochelle for. Yes, she was Kate Bosworth’s stunt double in Blue Crush, but present and future generations of competitive female surfers have a lot more to thank her for, including her contribution to the International Women’s Surfing organization, of which she was the first ever president. The organization, which is committed to the advancement of the sport, successfully campaigned to raise women’s prize money and better their contest venues. On today’s tour, the drastic differences that still remain between the men and women’s tours are a sore spot with Rochelle, and were partial reason for her retirement.

Progression and growth are two of the overarching themes in Rochelle’s life, as she’s dedicated a large part of her downtime over the past decade to working with the next generation. Her involvement with the youth started alongside the North Shore’s Dreama Carroll, who coached and trained young girls in the Sunset Beach area. In 2001, Rochelle started her own surf clinic, Rochelle Ballard O’Neill Surf Camp, which is now held annually in Kaua‘i in conjuction with the O’Neill Island Girl Junior Pro. The clinic focuses on surfing technique, education, cross-training for groms and is a fun summer camp gathering. One of the North Shore’s most promising young surfers, Coco Ho, attended the camps, and over the years has developed a close relationship with Rochelle. Similar to the guidance fou- time world champ Margo Oberg gave Rochelle when she was learning to surf, Coco looks to Rochelle for inspiration and considers her a mentor. “She makes me want to charge and pull in,” Coco says.

At the end of 2007, a few months prior to her retirement, Rochelle reflected on her surfing career: “I don’t think as an elite athlete you can ever be content, but I know that generally, as a whole, when I look throughout my career I’m definitely satisfied with what I’ve done.” Although the world title has eluded Rochelle, all would agree that her performances have pushed women’s surfing as much as any world champion’s have. Today she is focused on different aspects of her life as a surfer. “It isn’t always about seeking out a world title or doing amateur events. It can be the inspiration that surfing gives you, the connection with the ocean, that energy and the beauty that it holds.”

The end of this chapter in Rochelle Ballard’s life marks the start of another, but there’s no way women’s surfing will be able to forget the past. Her career up to this point has made charging a necessity in the female competitive world, and her influence on the future can be seen in her commitment to passing on the surf stoke to surfing’s next generation of femme fatales. These days her life’s motto is “So far, so great,” and it couldn’t be more accurate.

“Yes, I would love to have won a world title, multiple world titles, and more contests,” Rochelle says. “Having those victories is always the most amazing thing, but I feel really good about my career. I’ve experienced a lot. I’ve been able to be a pioneer of different things throughout the sport and take it to another level. I’m sure I’ll continue to, but in another way.”

Captions:

WINNERS CAN BE WHINERS:
“Being content as an athlete doesn’t really happen because winners want to win more, you get a perfect ten and you want another one. You get an awesome barrel and it’s the best barrel of your life, and you’re ready for the next one. I don’t think an elite athlete is ever content.”


THE NEXT GENERATION:
“I look at the boards they’re riding—when I was their age, I was riding a 6’0’’ that was probably way to wide and thick for me. I had no customized boards for where my body and surfing level was. And the kids now have that, the tools with coaching and the equipment to match their abilities. The stuff that they’re doing is unbelievable. They’re all pushing each other. It blows my mind.”

LIVE IN THE NOW:
“I used to look at my life like I got it all planned out. I like living in the moment now. I definitely know that I will continue to be an ambassador of women’s surfing and surfing in general and working with the kids, in my community and in the environment.”