JettyGirl

December 10, 2011

Presented by InsuranceSurfers.com

Although the outside section gets the lion’s share of points, anyone who’s either watched or participated in a surf contest at Huntington Pier knows that you have to leave an exclamation point in the shorebreak to get the crowds on their feet. Although Huntington’s sandy peaks seem fairly harmless, the shorebreak is anything but easy to navigate. After hopping through the notorious Huntington Hop zone, the final section looms up quickly, often without a chance to regain speed and much of the time in only a few inches of water. It’s a tough place to stick your final maneuver…and even tougher when 60,000 eyeballs are watching as is the case here with Rebecca Woods.

Rebecca was on fire at this year’s Nike US Open of Surfing and much of it was due to her uncanny ability to stick her landings in the dumpy conditions. While others would get bounced off, Bec would keep composed and ride out of it. I remember this turn well from my vantage point under the pier. After a clean hit off the closeout, the shorebreak explosion forced Rebecca into a difficult position, forcing her to use her lead arm to grab the opposite rail in the whitewater which is virtually impossible to pull off when you’re leaning in the other direction…impossible for most people that is. Using powerful stomach muscles and a never-give-up mindset, Rebecca successfully rode out of it and continued on toward the quarterfinals.

Before cutting out today, you’ll notice something painfully commonplace in women’s professional surfing these days, Rebecca surfs the tour without the help of a major sponsor. The surf industry is a multi-billion dollar affair yet every year at least a few of the Top 17 surf the tour without any support. How is that even possible? It’s time to start asking questions, lots and lots of questions…

Photos: Chris Grant / Jettygirl.com


Additional Resources:

Bec Woods on Facebook
Follow Bec Woods on Twitter
Becwoods.com
Bec Woods TV
RA Girls Surf Show

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