Super Girl Surf Festival Virginia Beach:
Celebrating Women in Sports, Surf & Community!
This past weekend, I had the incredible opportunity to be part of the Super Girl Surf Festival in Virginia Beach, and what a weekend it was!
For the first time, Super Girl brought its celebration of women’s sports, music, art, and community to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. As a local Virginia Beach photographer, getting the opportunity to experience and photograph an event like this right here in my hometown made the weekend even more special.
Celebrating Girls & Women in Sports
One of my favorite things about the Super Girl Surf Festival is what it represents.
This event creates a space to showcase, support, and celebrate girls and women of all ages throughout the sports community. And after spending the weekend watching these incredible athletes, one thing was very clear: women in sports deserve to be protected, challenged, encouraged, supported, and celebrated for everything they bring to the table.
And there was certainly plenty to celebrate!
Throughout the weekend, I had the opportunity to photograph and witness so many different athletes and events, including surfing, skimboarding, skateboarding, lifeguard competitions, beach sports, and more.
There were moments of intense competition, but there were also so many moments of friendship and encouragement. I watched women cheer for one another, laugh together, challenge each other, celebrate victories, and simply enjoy doing something they love.
Those little moments between the action ended up being some of my favorites to photograph.
More Than Just a Surf Festival
While surfing may be at the heart of the Super Girl experience, this festival was about so much more than what was happening in the water.
The Virginia Beach Oceanfront was filled with local businesses, vendors, artists, musicians, athletes, families, and spectators throughout the weekend. Everywhere you turned, something was happening.
From watching talented surfers take on the waves to photographing skimboarders running toward the water together, skateboarders showing off their skills, lifeguards competing on the sand, live music filling the Oceanfront, and people simply enjoying the festival, there was an incredible energy surrounding the entire event.
As a photographer, weekends like this remind me why I love documenting real moments so much.
Not everything needs to be perfectly posed.
Sometimes the best photograph happens when someone starts laughing. When friends cheer from the shoreline. When an athlete takes a second to celebrate. When a wave crashes at exactly the right moment. Or when you simply happen to be standing in the right place with your camera ready.
Those are the photographs that tell the story.
Photographing the Super Girl Surf Festival in Virginia Beach
Being part of the Super Girl Surf Festival here in Virginia Beach was truly an experience I will remember.
I walked away with thousands of photographs, some sore feet, plenty of sand in places sand probably shouldn’t be 😂, and an even greater appreciation for the athletes, organizers, volunteers, vendors, musicians, and community members who helped bring this event to life.
Most importantly, I walked away inspired.
There is something powerful about seeing girls and women come together through sports, creativity, music, and community. Whether they were seasoned competitors or young athletes just beginning their journey, they were given a place to be seen and celebrated.
And I was grateful to have my camera in hand to document even a small piece of it.
Until Next Year, Super Girl! 🏄♀️🌊
Virginia Beach was such a beautiful backdrop for this event, and I truly hope this is only the beginning.
I cannot wait to see the Super Girl Surf Festival return to Virginia Beach next year, and I would absolutely love the opportunity to pick up my cameras and do it all over again.
To everyone who competed, performed, volunteered, worked behind the scenes, supported a friend, cheered from the beach, or simply came out to experience the festival: thank you for helping create such a memorable weekend in Virginia Beach.
And to all the incredible girls and women who stepped onto the sand, into the water, onto a board, or into the competition…
Keep showing up. Keep challenging yourself. Keep cheering for one another. And keep making waves. 🌊💪🏼💗
Until next year, Super Girl!
Here are just some of the photos from this weekend. More will be shared later!
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Tashena Shaw Photography 