Mimi Munro Continues To Influence Young Women Surfers
By Space Coast Daily // September 11, 2014
1964 Florida State Champion at age 12
ABOVE VIDEO: As a child girl growing up in Ormond Beach, Florida, Mimi Munro had already formed a lifelong bond with surfing. She grew up on the water, netting crabs in the moonlight as a small child.
After borrowing boards for years, in the mid – 1960’s she finally received a surfboard from George Miller and surfed on his Daytona Beach Surf Shop Team. Dick Catri eventually recognized Mimi’s talent and recruited her to surf on his Surfboards Hawaii and Hobie Surfboard Teams that were traveling the Coast.
As a young teen, Mimi was traveling the world and making a name for herself in the surfing world. But with that fame came some reservations: by the late 60’s, she lost interest in the sport , dropped out and like many women in the years following, concentrated on raising a family. At 38 years old, she decided to try the sport again, and apparently never missed a beat – she was up and riding in 20 minutes. In this interview, Mimi discusses her experiences as a professional surfer as well as her continued passion for a sport as well as the people she has come to know over the years.
Munro Member of the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame
It’s no secret that the state of Florida has produced tremendous female talent with the likes of four-time World Champions Frieda Zamba and Lisa Anderson.
But before these North Florida standouts could even stand up on a board, came Mimi Munro.
Munro was born in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1952 and began surfing in Anderson’s hometown of Ormond Beach at age 10.
She was 1964 Florida State Champion at age 12, and in 1965 and 1966 won the East Coast Surfing Championships.
As the first East Coaster to surf in an international competition, Munro took third in the 1966 World Surfing Championships at a mere 14-years-old.
It wasn’t until age 40 that Munro began dreaming of surfing again and picked up a longboard.
In 1996, Munro was inducted into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame. At age 49, she won the women’s pro longboard division at the Cocoa Beach Easter Surfing Festival.
Murno still competes and has won such notable East Coast events such as the 2003 Betty Series Finals in Florida and the 10th Annual East Coast Wahines Championships in North Carolina in 2006.
She continues to influence young women surfers by teaching at surf camps in Florida.
– Terry Perez, Facebook
