Linda Westfall
by Terry Eselun
Linda Westfall, the former Competition Director for WISA, grew up in Granada Hills and began surfing in Malibu in 1965. She used to “ditch” school and get a friend to take her down to the beach where she paddled around the pier over and over until she bravely paddled into the line-up to catch her first wave. From then on, she was hooked!
Linda graduated from CSULB in 1974 with a degree in Physical Education and Social Science. She went on to teach for 27 years as an activities director in Lake Elsinore, but she never stopped surfing. Through the sixties Linda successfully competed in the WSA events and when WISA came on the scene in 1975, she jumped in with all her organizational skills, excited that there was finally an organization that focused on women. She loved the family fun that WISA promoted. She remembers that she and her husband Dirk once competed and won the husband/wife competition. One of the highlights of her competitive days was when she took 2nd place at the first Professional Hang WISA contest at Malibu in 1975. She remembers holding a check in her hand for $600.00 in prize money, then running across the street to use the phone to call her mother. She was ecstatic.
Sadly, Linda’s husband Dirk died suddenly from a heart attack in 2009, but Linda has courageously carried on, continuing to run the family restaurant “The Mill” in Murrieta, serving homemade pizza and pasta for the past 20 years. Here, it’s a family affair also. Her daughter Dana helps run the restaurant, while Linda enjoys babysitting her adorable grandchild.
Linda always saves time for surf. Any day of the week you’ll find her gracefully riding the waves from Doheny to Cardiff with her strong, secure style.
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