By Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY

On the surface, Mary Osborne looks like a prototypical 21st Century Southern California surfer/model.
But don’t let the 27-year-old’s good looks, sun-bleached hair and athletic build fool you…

Read rest of the article here:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/action/2009-02-25-osborne-surfer_N.htm

A hand written resume in the form of a photo album came in to the Betty Belts headquarters in Ventura one day a few months back from
13 year old Asia Carpenter, her pretty face on the cover. I’d heard about her from the Partridge twins, who we discovered back in 2005 when they sent in their cute resumes. They recommended Asia because she’s promising young talent. And I believe talent needs to be continually cultivated and supported.

Long story short, I agreed to sponsor her but wanted to see if we could help her start a career in surfing and modeling as we’ve been able to with other girls on the Betty Belts Surf Team. Mainly through the beautiful photography of the man in my life, David Pu’u and additionally with exposure on the Betty Belts Website, The Betty Blog and in print and web advertisements.

So Asia came down to Ventura. Her dad, two younger brothers plus a friend, her grandmother and various surfboards and skateboards came too. David shot with her over a period of two days, surfing, skating, candids on the beach and a glam night shoot with a faux fur coat. I did her hair and makeup and put Betty B. accessories on her, helping David where I could while trying to stay out of the way.

OMG all I can say is … WOW. The camera loves this girl. AND she can surf! So folks, keep an eye out for this young dynamo. She’s bound to be picked up by major sponsors very soon.

Go see David’s blog about Asia where you can see the rest of the images he shot and read his words.

Surfer Poll Awards

After many years of giving back to surf community and beyond, these remarkable women surfers are making huge strides for the female side of the sport, making the waves a friendlier place for water women everywhere and those who want to take up surfing.

How can you NOT vote for these two?

Here is her latest interview with the truly cool UK based women’s board sports magazine Cooler.

Mary Osborne, 26, talks us through the trials and tribulations of life as one of the world’s best female surfers, from the joys of writing books and winning comps to the difficulties of finding a date… Form an orderly queue chaps.

Created by Betty Belts Team Rider Holly Beck

One more year of hard work, sacrifice and sisterhood paid off in what turned out to be an exciting event and an amazing display of talent and drive.’ All divisions put on a great display of determination to find the barrel at one of the World’s best waves.

The bodyboarding final not only turned out to be an international final but each girl is a top rider in their respective homeland. All four girls charged some serious Backdoor barrels and showed off with some high-powered “rolos” to spice things up.

This was a high-scoring final with tight results. Hawaii’s Claudia Ferrari took first place, her first title at Pipeline after so many years of “almosts”. Puerto Rico’s Natasha Sagardia followed her with second place, putting her small island’s name up there with the best.

After an all-Hawaiian Semis and Final, “Miss Pipeline”, young Alana Blachard made this her second win once more, solidifying her status as the “one to beat” for years to come. Leah Dawson claimed second place after quickly finishing her Longboard Final and running to the beach to make this final.

Rochelle Ballard accepted her third place trophy without first expressing her gratitude to Betty Depolito and her perseverance and sacrifice to make this all possible. At 12 years old Kallee Krebbs, took fourth place, becoming the youngest competitor to ripher way to the final. Helena Suehiro was given the “Soap Factory Rookie of the Year Award” for her strong performance up to the Semi finals.

Last year’s Longboard champ Leah Dawson did it again, and claimed first place. This year she made both the shortboard and the longboard finals. Caron Farnham snagged the sickest Backdoor Barrel on her Longboard and received the “Best Ride” award .

After such a great turnout the future looks bright for this event. “Betty is doing an excellent job.” said ASP Hawaii Rep. Faith Wenzl. “This year we had 2 WCT surfers who entered the event, and that makes it even bigger. Its also a good experience for the girls who are not used to ASP rated events. There is definitively a future.”

Competing here is also a great opportunity for girls to come to Pipeline, practice and get used to this difficult break. Girls like Jenna Murad, from San Diego, entered this event for the first time. “My first time surfing Pipe was 4 days ago. I was exited and stoked to surf with Keala in my second heat. I have had the best week of surfing here this past week. I want to surf here more.”

Contest director Betty Depolito has opened the doors for the women who want to perform in this spot. “I am happy with everything. This is a great opportunity for all the girls . It is good for their surfing and good for their positive thinking. As years go by they’ll get more used to the size and position. This year we had big names like Bethany, Rochelle, and Keala who truly appreciate surfing this wave. I’m looking forward to the future.”

Results

Shortboarding
1)Alana Blanchard
2)Leah Dawson
3)Rochelle Ballard
4)Kallee Krebs

Bodyboard
1)Claudia Ferrari
2)Natasha Sagardia
3)Aoi Koike
4)Daniela Freitas

Longboarding
1)Leah Dawson
2)Megan Godinez
3)Candice Appleby
4)Stacia Ahina
5)Mimi Horiguchi
6)Kawehi Whitford