Rosie Smart wins Hyundai She’s Electric season two

Rosie Smart has been crowned the winner of Hyundai She’s Electric season two. The 19-year-old from Sawtell, NSW, defeated Anne Dos Santos in a thrilling surf-off at Cabarita Beach.

Heading into her last heat, Smart said, “I felt like a bit of an underdog starting in fifth place. The waves were challenging today, but I was determined to emulate Steph Gilmore and go all the way.”

Smart did just that, taking down her opponents in knockout heats designed to mirror the WSL’s finals day format.

“I knew that if I wanted to win, I needed to do one big turn so I’m just glad I made that turn. I’m going to use the $5,000 to fund the rest of my QS (Qualifying Series) campaign and hopefully go onto the Challenger Series.”

In addition to the cash prize, Smart also wins a VIP experience at the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle Grand Final, an event that she will be competing at too.

“I’m really lucky to be a part of Coffs Harbour Boardriders and there’s lots of really good surfers there like Jake Sharpe and Lee Winkler so I love surfing with them, and it’s really cool that I can surf with them in team challenges. I also really love watching the younger girls coming through like Caity Simmers and Molly (Picklum) especially their performance at Pipe was amazing. It’s cool to see how women’s surfing is just getting better and better.”

Dos Santos said she was stoked for Rosie.
 
“I’m really proud of Rosie and how she performed. I knew it was close. We were going head-to-head on waves, so it was anyone’s heat out there. I had a really good time competing against her.

“It was my first time training at the HPC (High Performance Centre). It was really cool to see how they’re not just interested in the surfing. We had a values session and media session. You know, to be a good surfer you have to be a good person, be focused and dedicated and they really showcased that at the HPC.”

About Hyundai She’s Electric:
Hyundai She’s Electric, an online surfing competition open to all female athletes aged 14 and over throughout Australia, has returned for its highly anticipated second season. This program is designed to discover female surfers from across the country, providing them with national exposure and the opportunity to access some of Australia’s best coaches at Surfing Australia’s national surf training facility, the Hyundai High Performance Centre (HPC) in Casuarina, NSW.

The competition spanned 12 weeks from October to December, 2023. Following the online submission of their best waves, Surfing Australia’s expert team of female judges, led by Head Judge of Olympic Surfing for Tokyo, Glen Elliott, reviewed the clips and created a leaderboard to rank the athletes. Those with the top 5 highest-scoring waves at the end of the competition become Hyundai Team Electric.

The Top 5 athletes attended a surf camp at the Hyundai Surfing Australia HPC, that includes three-days of intensive training, surf analysis conducted by some of Australia’s leading surf coaches, surf-specific strength and conditioning sessions, and workshops led by surfing icons and pioneers of women’s surfing. Additionally, the athletes placing second through fifth will each receive $1000, while the winner will be awarded $5000 and a VIP experience at the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle Grand Final with former World Tour surfer Laura Enever.

The total prize pool exceeds $35,000 and includes the newly created ‘Bright Spark’ award, with weekly winners receiving a GoPro 11.

Top 5:
Rosie Smart (Sawtell, NSW)
Anne Dos Santos (Dee Why, NSW)
Coral Durant (Palm Beach, QLD)
Willow Hardy (Gnarabup, WA)
Quincy Symonds (Tweed Heads, QLD)

The competition is also showcased in a new four-part series, ‘Hyundai She’s Electric Show’, hosted by Tru and Jesse Starling, with the first two episodes available to watch HERE.

Rosie Smart wins $5k and a VIP experience at the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle Grand Final. Image: Andy Morris / Surfing Australia

Anne Dos Santos finished runner-up. Image: Andy Morris / Surfing Australia