Fiona Wylde ~ Starboard Sup Italia

I am going to be completely honest and say that I was a little nervous when The Waterman League said I could take part in the Men's Stand Up World Tour Sunset Beach Pro Trials. I wasn't nervous for the competition, I was nervous for the fact that it was 10ft Sunset and I'd only surfed it one other time... so I put on an impact vest and got ready to paddle out. I got pounded in the shore break trying to get out, but there was no way I was going to give up and not even make it off the beach. That was step one, and once step one was crossed off, my body took a deep sigh of relief.

After that, I only had two goals, 1) survive long enough to call my parents when I got back to the sand and 2), catch some waves.

Both of my goals were achieved and I came off the water beaming....and shaking ! I had done it! I had caught waves at Sunset and actually had fun! Even when I was getting pounded, I was still enjoying it... proving to myself that I could be out there. I made it through the first and second heat of the Trials and when I came in Rocky Cannon announced that I had made it to the main event.. Wasn't one of my two goals, but one and two were achieved so this came in as #3 and was accomplished! I couldn't believe it. I am the first girl to make it into a Men's main event on the Stand Up World tour, but it wasn't that that made this so special, it was a feeling of pride for realizing how far I've come in a short time in Stand Up Surfing.

Come the main event, the conditions smoothed out a bit and Sunset got a makeover. Clean, 4-6ft faces made Sunset seem so much more manageable than the day of the trials. I lost the first heat but in the repechage scored a 5.67 and backed it up with a 2-something. I was so happy to hear when I scored a 5.67 on the men's tour and at Sunset! I didn't advance out of the heat and missed advancing to the third round by 1 point, but the experience I gained from those four heats at Sunset is almost unexplainitory.

I entered the trials for myself. I didn't do it for the media, to prove to any other person, I went out that day to challenge my skills. I come from Hood River Oregon, a small town on the Columbia River 3 hours away from the coast and Los Barriles Mexico on the Sea of Cortez, again a place without waves. When I first stand up paddle surfed three and a half years ago, I fell in love and I dreamed of becoming a great Stand Up Paddle Surfer. I am not saying I am great, but I have a dream and I am following my dream. The trails day only proved to me that when I have a dream, I can work hard and accomplish that dream.

Thank you to my friends, family, and sponsors, @starboardsup, @wernerpaddles, @Dakine and @Oneill for supporting my dream. And to Forrest Ladkin for making this killer video so I can share this special moment with you!