HAWAII GIRLS TAKE OVER WITH CLEAN SWEEP….Keala Tomoda-Bannert 1st Nora Liotta 2nd at the 2023 U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro

Keala Tomoda-Bannert 1st Nora Liotta 2nd at the 2023 U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro

Tomoda-Bannert Claims Maiden Super Girl Surf Pro Victory
Liotta Earns Valuable Runner-up Toward 2024 Challenger Series Qualification
Wong and Pinkerton Earn Notable Semifinal Finishes

Front page: (L to R) Nora Liotta (HAW) and Keala Tomoda-Bannert (HAW) made it an all-Hawaii Final in Jacksonville Beach. Credit: © WSL / Scott

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., USA (Sunday, November 12, 2023) – Today, Keala Tomoda-Bannert (HAW) emerged victorious at the World Surf League (WSL) U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro, a North America and Hawaii/Tahiti co-sanctioned Qualifying Series (QS) 3,000, after an incredible run through Finasl Day. A building nor’easter provided big moments that Tomoda-Bannert was able to capitalize and surge through Finals Day atop the podium after besting Nora Liotta (HAW) in all-Hawaii Final. With her result, Tomoda-Bannert claimed the 2023/2024 Hawaii/Tahiti Nui QS Regional title and, for Liotta, the Maui competitor currently sits at No. 3 and is in a qualification spot for the 2024 Challenger Series heading into the final event of the season.

Tomoda-Bannert’s form through Finals Day was undeniable and kickstarted the Final over Liotta with an excellent 8.00 (out of a possible 10) within the first five minutes. Liotta was able to answer with a 5.67 of her own to stay within grasp of Tomoda-Bannert, who accrued a 12.67 heat total at the 25-minute mark. But, Tomoda-Bannert wasn’t done and found a near-perfect 9.00 for the event’s highest heat total, a 17.00 (out of a possible 20). Tomoda-Bannert’s performance was insurmountable for Liotta as time expired and Tomoda-Bannert claimed her maiden Super Girl Pro cape.

“I finally did it, I’m just beyond stoked right now and to have my best friend right here with me I couldn’t have waited for a more perfect time,” said Tomoda-Bannert. “This year I just wanted to be number one in the Hawaii region and I guess I achieved that so I’m stoked. [For all the girls] I think just keep on doing it. There’s a lot of failure that comes with it, when you keep on going, you finally get it.”

Pictured: Tomoda-Bannert’s win achieved her goal of winning the Hawaii/Tahiti Nui QS Regional title. Credit: © WSL / Scott

Tomoda-Bannert looked unstoppable on Finals Day, overpowering perennial North America threat Leilani McGonagle (CRC) in the Round of 16 and continuing her strong form against new North America No. 1 Zoe Benedetto (USA) in a Quarterfinal clash. A rematch of the 2018 World Junior Championships unfolded between Tomoda-Bannert and Kirra Pinkerton (USA) in the Semifinals with Tomoda-Bannert getting one back on Pinkerton. The Kauaian’s 9.00 was also a Finals Day best, earning her the U.S. Air Force Take Flight award.

Tomoda-Bannert holds firm at No. 1 heading into the final event of the Hawaii/Tahiti Nui season and clinched the 2023/2024 Hawaii/Tahiti Nui QS Regional title with her result in Jacksonville Beach.

Pictured: Liotta’s current form pushed her to No. 2 on the rankings and now finds herself within 2024 Challenger Series qualification. Credit: © WSL / Scott

Liotta entered the U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro fresh off a win in Sunset Beach and continued that momentum straight into another Semifinal appearance. The Maui competitor, Liotta, took on Florida’s own Kylie Pulcini (USA) in the Round of 16 before facing Jacksonville Beach’s hometown hero Lanea Mons (USA) in their Quarterfinal clash. Liotta then had to overcome Finals Day threat Eweleiula Wong (HAW) before challenging Tomoda-Bannert in the Final.

Liotta now prepares to hold her spot within 2024 Challenger Series qualification heading into the final event of the season at Haleiwa.

“This is so exciting and I defintely couldn’t envision back-to-back Finals just with some of the seasons I’ve had and a lot of losses,” said Liotta. “It’s a lot of learning and I’m realy grateful. I always imagined doing these things and it’s really surrel to be doing what I’ve seen myself doing. I’m really excited for the Haleiwa contest and hopefully there’s waves because I love that wave so much.”

