It was all smiles on the final day of the China Uemura Wahine Classic.
Competitors were greeted with clear skies, plenty of sun and a brand-new 2- to 3-foot swell. The girls were visibly stoked to surf perfect Queen’s with only a couple of others out.
The winner of the coveted longboard pro-am division was Joy Monahan of Honolulu. She is no stranger to surfing Queen’s or winning contests. She has been surfing Waikiki for as long as she can remember and was the ASP women’s world longboard champion in 2008.
"I feel great right now," Monahan said. "It was a lot of fun and there were waves the entire day for everybody. It’s my first contest in a couple years, so I was just stoked to be out there."
Monahan won the final by catching the best waves and riding them with a blend of classic nose riding and on-rail power surfing. It’s the third time she won this event.
The winner of the girls longboard final was Stacia Ahina of Honolulu.
In the final, Ahina put together strong combinations of classical turns and modern-style reentries.
She captured the division by defeating two of her relatives, Ashley Ahina, who finished second, and Jazzel Ahina, who came in fourth.
She also took third in the longboard pro-am division.
"It was really good out there," Stacia Ahina said. "You could do whatever you wanted and there was a lot of power in the waves. I like that it’s an all-girls contest because you usually don’t get to see that many girls in the lineup."
Honolua Bloomfield won the longboard menehune and shortboard girls divisions.
The Brittingham Team Challenge was won by Team Awesomeness, which was comprised of Megan Godinez, Geodee Clark, Jennifer Lee and Monahan.
The winning team donated its trophies to several girls from Team Guam who flew over just for the contest.