Queen of the Point crowns champions
By Judy Abel · Fri Jul 24 2026
Celebrating women in surfing at Malibu’s First Point
More than 100 female surfers, ranging in age from as young as 3 years old to over 70, gathered at Malibu’s iconic First Point June 27-28 for the fifth annual Queen of the Point surfing competition, an event that has grown into one of California’s premier celebrations of women’s surfing.
Founded in 2022 by longtime Malibu surfer and surf coach Carla Zamora, Queen of the Point was created to provide female surfers with a welcoming and supportive competitive environment while showcasing talent across generations.
“I grew up surfing First Point,” Zamora said. “When I started surfing here, I was really one of the few women in the lineup. It was definitely a male-dominated, testosterone-filled lineup, and I literally fought my way up the lineup. My goal with Queen of the Point has been to give women a softer, gentler landing in this male-dominated sport.”
Zamora, who grew up in Decker Canyon after moving to Malibu in 1987, has deep roots in the community. She founded the Surf Institute in 2011 and previously worked as a special education instructional assistant at Juan Cabrillo Elementary School. She is also a substitute teacher.
Queen of the Point evolved after Zamora took over the Malibu Board Riders Club’s annual contest. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted competitions, she decided to reimagine the event. “I said if I was doing all the work, then I’m going to make it the event that I actually wanted it to be,” Zamora recalled.
The two-day competition, held at First Point, drew approximately 115 to 120 competitors. Divisions included a professional competition as well as amateur age brackets spanning from children 10 and under through surfers age 60 and older.
Unlike many surfing contests where competitors are eliminated after a single heat, Queen of the Point features a round-robin format that guarantees surfers multiple opportunities in the water.
“I wanted to make it special because entry fees aren’t cheap,” Zamora explained. “I want to give them as much time surfing as I can.”
Competitors surfed 20-minute heats, with judges scoring each surfer’s two highest-scoring waves out of as many as 10 attempts.
The event’s professional division offered a $3,000 prize purse. Veteran surfer Jen Smith of Pacific Beach claimed first place, earning $1,500 after defeating a field of much younger competitors in the final.
“Jen is in her 30s,” Zamora said. “She was in the final with a bunch of really young girls in their early 20s and even a teenager, and she won. It was pretty cool that she schooled them.”
While prize money was reserved for the professionals, every finalist received a royal treatment fitting the event’s name. Finalists were crowned with tiaras and awarded framed trophies, reinforcing the contest’s distinctive theme of celebrating every competitor.
The event has expanded well beyond Malibu’s local surfing community. This year’s contest included Brazilian surfer Luana Soares, while previous competitions have attracted participants from Japan, Australia, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Philippines.
The Queen of the Point brand has expanded to Ventura as well, where a second annual competition is held each September at C Street, another well-known point break. Zamora has also taken the Queen of the Point concept overseas by organizing an event in the Philippines. “It’s highlighting not just women here in California, but on a global scale,” she said.
Several hundred people lined the beach to watch the Malibu competition throughout the weekend. The event also reached a broader audience through a livestream that attracted as many as 1,000 viewers at any given time.
Perhaps the most inspiring aspect of the contest was its remarkable age range. The youngest competitor was 3-year-old Phoebe Cook, while the oldest competitor, Diane Thackeray, is in her early 70s, demonstrating that surfing can be enjoyed across a lifetime.
For Zamora, however, the event is about much more than crowns, trophies or prize money. “The main purpose of the event is to give women a platform to not just show off their surfing, but to be encouraged and empowered,” she said. Zamora hopes to foster a culture that stands in contrast to the cutthroat nature often associated with competition. “I’ve really been trying to teach the young girls and the women to adjust each other’s crowns instead of doing the opposite,” Zamora said. “It’s about supporting each other.”