Pictured: (L to R) Kirra Pinkerton (USA) matched her 2023/2024 best result with a Semifinal finish alongside Finals Day standout Eweleiula Wong (HAW). Credit: © WSL / Scott

Noteworthy Finishes for Kirra Pinkerton and Eweleiula Wong Strengthen 2024 Challenger Series Qualification Hopes

Pinkerton began her Finals Day surge with a dynamic showing against 2023 Challenger Series standout, Bella Kenworthy (USA), in their Round of 16 bout before taking down young phenom, recent Saquarema Corona Pro winner, Erin Brooks (CAN) in Quarterfinal battle. However, an in-form Tomoda-Bannert overtook Pinkerton in their Semifinal clash. This marks Pinkerton’s second Semifinal appearance of the 2023/2024 season and moves to No. 2 on the North America rankings.

Wong accrued the day’s highest, single-wave scores throughout the day, earning an 8.33 in the Round of 16 against Vela Mattive (USA) and then another excellent 8.50 in the Quarterfinals over former Championship Tour (CT) competitor Chelsea Tuach (BRB). But, fellow Hawaii/Tahiti Nui standout, Liotta, put a stop to Wong’s dream run as she now looks to secure her place among Challenger Series qualifiers.

The North America contingent now prepare for the O’Neill Cold Water Classic beginning November 15 – 19.

The Hawaii/Tahiti Nui women head into their final event of the 2023/2024 season at The Hawaiian Islands HIC Haleiwa Pro beginning November 26 – December 7.

North America Women’s QS Rankings:
1. Zoe Benedetto (USA)
2. Sawyer Lindblad (USA)
3. Kirra Pinkerton (USA)
4. Bella Kenworthy (USA)
5. Talia Swindal (USA)

Hawaii/Tahiti Nui Women’s QS Rankings:
1. Keala Tomoda-Bannert (HAW)
2. Nora Liotta (HAW)
3. Eweleiula Wong (HAW)
4. Erin Brooks (HAW)
5. Zoe McDougall (HAW)

U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro Final Results:
1 – Keala Tomoda-Bannert (HAW) 17.00 3,000 points
2 – Nora Liotta (HAW) 10.77 2,340 points

U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Keala Tomoda-Bannert (HAW) 13.94 DEF. Kirra Pinkerton (USA) 7.83
HEAT 2: Nora Liotta (HAW) 11.77 DEF. Eweleiula Wong (HAW) 10.26

U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro Quarterfinal Results:
HEAT 1: Kirra Pinkerton (USA) 11.50 DEF. Erin Brooks (CAN) 8.34
HEAT 2: Keala Tomoda-Bannert (HAW) 13.43 DEF. Zoe Benedetto (USA) 11.70
HEAT 3: Eweleiula Wong (HAW) 14.17 DEF. Chelsea Tuach (BRB) 11.00
HEAT 4: Nora Liotta (HAW) 12.66 DEF. Lanea Mons (USA) 6.67

U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro Round of 16 Results:
HEAT 1: Kirra Pinkerton (USA) 14.94 DEF. Bella Kenworthy (USA) 11.67
HEAT 2: Erin Brooks (CAN) 11.73 DEF. Kohai Fierro (PYF) 10.66
HEAT 3: Keala Tomoda-Bannert (HAW) 12.60 DEF. Leilani McGonagle (CRC) 10.37
HEAT 4: Zoe Benedetto (USA) 9.60 DEF. Mia McLeish (USA) 4.83
HEAT 5: Eweleiula Wong (HAW) 13.67 DEF. Vela Mattive (USA) 7.33
HEAT 6: Chelsea Tuach (BRB) 12.33 DEF. Auburn Hilley (USA) 7.06
HEAT 7: Lanea Mons (USA) 10.07 DEF. Alana Lopez (USA) 6.53
HEAT 8: Nora Liotta (HAW) 14.50 DEF. Kylie Pulcini (USA) 3.64

About the WSL
The World Surf League (WSL) is the global home of competitive surfing, crowning the World Champions since 1976 and showcasing the world’s best surfers on the world’s best waves. WSL is comprised of the Tours and Competition division, which oversees and operates more than 180 global competitions each year; WSL WaveCo, home of the world’s largest high-performance, human-made wave; and WSL Studios, an independent producer of unscripted and scripted projects.For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com .About ASA Entertainment:
Founded in 1994, ASA Entertainment Group, LLC is an action sports event, television and content production agency focused on creating and executing customized, turn-key marketing programs that range in scale from grassroots to global. ASA’s events, featuring skateboarding, freestyle BMX, inline skating, freestyle motocross, snowboarding, skiing, surfing, esports and music, are broadcast domestically on five networks and distributed to more than 700 million HH globally via 30 international broadcast partners. ASA’s productions span the spectrum from large, international competitions such as the ASA Action Sports World Tour, the World Championships of Freestyle Motocross, the Super Girl Pro Series and the ASA Big-Air Triples to amateur contests, lifestyle and branded entertainment events, demonstrations, exhibitions, school programs and mobile tours. After 28 years as a leader in action sports, ASA Entertainment regularly connects brands to consumers through its platform of premium action sports and lifestyle content.

