Keliana Woolsey by the Names and Numbers
Full name: Keliana Kekulakaiakapu Age: 24
Hometown: Waimanalo homestead, Oahu, Hawaii
First board: A single-fin from Lee James Hao
Education: B.S., Entomology (the study of insects), Evergreen State College, Washington State
Fun facts: Keliana played water polo and was on the swim team in high school. Her grandfather, Bill Woolsey, was an Olympic gold medal winner at the 1956 Olympics in the 4 x 200m freestyle event.

Keliana in Her Own Words
Who are your favorite women surfers?
My favorite women surfers are Julie Whitegon, because she consistently blows me away with her straight-ups, floaters, and smooth-style longboarding. Joy Magelson, because of her combinations of elegant noseriding and Hawaiian style of tail-riding. I also enjoy Sam Cornish and Megan Abubo, who are both incredible shortboarders with powerful styles.

Who are your favorite men surfers and why
My all-time favorite male surfer is Bonga Perkins. He encompasses everything that I think a surfer should be: He is equally able to be powerful, smooth, and effortless in 10-foot Pipe to two-foot Waikiki. Also, he exudes aloha and is a very humble guy.

What moves are you currently working on to improve your surfing?
Currently I am working on more tail-surfing on my longboard, Rios, roundhouses, and cutbacks. But this is the first summer that I have begun to work out outside of just surfing, building up my leg muscles by jumping rope, Pilates, and kick-boarding, which is putting more power into my turns.

Tell me about your surfboard and why you like it (size, shaper, etc...)
I ride an 9'0" pintail, two plus one, 2-5/8 by 21-1/2. shape by Todd Pinder. I like it because it rides well in all types of surf, it reacts fast to my turns, and nose-rides well. I Use GX side fins and an Kanoa Dahlin 7" cover shot middle fin. The fins give me good maneuverability and hold me well when I am nose-riding.

What's your upcoming schedule, as far as competitions, for 2003?
I'll be competing in Malibu at the Converse Open Pro in September, then I will be going down to Costa Rica for the Women's World Longboarding competition. I'll be home in Hawaii for the winter and off to Australia in the spring for the Aussie Longboard series.

Do you see the level of women's surfing pushing up at a faster pace?
I do see the level of women's surfing being pushed harder, especially in longboarding. I have only been traveling doing the pro contest for two years now, and from my first year of traveling until this year many girls have stepped up in the Australian, Californian, and Hawaiian circuits, pushing the normal top final girls out and making a name for themselves. I believe it's because the girls who surf now are receiving more publicity and wanting the same perks as men (salary, advertisement, prize money).

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