Girl Power!

*All photos courtesy Nikki Brooks @nikki_brooks and Women On Waves @women_on_waves

 

 

Surf contests are a tricky beast. For event organizers, who have to secure permits and staff well before hand, there’s never any guarantee that mother nature will cooperate when the day of the event rolls around. All they can do is work their hardest in the days leading up to the competition, and pray that both the weather and the waves will cooperate. For professional surfing events, with careers and valuable points on the line, it’s really important for the waves to cooperate so that competitors have as much opportunity to showcase their skills across the board. 

For other events, however, such as the inclusive and homegrown Women on Waves surf competition held this weekend at Capitola, having perfect waves on hand, while preferred, doesn’t make or break the day.

“Last year we had the waves but the weather was pretty rough,” said Danyelle Carpenter, who was doing double duty this year as both competitor and vendor at her Babel Rose graphic design tent.  “This year we’ve got the weather, but the waves have been lacking. You can’t have it all I guess.”

Her sentiment was one echoed by many on hand at the long running women-centric surf event, as, although the small surf left much to be desired, unseasonably warm Fall weather created a welcoming atmosphere for all in attendance. While on the smaller side, the surf was still highly contestable, with glassy, shin-high waves rolling through on both Saturday and Sunday. 

The only thing that got in the way of the surfing action were the mid-day high tides, during which brief holds were put in place to allow the water to drain out so that all competitors would get a chance to ride some waves in their heats. When the waves did materialize, spectators were quick to throw some cheers and words of encouragement. The stoke in the air was contagious.

Local surfer Janet Kung, who has been coming down to Women on Waves for years, didn’t compete this time around, but could really feel the solidarity in the air among both spectators and competitors alike.

“There’s a real feeling of sisterhood down here, and the femininity involved brings a different feel into the water,” she said while checking out the vendor booths and catching up with old friends. “It’s important to really highlight that, and this contest does a really good job of doing that.”

Women on Waves was created in 1996 to allow female surfers an opportunity to compete in an all-women surfing event. In the past, competitive surfing was catered largely towards men, and this was reflected in the amount of prize money on hand for finalists as well as media coverage. This event places the spotlight directly on women surfers for all weekend, creating an low pressure atmosphere where surfers of all ages and levels can put that colored singlet on and express themselves on their boards. 

It’s not all about the traditional surfing, either. As in years past, Women On Waves offered both a mile and half-mile Open Water Swim division, and this year included two new divisions, Bodyboarding, and Adaptive Surfing. For an event that’s all about providing opportunities for historically marginalized groups to get in on the fun, this is a natural shift towards inclusivity that event organizers, such as Marisol Godinez, were thrilled to include this year. 

“They were really appreciative, and excited,” said Godinez regarding the stoke level of the event’s Adaptive Surfing competitors

“Not only did it give them an opportunity to compete in an all-women event, but with other adaptive surfers as well. Our hope was to spread the word, and see how many different types of surfers we can include next year.”

Event organizer Aylana Zanville was thrilled at the turn out of this years competition, even if the waves were a little lacking. With all the positive energy on the beach and sisterhood being celebrated in the water, she sees the event as a useful tool to bring females surfers from far and wide together, creating connections that can last a lifetime.

“We’ve had a lot of girls coming in from out of town who get to come back and see the same people every year, so it’s a great place to make friends and build community,” she said while spotting riders with Godinez and fellow event organizer Corey Grace during the youngster’s Push-In division finals on Sunday afternoon.

“Now when they see each other at other events they already have this connection, so it’s an amazing opportunity for these women to come together in solidarity.”

ADAPTIVE SURFING 

1st- Erin Koffel
2nd- Alina Garbuzov
3rd- Shelby Estocado
4th- Sam Summers

 

NOVICE 

1st- Nina Frankel
2nd- Piper Garrett
3rd- Sam Leder
4th- Capri Maselli
5th-Julia Mancini
JR GIRLS 

1st- Addie Hardy
2nd- London Lorber
3rd- Hazel Dixon
4th- Riviera Hunter
5th- Haven Halter
6th- Mia Starmer

 

JR TEENS 

1st- Zoey Howland
2nd- Healey Skelton
3rd- Phoenix Lopez-Mustille
4th- Camille Cortazzo
5th- Shea Lovato
6th- Aleia Anderson

 

JR LADIES 

1st- Nohemi Kawasaki
2nd- Katie Wait
3rd- Dianne Finez
4th- Sophia Morocco
5th- Ella Catalano-Dockins
6th-  Claire Perez

 

WOMEN 

1st- Darla Chenin
2nd- Rebecca Benjamin
3rd- Chanel Enriquez
4th- Rosa Rice-Pelepko
5th- Caitlin Gilbert
6th- Mia Garrard

 

CHICAS 

1st- Kylie Simpson
2nd- Eri Shinose
3rd- Alexa Thornstrong
4th- Sarah Watters
5th- Eva Boynton
6th- Lauren Sharabianlou

 

MASTERS  

1st- Tara Shambaugh
2nd- Tandem Hayden
3rd- Jessica Cassidy
4th- Liza Monroy
5th- Sarah Cipollina
6th- Celina McWherter

 

GRAND MASTERS

1st- Amanda Harper
2nd- Aimee Mangan
3rd- Carol Quitzau
4th- Carrie Hunter
5th- Delphina Sanchez
6th- Masako Nagaoka

 

LEGENDS 

1st- Joan Bush
2nd- Cheryl Richards
3rd- Nan de Malleville
4th- Karen Pace

For more on Women On Waves, check out their IG @women_on_waves

Or, log onto their website www.womenonwavessurfcontest.com