Queen of the South Bay displays growth in female surfing
by Brianna Smith Photos by Steve Gaffney (SteveGaffney.com) Nearly 200 women and young girls competed in the first annual Queen of the South Bay surf contest on Saturday, June 11 in El Porto. Among the competitors were U.S. National Team members, and novices who had never previously competed. The novices were seeded in their own divisions. “We’ve been trying to put on an all-girl event for some years. This year, we had an incredible team of women pull it together, including Stephanie Rudy, Lenie Ramos and Beth Campbell,” South Bay Boardriders Club President Tom Horton. SBBC hosted the contest. The youngest contestant was 7-year-old Allesia Rosenberg, who placed third in the grom assist division. The oldest competitor was 70-year-old Sandy Malbee. In the South Bay, the number of female surfers has grown exponentially since SBBC was founded in 2009. The club hosts monthly contests throughout the winter with men and women divisions. Nationally, the Committee for Equity in Women’s Surfing has successfully fought for inclusion and equal pay for professional female surfers in events like the Mavericks Big Wave Contest. In the Queen of the South Bay’s highly competitive 11- to…
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