Super Girl Surf Pro returning to Oceanside with global surf stars like Bethany Hamilton and a music festival – The San Diego Union-Tribune

Some of the biggest stars in womens surfing including soul surfer and shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton will be showing off their skills at a surf contest and music festival event in Oceanside on the weekend of Sept. 16.

The annual Nissan Super Girl Surf Pro World Surf League (WSL) Contest and festival event series will return to the Oceanside Pier for its 16th year, with appearances by Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore, Olympic surfer Caroline Marks and other professionals from around the world. The event, which is free and open to the public, will also be comprised of a concert series with artists such as The Offspring, Smash Mouth and more.

The Super Girl Pro competition created and run by ASA Entertainment is the worlds largest female surf competition, according to the WSL, with 140 competitors featuring over 90 top pro surfers. ASA Entertainment started Super Girl Pro as part of an effort to improve opportunities for women in action sports like surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding.

We saw a huge disparity in the opportunities that were being afforded to women in the action sports space, as opposed to what the men were receiving, CEO of ASA Entertainment and founder of Super Girl Pro Rick Bratman said. So, as one of the leaders in that industry, we thought it was really important that someone put a stake in the ground and create a series of events that was going to show the world how badass these women are, not just on a surfboard or snowboard, but also off the mountain and out of the water.

More than a celebration of surfing, Super Girl Pro hosts a series of other events and activities aiming to empower women across many fields. This year, it will add a female comedy showcase, beach soccer competition and elite-level longboarding competition incorporated because of the sports significance to the Oceanside community to its roster for the first time. In order to empower young women through surfing, Moore will be hosting a mentorship event at the festival for young surfers in collaboration with her Moore Aloha Foundation.

If youre a young woman, we want you to believe that nothing is impossible, Bratman said. And if you put your mind to it, your dreams can become reality. So many of the people that are competing or performing or creating have been able to achieve their dreams, and that aspirational element is what we really strive for.

The event series will also include 15 live concerts by artists The Offspring, Smash Mouth, Hoobastank, The Expendables, Kira Kosarin, and more. Female creators will also be spotlighted in the Super Girl DJ competition and female art exhibition. Fitness and wellness classes, from Zumba to yoga to dance, featured speakers and panel discussions highlighting sustainability and female leadership are among the activities offered to attendees for free.

At the center of the competition and event series affectionately nicknamed the smile factory by Bratman is Super Girls mission: to embolden female empowerment, inclusion and equality.

On a more personal level, my daughter was struggling with a number of opportunities that she was trying to work her way into, Bratman said. So this became a really personal quest for me to create a world in which my daughter wouldnt have to struggle to get the same opportunities that men would.

What began 16 years ago as a humble event with less than 300 attendees is now a cultural landmark for the Oceanside community, with an anticipated crowd of 75,000 attendees this year, according to Bratman.

"[The event] is a part of the fabric of the city. When Im there and Im wearing Super Girl shirt, Ill get hit up nonstop just walking on the streets by people telling me its their favorite event, Bratman said. I think people are really, really proud of it they love the message that it sends. That its an empowerment-oriented festival bringing together so many different industries with successful, powerful women.

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Super Girl Surf Pro returning to Oceanside with global surf stars like Bethany Hamilton and a music festival - The San Diego Union-Tribune