part of the film chicks on boards which offers a peek into the universe and culture of women surfers i also worked in kopal goyals documentary project wild women which captures the passion and struggles of female adventure sports athletes she says people who felt uncomfortable about the freedom i had and questioned my future are now appreciating my successputturbased sinchana gowda and her parents also faced scepticism and negativity when she started chasing the waves at a young age but the family encouraged her despite struggling to pay for her enrollment in competitions whenever my mother meenakshi sought financial help so i could participate in a surfing event people would tell her that it was not the right sport as we lived slightly away from the coast many advised her to ensure that i wore clothes with full sleeves sinchana recountsthe commerce student won various competitions between 2015 and 2019 the mayseptember period is considered great for surfing but this year there have been no professional activities because of the pandemic i am hoping for a promising 2021 i continue to follow a strict fitness regime and practise skateboarding every day prakash dsouza the pt instructor at my college has been very supportive says sinchana it is always a thrill to explore new surfing destinations and meet amazing people from across the worldatita verghese a 27yearold skateboarder from bengaluru spent the lockdown practising her waveriding style in goa she along with her partner mikkjel had travelled there in february and could not return as covid19 curbs kicked in though the waves have not been consistent i have been surfing since february she saysshe was introduced to the sport in 2012 a surfer named velu and the aloha surf school in agonda goa where he used to work gave me the biggest gift of access she says its certainly not easy to get into surfing in india mainly because you need to have access to the ocean and be able to afford all the equipment the sport is growing in india but equipment is not widely availablein 2015 atita had launched the girl skate india project to encourage girls to experience skateboarding