Hawaii’s Keala Kennelly has won the first Red Bull Magnitude, a first women-only big-wave contest held in Hawaii, in a remote, digital format.
At Tuesday’s awards ceremony, the Kauai native broke into a radiant smile at being named overall winner of the invitational event, which was graced by three winter mega-swells on Oahu and Maui.
“I’m just so stoked,” said Kennelly, who received a $25,000 first-place prize plus $5,000 for winning Biggest Wave with her jaw-dropping ride across a shuddering, 35.1-foot face at Himalayas on Oahu’s outer reefs.
“It’s such a game-changer for us,” she said in an interview. “The future is female, baby.”
Hawaii women swept the field of 24 contestants. North Shore native Makani Adric took second place plus the People’s Choice award, and Sunset Beach resident Emi Erickson won Best Wave for her poised performance on a shapely monster at Waimea Bay, each award carrying a $5,000 purse.
Kennelly, who won the World Surf League’s gender-neutral Barrel of the Year award in 2016 and took first place in WSL’s 2018 Women’s Big Wave Tour, thanked Red Bull for the opportunity it provided women, “who are usually lacking resources,” to advance their surfing.
“The guys have sponsors, Jet Skis, filmers, photographers following them around; and some hire their own safety crews,” said Kennelly, who is sponsored by Flex.
Red Bull’s teams watched for swells, checked in with athletes about where they planned to surf, and sent film and safety crews to meet them.
“For the first time, to have a film crew and safety team specifically focused on me at the Outer Reefs, and (later) give me a Jet Ski ride over to Waimea, where I got to ride a couple waves, I felt like a queen,” Kennelly said.
“I thought, this must be what the guys feel like, every time! What a luxury.”
Kennelly said the open format let women deliver their best in free-surf sessions reflecting the daily reality of the sport.
“Instead of just surfing in your heat against a few girls, you’re surfing against the whole crowd of 50 at Waimea Bay,” Adric said.
“I was lucky to catch a couple every time I paddled out — I’m prepared to wait.”
“Red Bull’s infrastructure paints a better and more
accurate picture of what big-wave surfing means,”
Erickson said. “You see us surfing different sizes, winds and swell directions not just because it’s a contest, but because it’s something we really love to do.”
She expressed gratitude for “that perfect, big Waimea day” when she scored her winning wave.
The judges were renowned big-wave surfers Kai Lenny, Rochelle Ballard, Mark Healey and “Banzai” Betty DePolito, organizer of the Red Bull Queen of the Bay contest at Waimea Bay, which, for lack of waves, has never been held.
“This event was everything we could have asked for and more,” DePolito said. “Three incredible swells allowed a wide range of women to showcase their best performances and push their limits.”
“The performance aspect isn’t that much different from the men,” Healey said, predicting continued progression in women’s big-wave surfing.
On Wednesday, equal opportunities for which DePolito and Kennelly have long advocated got another boost when the Honolulu City Council unanimously passed Bill 93, requiring gender equity in surf competitions needing permits from the city Department of Parks and Recreation.
