Thursday, 3rd July 2025, Turedawola Beach, Afulu, North Nias: The Afulu Pro 2025 Asian ProAm Surf Series (APSS) event was completed today, with Indonesia’s brother and sister duo Dhany Widianto and Dhea Natasya claiming victory in the Men’s and Women’s Longboard Divisions to end an exciting three days of competition in amazing surfing conditions at North Nias.
Dhany Widianto (IDN) and Dhea Natasha (IDN) join Ella McCaffray (USA) and Rafael Castro (USA) as newly minted Afulu Pro champions. McCaffray and Castro claimed their respective Women’s and Men’s Shortboard trophies yesterday in the pumping surf of the Point, while today’s action took place at Turedawola Beach where the waves were more suitable for longboard surfing.
The forecast was showing smaller surf today but the waves were very similar in size to yesterday, which presented some challenges as the competitors had to dodge the closeout sets and look for the smaller more lined up waves on the inside for noseriding opportunities.
The Men’s Longboard Division was first in the water, with a total of 10 competitors and 3 heats run to decide the Final four. Posting the highest scores were Dhany Widianto with an 8.33 for multiple trips to the nose, and Nathan Sadoun (FR) with a 7.83.
In the Men’s Final, it was Widianto who claimed a clear victory, his best wave a righthander that gave him three noseriding opportunities and smooth turns in between to earn an excellent 8.5 points (out of a possible 10) from the judging panel. He added another 7.27 points for a total of 15.77 to take the win. Runner up Nathan Sadoun was chasing him all the way, but couldn’t find the wave that would allow him to run up a big score. His high score was a 7.17 for a Hang 5 then Hang-Heel and back to a Hang 5. In 3rd spot was last year’s Afulu Pro champion Pajar Ariyana, and in 4th place, ASC’s Tipi Jabrik.
“I’m really happy to have won the first Longboard competition here at Afulu,” said Widianto. “The waves were very good, but you had to choose carefully. This beachbreak is a great place for longboarding when the waves are smaller. The Point is definitely not a place to try as the wave is too fast. But I think Afulu has a lot of potential for longboarding.” Widianto is also an excellent shortboarder, claiming a Semifinal finish in the Shortboard Division yesterday.
Widianto’s sister Dhea Natasya Novitasari (IDN), who also competed in the Women’s Shortboard Division yesterday, took the Women’s Longboard victory today over Aura Zeflin (IDN), Lisa Caldini (ITA) and Zoey Malia (IDN).
“There were a lot of closeouts, so you had to look for the smaller ones that had good shape,” said Novitasari. “It was really fun here and I love the view, this place is so beautiful with many palm trees and still so natural. I’m happy to win of course, and for sure I want to come back next year and win again.”
Men’s Longboard Finalists:
- Dhany Widianto (IDN)
- Nathan Sadoun (FRA)
- Pajar Ariyana (IDN)
- Tipi Jabrik (IDN)
Women’s Longboard Finalists:
- Dhea Natasya Novitasari (IDN)
- Aura Zeflin (IDN)
- Lisa Caldini (IDN)
- Zoey Malia (IDN)
Men’s Shortboard Finalists:
- Rafael Castro (USA)
- Pajar Ariyana (IDN))
- Dylan Wilcoxen (IDN)
- Ash Jenner (AUS)
Women’s Shortboard Finalists:
- Ella McCaffray (USA)
- Taina Angel Izquierdo (IDN)
- Dhea Natasya Novitasari (IDN)
- Aura Zeflin (IDN)
The Afulu Pro 2025 was officially closed in a Closing/Awarding Ceremony to celebrate the champions and give the participants a chance to see some local dancing and singing, as well as hear a speech by the Vice-Regent of North Nias as well as from ASC’s Tipi Jabrik. In his speech, Jabrik reminded the audience of what a special place they have here at Afulu and encouraged them to make sure and take care of it.
In his speech, the Vice-Regent talked about the history of the event, and how in just 3 years the place had grown and prospered, but there is still more that needs to be done and he hoped that by next year’s event there would be more accommodations and more infrastructure for hosting international and national surfers.
Check on Liveheats to see scores and results for the Afulu Pro 2025
https://www.liveheats.com/events/377270
Also check out the ASC Instagram at @asiansurfco to view the action as the event progresses.
All APSS competitions will be on LiveHeats, the official scoring and ranking platform of the APSS Tour, as Liveheats provides the most accurate live scoring, seamless heat management, and real-time ranking updates across all tour events together with the official ranking.
The Afulu Pro 2025 starts off the 2025-26 APSS season, which runs from June of 2025 and will finish at the end of May 2026. The second stop on the APSS tour will be in October at Zhoushan, China before heading to Jialeshuei, Taiwan. Other events will be announced as they get confirmed, so keep your eyes on the ASC website and the ACS socials for updates.
For more information or any questions you may contact the ASC:
Alex Hontoria
Email: [email protected]
WA: +34608402050
The Afulu Pro 2025 is sponsored by the North Nias Regency, organized by Persatuan Selancar Ombak Indonesia (PSOI) and the Asian Surf Cooperative (ASC), with scoring and rankings provided by Liveheats.
Download high-resolution images here
About the Asian ProAm Surf Series (APSS):
The Asian ProAm Surf Series is a progressive Asian-wide competition initiative designed to support and elevate surfing development by bridging the gap between grassroots level events and global platforms; assisting talented surfers develop into professional athletes and offering traveling and adventure surfers an opportunity to surf new places, meet new people, and join in fun events that are officially sanctioned by the longest running surfing organization in Asia, the Asian Surf Cooperative.
About the Asian Surf Co:
The Asian Surf Cooperative is a professional surfing organization with more than 20 years of experience in organizing, managing and supporting surfing events around the Asian region, from local boardriders club competitions to World Surf League World Championship Tour events.
The Asian Surf Co’s mission is to grow the sport of surfing in the Asian region by offering reliable and consistent resources and assistance to both small and large organizations as they work to progress the sport and their surfing athletes, including consulting and management, live computer scoring, certified judges and professional staffing, event media packages, athlete management, and site surveys, as well as ISA surf instructor and judging/officiating programs.
See more @asiansurfco @ligasurfingindonesiaand @grom.patrol
About Liveheats:
Liveheats is a digital platform that powers competitive action sporting events – from local clubs to professional world tours. The platform is designed to empower sporting communities, event organisers, and athletes by providing powerful competition features built for modern action sports. See more at www.liveheats.com and on IG @live_heats.
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