EARIER UPDATES BELOW

Watch Final Day live: North America and Hawaii/Tahiti Contenders Clash at U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro

EARLIER UPDATE BELOW

Rising Star Brooks Fresh Off Challenger Series Win, Ready for Jax Beach

Mons Looks to Make Her Mark at Home

DeSoto Hopes to Capitalize on Major Points Away from Home (front page Photo by Kurt Steinmetz/World Surf League

Event organizers will convene at 7:30 a.m. EST for a possible 8:00 a.m. EST start (4 hours ahead now).

The U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro has an event window began November Friday 10 and finish Sunday 12.

Pictured: The arena of the Jacksonville Beach Pier plays host to the third-annual U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro. Credit: © WSL / Nichols

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla., USA (Thursday, November 9, 2023) – Opening day of the U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro, a North America and Hawaii/Tahiti Nui co-sanctioned Qualifying Series (QS) 3,000, is set with some of surfing’s rising stars ready to take on the Jacksonville Beach Pier arena. A pivotal stop for both North America and Hawaii/Tahiti competitors, this event provides 3,000 points to the victor toward 2024 Challenger Series qualification where competitors then go on to compete for a chance to qualify for the Championship Tour (CT). For Hawaii/Tahiti Nui competitors, only two events remain for the women in attendance and the region’s top-tier contenders are ready to rise to the occasion.

Puamakamae DeSoto (HAW) finished with a Semifinal appearance in 2022 that helped clinch her No. 2 ranking on the 2022/2023 Hawaii/Tahiti Nui rankings. Now, DeSoto enters this event in need of a similar result, currently at No. 8, but remains in the moment with the pressure to the side. The 18-year-old’s connection with Jacksonville Beach goes beyond the competition and now returns to a familiar venue as an inspiration to the young women coming to watch the event.

“I’ve always loved Jacksonville from the first year I went and it wasn’t co-sanctioned, and I went up just to experience it,” said DeSoto. “It was the first time I experienced an actual signing crowd because we didn’t get that in Hawaii. The crowd there was incredible so I’m excited to get back into that vibe there. I’m not used to being this far behind at this point [in the season], so I’m not trying to think too much on anything and I got the Semifinal last year, and I know I can perform on this wave.”

One of surfing’s rising stars, Erin Brooks (CAN), earned her first major WSL victory at the Corona Saquarema Pro, the final Challenger Series event of 2023, and secured her place back among the Challenger Series elite in 2024 with that result. Now, Brooks looks to capitalize on more time in the jersey and continue finding her momentum while inspiring the next generation.

“Last year when I was here there were little girls on the beach with signs with my name on it and cute friendship bracelets, and that was one of the highlights of my year,” said Brooks. “That’s what the Super Girl is all about, to inspire young girls to enjoy surfing and just be active outside. I’m stoked on my win and that helped me requalify for the Challenger Series next year so this Super Girl is just for fun and I’m just going to surf as I normally would in my free surfs.”

Jacksonville Beach’s own Lanea Mons found her rhythm at the WRV Outer Banks Pro presented by Pacifico and earned her first Final appearance. The 14-year-old, Mons, continues to build her confidence and experience at a young age around some of the region’s best, and now finds herself becoming a contender among her fellow competitors.

“I’m looking forward to this event because the last two years I didn’t perform the way I wanted to so I’m super excited for this year,” said Mons. “It’s super cool that I’m figuring it out. Something that helped was being heats with Sawyer [Lindbladd] and now she’s on the Tour so I learned a lot from surfing against her. I’m super happy that I’m starting to find my flow and get more experience in heats.”

These competitors will face the likes of current Hawaii/Tahiti Nui No. 1 Keala Tomoda-Bannert (HAW), reigning Hawaii/Tahiti Nui QS Regional victor Moana Jones Wong (HAW), last year’s event runner-up Bella Kenworthy (USA), current North America No. 2 and Florida’s own, Zoe Benedetto (USA), former Super Girl Pro winner Samantha Sibley (USA), 2023 standout Eweleiula Wong (HAW), and many more.

Event organizers will convene at 7:30 a.m. EST for a possible 8:00 a.m. EST start.

The U.S. Air Force Super Girl Surf Pro has an event window beginning November 10 – 12.