SURF EMPOWERMENT: 2019 NISSAN SUPERGIRL PRO
The horn sounds, officially making seventeen year-old surfer, Samantha Sibley, the winner of the Nissan Supergirl Pro and the youngest champion to wear the red cape. The crowd goes wild as the San Clemente surfer steps ashore, embracing the strength in female surfing and the palpable local pride.
Photo: ASA Entertainment
The Supergirl Pro at the Oceanside Pier is the largest female surfing competition in the world and brings people from all over California to watch and enjoy three days of incredible surfing, music and activities. This year the event also held the first ever Supergirl Surf Pro Adaptive heat awarding 16-year old Oliva Stone first place, second place to 11-year old Faith Lennox and third place to retired USMC Captain Sarah Bettencourt.
Photo: ASA Entertainment
The event is totally badass, with a consistent tone of female empowerment running through it all. This year has been monumental for female surfing as the WSL announced earlier this year their “Equal Pay for Equal Shreds” policy, closing a significant pay gap between men and women at the league’s surf competitions. “This is the latest in a series of actions the League has undertaken to showcase our female athletes, from competing on the same quality waves as the men, to better locations, and increased investment and support” said WSL CEO Sophie Goldschmidt. The energy and buzz has been incredibly noticeable this year in competitions – extending even more so at the Supergirl Pro.
Sitting on the beach, you watch as wide-eyed girls and boys dart across the wet sand to greet their favorite pro-surfers/idols and wait nervously to get their autographs. These moments are heartwarming, but also evoke a sense of strength, pride and hope for the girls on the beach. This year more than any, it resonates more than ever because champion Samantha Sibley used to be one of them.
“'This is the best day of my life! I can't believe I just won the Super Girl Pro,” exclaimed an emotional Sibley. “I've been coming to this event ever since I was little, standing on this beach, taking pictures with all my heroes, and now to be the Super Girl . . . I'm at a loss for words.'” - Samantha Sibley
Photo: ASA Entertainment
Dawning the cape, surrounded by friends and family, Sibley shines with immense hometown pride.This win boosted Sibley from No.52 to No. 6 on the QS rankings and gave her some nice cash to take home; but with the win, she takes more home than just money and a title. As a San Diego resident myself, this competition puts both female surfing and Oceanside on the map in the best way possible. The event opens incredible opportunities allowing local companies and residents to engage with the community and surfers from all over the world.
The Supergirl Pro is a continued example of strength, community, and badass surfing – we were incredibly excited and humbled to be a part of it. Congratulations to all contestants this year and good luck to all future pro’s out there who were sitting in the sand, starry-eyed, watching their idols surf their hearts out.
Photo: ASA Entertainment
Leave a comment