Danielle Zirkelbach Shannon Reporting interview on surf moms

In the Danielle Zirkelbach Shannon Reporting interview for Women Making Waves, the North Shore surfer explained why Imua Mom's Triple Crown judges more than waves. Zirkelbach told Shannon Reporting that she surfed until seven and a half months into pregnancy, secured contracts recognizing her as both a mother and an athlete, and wants the contest to make other surfing mothers' stories visible.

How does Danielle Zirkelbach's Imua Mom's Triple Crown work?

Danielle Zirkelbach said Imua Mom's Triple Crown evaluates surfing, each entrant's personal story and her place in the community. She assigned 30% to each of those three elements. An entry can show a first day in the water rather than high-performance surfing; what that experience meant to the mother matters, too.

Surfing, stories and community

Zirkelbach described the format as a way to show the full experience of being a mother who surfs. She wants room for strong waves, but also for an entrant to explain how getting into the water made her feel. Community involvement gives mothers another part of their lives to show beyond a surf clip.

She sees storytelling as especially important because returning to surfing can be difficult. For some women, she said, time in the water is closely tied to mental health. The contest is meant to let them describe that connection in their own terms, rather than present motherhood as a reason their surfing has ended.

What did Danielle Zirkelbach say about surfing during pregnancy?

Danielle Zirkelbach said she kept surfing until about seven and a half months into her pregnancy, after a soccer accident had led her to believe she might never conceive. Pregnancy unsettled her identity as an athlete, and she had no mother to turn to for advice. She approached surfing one day at a time.

An unexpected pregnancy

Zirkelbach said her mother had been an orphan and that she herself had grown up without a mother to lean on. When she became pregnant, she feared that the sports central to her life were over. COVID-19 added to that uncertainty, while the pregnancy-and-surfing information she found online frightened her rather than answering her questions.

Taking surfing day by day

Instead of treating that information as an account of what she personally could do, Zirkelbach said she went to the water and assessed how she felt each day. She said she continued to shortboard until roughly seven and a half months into her pregnancy. Her account is about the choices she made, not a rule for another woman's pregnancy.

Motherhood has since changed how she thinks about athletic performance. Zirkelbach said she is surfing better than she ever has and is in the best shape of her life. She also said her son teaches her things and her daughter makes her feel capable of doing more. For her, becoming a mother was not the end of her athletic identity.

What is Danielle Zirkelbach planning for Wave in the Winter?

Danielle Zirkelbach plans an annual winter contest called Wave in the Winter alongside the summer edition of Imua Mom's Triple Crown. She described summer as a more relaxed storytelling format, while the winter series would put greater emphasis on performance without dropping the mother's story. The plan also accounts for surfers living through different seasons.

A best wave alongside a mother's story

Zirkelbach said the winter format would bring together an entrant's best wave and her account of motherhood. She discussed allowing waves from across a year, so the distinction between summer and winter would not depend on every entrant experiencing the same season at once.

The name Wave in the Winter also reflects her aim to make space for mothers within surfing traditions that have celebrated waves and performance. Zirkelbach said conversations with younger professional surfers had exposed how wary some women were of discussing children and careers together. She wants her daughter to grow up with a different understanding of what is possible, and her son to be part of that change.

How can fans watch and vote in Danielle Zirkelbach's Imua Mom's Triple Crown?

Danielle Zirkelbach said every Imua Mom's Triple Crown contestant video would be uploaded to the family's Imua Hana YouTube channel. Viewers would be able to watch the stories and take part in a people's choice vote that helps decide who reaches the finals. She also planned to post details about judging, the crown and viewing.

Videos on Imua Hana

Imua Hana also hosts the Imua Mom's Podcast. Zirkelbach described the contest videos as a separate section of the channel, bringing the entries together so viewers could see each woman's surfing and the story she chose to tell.

The public vote is a route to the finals, not a substitute for the contest's broader focus on surfing, personal experience and community. Zirkelbach did not give a final entrant total or name the judges while explaining the viewing plan. The channel, she said, would let people watch the stories even as voting took place.

What did Danielle Zirkelbach say about sponsorship for surfing moms?

Danielle Zirkelbach said Type Zero and Love Fit Hawaii signed contracts recognizing her as a mother and an athlete. She wants that kind of sponsorship to become possible for other surfing mothers, particularly after hearing that some women involved in the contest had lost major backing. She also wants brands to support mothers whose achievements receive less attention.

Contracts with Type Zero and Love Fit Hawaii

Zirkelbach recalled asking Type Zero to sponsor her as a mom first, while still recognizing her as a surfer and athlete. She put the request to the company in these words:

I want to be sponsored to be a surfer and athlete, but I want you to sponsor me as a mom first.

Type Zero agreed and drew up a contract, she said. Love Fit Hawaii later agreed to the same approach. Zirkelbach regards the two deals as examples she can point to when asking brands to recognize motherhood in other athletes' contracts.

Backing for mothers beyond established stars

Zirkelbach said some mothers associated with the contest had been dropped despite previously having major backing. She also recalled being told by prospective supporters that her project was not a strong enough fit, was a liability or lacked a sufficiently famous person behind it. Those responses reinforced her view that support should not depend on an athlete's profile.

She praised Carissa Moore's success while arguing that everyday surfing mothers deserve attention as well. Her goal is to secure enough backing to help other moms directly, whether through sponsorship or smaller gestures. Zirkelbach said even a box of clothes would have lifted her spirits during her own postpartum period.

How does Danielle Zirkelbach want the North Shore to support mothers?

Danielle Zirkelbach wants surfing mothers to have practical help, recognition and the choice to stay connected to the water on their own terms. She described the North Shore as a place where women can help one another, including by watching a friend's children while she surfs. She also hopes the contest can eventually have an in-person edition.

Help that makes a surf possible

The North Shore community was part of Shannon Reporting's discussion with Zirkelbach, from women celebrating pregnancy to friends helping one another get into the water. Zirkelbach's larger aim is not to prescribe one version of motherhood: a mother might pursue demanding waves, prefer relaxed sessions or decide she no longer wants to surf.

She said she hoped to build enough support to offer mothers tangible help. Zirkelbach also spoke about wanting a physical contest someday, though she did not set a date for one. For now, the video format lets women from beyond the North Shore take part and bring different experiences into the same event.

Water and community after North Shore flooding

The conversation also turned to North Shore water conditions and flooding. Zirkelbach recalled going out at Phantoms during a strong swell and afterward talking about the need for clean water. Shannon voiced concern for people affected by flooding and for neighbors helping one another, connecting the discussion of surfing to the community around it.

What did Danielle Zirkelbach say about entries and returning to surfing after birth?

Danielle Zirkelbach said entries had reached roughly 25, more than she expected. She also described a difficult return to the water after giving birth: without advice she felt she needed, she found herself unable to paddle comfortably in the impact zone and came in crying. That experience helps explain why she wants mothers to share their stories.

About 25 entries

Asked how many parts the contest would have, Zirkelbach estimated the number was up to 25. She did not present that as a final count. The response surprised her, and it showed why an event built around individual experiences could reveal more than a collection of surf clips.

A hard first surf back

Zirkelbach said she wished another woman had prepared her for what she experienced when she was finally able to paddle out again. In the impact zone, she struggled to lie on her board and paddle, then was hit by a wave and returned to shore upset. She offered the story as an example of how little practical discussion she had found about returning to surfing as a mother.

That range of experiences remains central to her project. Zirkelbach wants women to be able to talk about pregnancy, postpartum life, performance and the possibility of changing their relationship with surfing—without any one mother's path being treated as the path for everyone.