POLLY RALDA
"Polly, an empowered woman, made waves in the world of surfing. She competed in the inaugural big wave event for women, the WSL Peahi Challenge. In 2018, she achieved a remarkable 7th ranking globally. Additionally, she received an esteemed invitation to the Eddie Aikau big wave invitational."
The journey is the reward!
BIO
Name: Polly Ralda
Age: 32
Height: 150
Weight: 105 lb
Stance: Regular
Local Beach: Waimea Bay
Best wave ever surf: Nazaré
My best surf spot: Waimea Bay
Sponsors: Montkush, Garmin, future fins
ACHIEVEMENTS
-
Competed in the first big wave event for women, WSL Peahi Challenge.
-
2018 ranked 7th in the world.
-
Eddie Aikau big wave invitational invite.
Polly Ralda was born in Guatemala. She fell in love with the ocean at age five when her family spent a year living on a boat on the Caribbean side of Guatemala. When Polly learned to surf at age 13, there were only 35 surfers in the country and surfing was not an established sport. She was a weekend surfer, but her dream was to become a full-time
professional surfer. Polly moved to Hawaii when she was 20 years old with the idea of becoming a big wave surfer. When she was 24, she got her first World Surf League XXL nomination for the biggest wave paddled by a woman at Waimea Bay. This nomination encouraged her to further pursue her big-wave dreams. In 2017 she participated in the first-ever WSL Big Wave Tour. She participated in the Peahi challenge at Jaws and placed seventh in the world that year. Polly has been invited to The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational two years in a row. She enjoys traveling the world and has surfed many big wave sports including Jaws, Waimea, Himalayas, Mavericks, Puerto Escondido, Nazare, and more. Polly wanted to keep
pushing the Limits and starting pursuing the tow surfing route, now spending half of the season in Nazare, Portugal. Polly Ralda was born in Guatemala to a former professional ballet dancer mother and a coffee farmer father. She fell in love with the ocean at age five when her family spent a year living on a boat on the Caribbean side of Guatemala. When Polly learned to surf at age 13, there were only 35 surfers in the country and surfing was not an established sport. She was
a weekend surfer, but her dream was to become a full-time professional surfer. Polly currently resides on the North Shore of Oahu with her daughter and husband and runs Big Wave Babes a surf club that encourages women all over the world to surf bigger waves and to learn about water safety and preparation. When Polly went to Nazare for the first time, she moved careers and left all her paddlecompetitions in Hawaii to become a tow surfer in Nazare.
For more information, read the interview on our blog.
https://www.bigwavegrandprix.com/post/exclusive-interview-with-polly-ralda