Nelscott Reef to hold first women's big-wave event

Nelscott Reef Tow-In Classic

Nelscott Reef Oregon
1 October - 31 December 2010

Maya, Jamila, Keala and others invited to event...

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 26 October, 2010 : - - Lincoln City, Oregon -- Nelscott Reef promoters are very proud to announce that a women’s exhibition has been added to the 2010 Nelscott Reef Big Wave Classic. Nelscott Reef announced a format change for 2010, migrating from tow in to paddle in only.

Organizers had been interested in the past with including women, but there not enough female only tow teams. Nelscott organizers feel the women that are capable of paddling into the kind of waves Nelscott can produce deserve an opportunity to compete in the same conditions as the men. Seven of the world’s best women have been invited to compete in this years’ Nelscott Reef Big Wave Classic.

“We have been pushing for this for years”, said event founder, John Forse. “Things finally fell into place this year, as we changed the format to paddle in. We are stoked to see what these women can do out there”.

The women’s event is possible thanks to the support of two late sponsors, Red Bull Surfing and the Nelscott Reef Surf Shop, who have stepped up to the plate to help with the women’s event. Assistance also comes from Jim Beam Bourbon directly from the Big Wave World Tour.

Event organizers also changed the status of the contest to Yellow on Monday morning. The news comes as the Pacific Northwest is getting battered by the first storm of the season, and it is a big one. Although the winds are over 50 MPH on the coast, the storm is producing some head turning waves, with swells over 30 Ft. Organizers are eyeing a storm that has the potential to match the energy from this storm, and is forecast to develop later in the week. They will continue to monitor that swell over the next few days.

The Nelscott Reef contest is now in its sixth year and is a stop on the Big Wave World Tour. Nelscott Reef is the first annual Big Wave Contest to add a womens event. The Nelscott Reef web page contains the most up to date information on the event status. People an sign up for email alerts as well. For more info go to nelscottreef.com and bigwaveworldtour.com

2010 Women’s Invitees:
Maya Gabeira
Jamila Star
Keali Kennelly
Mercedes Meidana
Savanah Shaugnessy
Jenny Useldinger
Sarah Gerhart