Zoe McDougall Is Earning Her Place At Backdoor

At the end of the 2022 Vans Digital Triple Crown competition period, Zoe McDougall finished with third-highest scores at Haleiwa and Sunset Beach. While she didn’t podium at Pipeline (t’s hard to get the jump on Carissa Moore, Moana Jones Wong and Coco Ho), it wasn’t for lack of trying. 

That’s demonstrated by her above highlight reel from Backdoor this winter, as the young Hawaiian shows her familiarity with the reef on a quiver of Pyzels. The waves are far cry from what the wave is capable of, but it’s still remarkable and impressive to see how high the bar has been raised for women at the Banzai.

What’s striking about the compilation is that if it was released 10 years ago, it likely would have rocked people’s brains to see a web clip of a 21-year-old woman charging Backdoor/Pipeline. Now, thanks to the heavy influence from Moana and investment from the WSL, it’s becoming almost habitual. 

Not that women don’t have history at Pipeline (see: Joyce Hoffman, Rochelle Ballard and Keala Kennelly) but Zoe and Moana are at the forefront of the next generation of female Pipeline chargers. Unlike generations passed, this is the first crop that has the wave circled on their calendar to start the Championship Tour. As CT hopefuls, they have more incentive than ever to put in time out in the lineup and behind the curtain.