Else Ranker wins Surfrider Foundation Clean Water Classic surfing competition

Nine-year-old Else Ranker of Orcas Island traveled to Westport, Washington to defend her championship title in the Surfrider Foundation Clean Water Classic surfing competition on Sept. 24. Last year, which was her first time in a competition, she went up against all boys and won. This year, she took that honor home again.

“Everyone had a good time,” said Else’s dad, Kevin. “In fact, several times during the competition you could hear these 7- to 12-year-old kids hooting and whistling for each other as they caught waves – each of them excited for the other.”

In the end, however, it was a little girl form Orcas Island who took the title.

The Clean Water Classic is one of only three surfing competitions north of California and is the only ProAm competition. In the upper divisions competitors fly in from California, Hawaii and elsewhere. The contest is also a benefit for the Surfrider Foundation, an international nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of our coasts and oceans.