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Waikiki, HAWAII — Honolulu’s Crystal Dzigas, 28, has taken first place in the ROXY Waikiki Classic, at Kuhio Beach, defeating reigning world #2 ranked longboard surfer Kelia Moniz (Hawaii), Natalie Smith (California), and ROXY pro surfer Vanina Walsh (Hawaii) respectively in the final.
The ROXY Waikiki Classic is the third of seven Association of Surfing Professionals Women’s World Longboard Tour qualifier events that will determine the short list of women who will compete for the 2012 ASP World Longboard title in China, in November. Roxy is an action sports and fashion apparel brand out of Huntington Beach, California.
Above: L to R Crystal Dzigas; Kelia Moniz; Vanina Walsh; Natalie Smith. Photo: Betty Depolito.
Dzigas settled into a steady rhythm with the ocean through the rounds, capitalizing on inconsistent conditions by dominating the larger waves to get an early lead on her challengers. At 28 years of age, Dzigas claims to be at the tail end of her professional longboarding career and is ultimately looking to clinch the ASP world title this year. She was at least 10 years senior to the other finalists today.
“It’s so awesome to have won here at my home break,” said Dzigas. “I’ve been surfing Waikiki for about 15 years now and I’m getting pretty old (laughs) so I don’t know how much further I’m going to be competitively surfing. To have won today is awesome!”
For Kelia, who travels and surfs the world as the ‘face’ of ROXY, this weekend’s event is not only about shooting for the ASP world title, but also about sharing the surfer girl lifestyle that originated here in Waikiki with a new generation of women.
“I’ve come in second in a lot of events in my lifetime so hopefully I’m making my way up there,” said Moniz. “I hope for the best in China. If not this year, maybe next year I’ll win the world title.
“I was really happy when I found out Roxy was coming here to do an all-girls event at my favorite place on Earth – Waikiki – and adding the pro division gave all the local girls here a chance to qualify for the world championships. I’m glad to see that there are so many girls here. It’s amazing how much women’s surfing has grown and I’m so proud to be a part of it and to the share the lifestyle that I live with all the girls.”
Today’s competition featured 24 of the world’s best and was held in velvety waist-high waves at the iconic Queen’s Surf, in front of the Duke Kahanamoku bronze statue. With summer in full swing, a high-energy, festival atmosphere surrounds this weekend’s women’s-only ROXY Waikiki Classic. Competition continues tomorrow with amateur shortboard and longboard divisions for women of all ages and abilities.
In addition to surfing, the festival includes vendors such as Paul Mitchell, offering free hair styling stations on the beach with their new Limited Edition SUN line available at paulmitchell.com, and Jamba Juice. Tomorrow will wrap up with final awards on the ROXY main stage early afternoon.
The ROXY Initiative and Kokua Hawaii Foundation have also joined forces this weekend to set up designated recycling bins throughout the event site and run a free water refill station for anyone bringing their own water bottle to the beach. An official ROXY INITIATIVE water bottle is also available at the event for a $5 donation to the Quiksilver Foundation. All donations will be given to the Kokua Hawaii Foundation to support their Plastics Free Schools program.
For complete results of the event & for more information about the ASP World Longboard Tour: www.aspworldtour.com
For more information on ROXY, visit www.roxy.com.