By Jake Howard
Learning to surf at the timeless talent pool that is Blackies in Newport Beach, Isla Pinto moved south to San Clemente with her family in 2021 and has been on a roll ever since.
“She started surfing almost every day and doing the dad push-in division at the WSA events,” her dad, David, told Dana Point Times. “She went from riding my board to riding her own 4-foot-8-inch six months later.”
Rolling into double digits over the summer, a now 10-year-old Isla has been working tirelessly on her surfing. Now competing in the paddle divisions of NSSA and WSA contests, she made a WSA final at Ocean Beach in October and backed that up with an NSSA final in Huntington Beach.
Staying hot in November, she made another WSA final up in the chilly waters of Morro Bay. Most recently, she made yet another WSA final, this time in her home waters at the San Clemente Pier.
“She is progressing quickly and enjoys it thoroughly,” her dad says with a smile. “She’s made some great friends of the solid younger girl crew that regularly surf Trestles.”
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