By Jake Howard
The local South County men aren’t the only one’s lighting up the WSL scoreboards lately. At the Taiwan Open World Longboard Championship, a whole crew of local women cross-stepped their way onto the international scene.
Saddleback surfer Lindsay Steinriede nearly went the distance, finishing runner-up to Hawaii’s Honolua Blomfield.
“I’m so stoked with making it to the final—the waves have been incredible today,” said Steinriede after the awards ceremony. “I’m really happy we powered through so many heats today and made the most of this pumping surf. This has been a great year with the two events, as it gives everyone more of an opportunity at success—and it’s just awesome for longboarding. Seeing Honolua killing it this much at just 18 years of age is amazing, she put on an amazing performance in the final and I’m really happy for her. The surf today was unbelievable—definitely the best whole day of surf I have had in Taiwan; it’s an amazing place.”
Right behind Steinriede, Tory Gilkerson and Rachael Tilly both made the semifinals to keep the San Onofre tradition going strong. Tilly was the 2015 world longboard champ, and Gilkerson was the 2016 champ. Both know full well what it means to contend for a title.
“(I’m) beyond stoked to have finished third here at the WSL Longboard World Championship,” Tilly said. “Stellar conditions and amazing performances from all the girls.”
“I look forward to next year and seeing what the future holds,” added Steinriede.
With so much local talent commanding the upper echelon of women’s longboarding, neither can we.
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