OC surfer Ruby Stringfellow becomes youngest ever to win Super Girl surf contest

It’s been a whirlwind year for 14-year-old surfer Ruby Stringfellow.

The young teen said she never imagined she would win a mega event and be poised to possibly make next year’s World Surf League Challenger Series, just one step below the elite World Tour.

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But the Ladera Ranch teenager, a member of the San Clemente Board Riders Club, made history on Sunday, Aug. 23, by becoming the youngest-ever to win the Super Girl Surf Festival. The contest, an event that celebrated its 20th year over the weekend in Oceanside, is a Qualifying Series competition in the WSL and is considered the largest all-women’s pro surfing contest.

“That was an insane event, I’m so grateful and I have so many people supporting me who love me,” said Stringfellow, who has already jetted out to Virginia Beach, Florida, for two upcoming contests. “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, it’s been a whirlwind. Everyone wants to get the cape, but being the 20th anniversary and being the youngest ever is amazing. I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Stringfellow’s latest win is just one of several since the start of the year. The young surfer has racked up enough points to currently sit in the No. 1 spot in the rankings on the league’s Qualifying Series North America tour, with enough points to be in striking distance of the Challenger Series.

“I think I’m going to have to go all in, which is crazy,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking about that this year.”

Stringfellow was born in Costa Rica and moved to Maui when she was a toddler, competing mostly in Hawaii until she and her mom, Dena, moved to Southern California when she was 10, in part to have access to more competitions and the surf industry.

At every amateur event she entered, Stringfellow would make the finals or win, including the USA Surfing national championship in the U14 division last year, her mother said.

Earlier this year, Stringfellow landed a quarterfinal finish at the SLO CAL Open Pismo to qualify for the Jack’s Surfboards Pro in Huntington Beach.

In 2024 at Super Girl, she made it to the semifinals and faced good friend and San Clemente surfer Eden Walla, who went on to win the event.

They repeated the heat at this year’s semifinals, this time Stringfellow winning the bout.

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“It’s super cool to see everyone pushing each other … I wanted to get her back,” Stringfellow said jokingly. “We’re really good friends, I look up to her for sure.”

In the finals, Stringfellow faced San Clemente’s Mia McLeish, the duo going blow for blow during the contest’s last heat. But after a series of exchanges, it was Stringfellow who came out the victor, the red Super Girl cape draped over her shoulders.

“In my eyes, the cape is the trophy,” she said. “I hung it up in my room; I’m cherishing that thing.”

The Super Girl Surf Festival is a fun event where the girls are all super supportive of one another, Stringfellow said.

The weekend was filled with girl empowerment, featuring everything from flag football and volleyball on the sand to concerts and beach activities.

Following the Virginia Beach Pro, Stringfellow will be back in Orange County with a chance to possibly compete at the Trestles Pro surf contest at Lower Trestles happening mid-September.

The San Clemente Board Riders is hosting a club contest to give out a wildcard spot for a local surfer to get into the World Tour event.

For other young surfers hoping to become a pro surfer, Stringfellow gives this advice: Go for your dreams.

“They can absolutely come true,” Stringfellow said. “I just experienced it firsthand. If you really want to pursue your dreams and if you’re really loving it, you can do it.”

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