Girls-only surf competition to be held JunE 6-7 at The Washout
Special to The Current
The 14th annual Folly Beach Wahine Classic will take place June 6-7 at The Washout on Folly Beach. One of three all-girls surf contests on the east coast, organizers are expecting a record-breaking event with about 100 competitors. What used to be a small, mostly local contest has become a premier event with wahines (which means young girl surfer in Hawaiian) travelling to Folly from Florida to New Jersey.
After functioning as a special event of the Eastern Surfing Association for many years, the Folly Beach Wahine Classic was approved as a non-profit charity event in August 2014. Proceeds of the event will go to Surfer’s Healing, a free, day-long surfing camp for autistic kids, which will be held on Thursday, Aug. 20 on Folly Beach.
This year’s Wahine Classic will offer Pro Shortboard and Pro Longboard events, which have a $750 cash prize for First Place. Everyone who places in these events will win money and trophies. There are 13 additional divisions: Shortboard and Longboard, with five events each (four age divisions and Novice); Open Bodyboard; Open Stand Up Paddleboard; and the always popular Liquid Shredder Fun One where competitors ride boards provided by Liquid Shredder typically about 7’6″ – 8’6″ in length (a size between typical short and long boards). The winner of the Liquid Shredder Fun One gets to take home one of the Liquid Shredder surfboards used in the event. Every wahine who places in the regular events will go home with a trophy and prize bag. First place trophies this year are Kala Brand ukuleles.
The contest will begin both days at 8 a.m. Day 1 will hold preliminary heats and a few quarter finals, and the finals will be held on Day 2. “The best action will definitely be on Sunday while the final heats are running,” says event director Patti Noe. “These surfers will be the best of the best!”
Parking near the event will be limited, so carpooling, utilizing Folly’s golf cart taxi service, or riding a bicycle is encouraged. In addition to being a great spectator event, there will be some drawings all weekend that everyone can participate in for a small donation. Up for drawing are six surfboards, several boat charters and fishing trips, a beach cruiser, original art, and a photo shoot. T-shirts from the event will also be available to help raise money for Surfer’s Healing.
Folly Beach Wahine Classic will take place June 6-7 at The Washout For more information, go to www.follywahine.org.
