Boardfest is cat’s meow

When a cold fog lifted late Monday morning on the south side of the

Huntington Beach Pier, bright sunshine lifted the spirits of those

attending the 2005 Hello Kitty Boardfest, a four-day surfing festival

aimed at women of all ages.

Monday witnessed the conclusion of the festival’s premier

competition -- an Assn. of Surfing Professionals’ four-star World

Qualifying Series event.

In contrast to the U.S. Open of Surfing in July, when flat

conditions prevailed, this event was blessed with outstanding

four-to-six-foot surf.

Two U.S. women -- Karina Petroni of Florida and 2005 U.S. Open of

Surfing Women’s champion Julia Christian of Carlsbad -- worked their

way into Monday’s final, but victory went to Jacqueline Silva of

Florianopolis, Brazil, who caught a last-minute wave to overtake

Melanie Reman-Carr of Australia.

“It was my best performance of the year,” said the 26-year-old

Silva, who came to Huntington Beach in July to compete at the U.S.

Open of Surfing. “This has been a great weekend here in Surf City,

and this is a great setting.”

Silva said she was glad to be a part of Hello Kitty Boardfest, a

surf-inspired event that took up a large portion of the beach south

of the pier.

The festival included free interactive attractions, including a

rock-climbing wall, mechanical surfboard, moon-bounce house, beach

obstacle course, tug-of-war contests, women’s skateboard exposition

and fashion shows.

Friday, the first day of the festival, was designated Big Brothers

and Big Sisters Day, in honor of the Southern California branch of

the nonprofit organization.

Hello Kitty Boardfest was produced by Huntington Beach-based

Boardom Inc. Holly Beck, one of the top professional surfers in the

world, came up with the concept for the festival three years ago.

The weekend marked the second year the Festival has come to Surf

City, and Beck said that it would return here next summer too.

“It’s been awesome out here all weekend,” said Beck, who was out

on the sand each morning by 8 a.m.. “The crowds have been great, the

girls have been enthusiastic and the weather has been amazing. Last

year, it rained a bit on us. The fog came today, but it gave way to

just a great day.”

Sixty-four of the world’s top women surfers battled for the

$20,000 in prizes offered in the four-star competition, and 32 more

competed in a $2,000 pro-am longboard division.

A new addition to this year’s festival was an amateur division,

which was open to girls 16 and under and limited to non-World

Qualifying Series competitors.

Shanae Driessen of Huntington Beach signed up Friday to compete in

the 13-and-under shortboard division. Driessen, who is a member of

the HB Wahine surf team and was a volunteer worker at the festival,

had an impressive run in the competition, advancing to Monday’s

finals.

“I had a lot of fun out here,” said the 13-year-old, who entered

eighth grade Tuesday at Dwyer Middle School. “There’s a lot of

activities for everyone to enjoy, and a lot of young girls have

learned a lot through the clinics.”

Also on offer at the festival were daily surf clinics, taught by

Beck, other professional surfers such as Siri Cota, and members from

HB Wahine Surf School.

One of the highlights of the four-day festival was the tag-team

surfing competition, a first-time offering whose finals were decided

Monday.

The Blue team, composed of Caroline Sarran, Lisbeth Vindas, Yvonne

Byron and Kira Sheppard, won the $1,000 first prize.

Beck said plans for a third festival next summer are already

underway.

“For any young girls who missed us this year, we’ll be back again

next year,” Beck said. “This festival is for everyone, no matter what

level of surfing experience.

“You can come out here to compete, or just check out and hang with

the pros. It’s not a matter of being the best; it’s all about having

fun. That’s what the boardfest is all about.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 966-4611 or by e-mail at [email protected].