BALI – Dhea Natasya Novitasari and Ayok delivered the home crowd a finals day to remember at Times Beach Warung on Sunday, each taking out the Open Longboard titles at the third annual Twinkle Toes Invitational.

The event, run across three rounds through heats, semifinals and finals at Batu Bolong, finished under clean trade winds after two days of patchier conditions. Commentators described the swell as finally switching on, with waves linking from the outside peak all the way to the inside section known as “middles”.

Dhea Natasya Novitasari was the standout across the women’s draw from round one, topping the leaderboard through every round before closing it out in the final with a heat total of 14.56, ahead of Zoe Grospiron in second and Christina Lee in third. Anais Pierquet, Leanne MacDonald and Karlie Huang rounded out the final six.

Dhea surfs for the local Kuda Beach community and was described in commentary as the “queen of Indonesian longboarding” heading into the final. Commentators also said she is the youngest sister of men’s competitor Dhany Widianto.

Locals deliver in the men’s final

The men’s division came down to the wire on the beach Ayok grew up surfing. Commentators said Ayok had finished runner-up in the event for two years running and had missed Saturday’s competition due to a ceremony commitment, returning on finals day as a wildcard pick from event host Harrison Roach, who stood aside from his own qualifying spot to hand it to him.

Ayok fought through the semifinal in first place before holding off a stacked final field that included Dhany Widianto, Uminoske Oguma, Hou Mingcai, Gavin Idone and Matt Chojnacki. He posted a 15.70 heat total to claim the win with under two minutes remaining.

“I couldn’t say anything, thank you everybody, thank you my family is here, my wife, my daughter,” Ayok told the broadcast after the result was confirmed.

Uminoske Oguma finished runner-up with 13.60, continuing a run that saw him through every semifinal across the weekend. Dhany Widianto placed third, with Hou Mingcai and Gavin Idone fourth and fifth. Gavin Idone was repeatedly tipped by commentators as the “dark horse” of the men’s draw after reaching the final despite not featuring among the early frontrunners.

Standout moments through the rounds

Earlier in the day, Oguma produced what commentators flagged as the single highest wave score of the event, an 8.67, claiming the ride with a soul arch that drew praise from the booth. Commentators noted it was Oguma’s third year in a row reaching the semifinals or further.

Beckie Liu was a consistent presence through the women’s rounds, progressing to the semifinals in round three before narrowly missing the final. Commentary said Liu runs a swimwear label, Haikini, which donated prizes to the top three placegetters in the women’s division.

Local surfer Kadek Resnawa also impressed throughout the men’s rounds before falling just short of the final, while Matt Chojnacki was repeatedly singled out by commentators for his polished style across all three rounds, ultimately finishing sixth in the final.

A festival as much as a contest

Between heats, organisers ran a paddle race for spectators offering accommodation vouchers, won by Zoe Grospiron and Matt Newdick, along with giveaways of surfboards, wax and merchandise. Commentators said an award for most valuable competitor of the weekend, a surfboard, was still being decided between contenders including Oguma and Bea Conroy at the time of the broadcast.

Finalists from both divisions were walked through a specially created “tunnel of love” past the crowd before paddling out, a first for the event according to the broadcast team.

The day closed with a Balinese dance performance and prize presentation on the beach as the sun went down over Batu Bolong, bringing the third edition of the Twinkle Toes Invitational to a close.