SB Surfboards proudly announces the addition of Alana Blanchard to their team and owner/shaper Steve Boysen could not be more excited. “I have been shaping boards for Alana for awhile now and it just seemed right to finally make it official,” says Steve Boysen.

Alana Blanchard has been posting strong results and gaining confidence throughout 2007 as she prepares to make a run at the WQS next season. Last September the 17-year-old Hawaiian (Kauai) took down a few of Europe’s top young women surfers to win the Rip Curl Girls Pro Junior in Spain. After the win, runner-up Pauline Ado (France) complimented Blanchard’s surfing and competitive skills and predicted that Alana “would do really well on the WQS next season.”

The win at the Rip Curl Girls Pro Junior gave Alana a wildcard entry into Round 1 of the Rip Curl Girls Festival at Liencres Beach in Spain — stop 4 of 7 on the 2007 ASP Women’s World Tour. In her first appearance in an ASP World Tour event, Alana proved she could hold her own against the world’s top female contenders. She charged her way into the quarterfinals, before getting knocked out by former World Champ, Sofia Mulanovich.

Mulanovich was on fire, and went on to win the event. “Alana started riding our boards just before NSSA Nationals around April,” says SB Surfboards team manager, Jason Portlock. “She ordered the boards through fellow Hawaiian, Reef McIntosh, one of my main team riders. From the start, her new boards seemed to be a good fit. She took 4th Place in the Open Women’s division at this year’s NSSA Nationals riding one of the first boards she ever ordered.”

“Alana is one of the most promising and gutsy young female surfers in the world,” says Portlock. “In 2005, when she was fifteen, she won the Women’s Pipeline Pro and was voted 2005 Triple Crown Rookie of the year. Earlier this year she repeated the feat, winning the 2007 Women’s Pipeline Pro over Leah Dawson, Rochelle Ballard and Kallee Krebs.

Alana has big dreams, with a world title as her main goal for her surfing career. Based on her competitive performances in 2007, that dream may not seem very far-fetched. Keep an eye on her in the coming year on the women’s WQS, and don’t be surprised to see Alana on the podium.