FAN-TASIA ON THE WAVES

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 26 March 2005: - - CARLSBAD, Ca. -- Cajun Tofu Tacos may be the special of the day, but this waitress has other plans, so don't dawdle on the menu. She's got places to go, people to meet, waves to catch.

Tasia Jones is typical of Southern California surfer girls. She's cute, strong, fearless, and able to leap tall buildings with a single bound. She's a big wave rider on a mission to capture the top rung of her sport, and waiting tables at the Hill Street Cafe is only a means to an end.

Tasia was a junior softball champion sought after by schools across the country. At age 10 she went on a church surf trip with some girlfriends, and became hooked on longboarding. The softball equipment is now collecting dust in her dad's garage, where it will, no doubt, remain.

She has already logged a dozen wins as a junior in such events as the Roxy, Margaritaville, Queen of the Reef, and Betty at the Jetty. Tasia has also scored victories over established surfers like Kassia Meador, Julie Whitegon, Mary Bagalso, Holly Beck, Lindsay Steinride, and current World Champion Summer Romero.

But the teen-years and trouble at home took her down a path that detracted from her surfing, and nearly derailed this teenager for good.

"In my junior year of high school I began to rebel against everyone and everything," says the young surfer. "I was restless and went on a tangent, putting school and family on hold."

Fortunately for her, and the rest of the surfing world, a year on her own taught Tasia some rough lessons, and thrust her back into surfing and a healthier lifestyle with more passion and determination than ever.

Nothing like a trip to the desert to make you appreciate the water. "Now, the picture is clearer," admits Tasia. She returned to school, graduating from Carlsbad High School in 2003, and has since returned to the tour with high aspirations.

It's never easy. Where she once seemed to have an insurmountable edge over the competition, Tasia now has to fight for her place in the line-up, fending off challenges by lesser surfers with better paddling arms and an over-abundance of attitude.

She charges big waves, yet comfortably perches on the nose -- a contrast in style that the judges absolutely love to see. Slowly but surely the competition is moving over and letting her back into the line-up. Her aggressive yet progressive style has gained her plenty of respect in and out of the water this winter.

Tasia has learned to use her strength to attack big waves. She explodes like few of her contemporaries are capable of doing. Her favorite maneuver is a backside roundhouse, which she executes with more air than water at times.

Tasia rides for Donald Takayama, who also coaches her in technique and style. Her other sponsors include Hobie Polarized, Raw Skin, Oceanside Surf & Sport, and Mokiana. She has enrolled at Mira Costa College, and plans to take her art seriously. Tasia is an accomplished pen & ink artist, and would like to carry that talent as far as she is able, just like her surfing.

She is currently looking to broaden her sponsor war chest, and is inviting sponsorship inquiries. The look of Tasia Jones, it has been said, combines the athletic trim of a surfer, with the classic profile of a glamorous movie star from the 1940s.

On the beach you won't have trouble spotting Tasia in the crowd. Blessed with a sense of humor, and hip-swivelling moves that would have been the envy of Sandra Dee, she's usually the one doing Elvis imitations for her friends.

More USA/Cen Amer. surfing news available here
Check the latest West Coast Surf Reports and Forcasts

For more information contact;

Joseph Ditler
josephditler@san.rr.com.

Profiles - WahineSurfing