TUREDAWOLA BEACH, AFULU, NORTH NIAS, balitourismnow.com – 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.
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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, Thursday, 3rd July 2025.
“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.”
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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:
1) Dhany Widianto (IDN)
2) Nathan Sadoun (FRA)
3) Pajar Ariyana (IDN)
4) Tipi Jabrik (IDN)
Women’s Longboard Finalists:
1) Dhea Natasya Novitasari (IDN)
2) Aura Zeflin (IDN)
3) Lisa Caldini (IDN)
4) Zoey Malia (IDN)
Men’s Shortboard Finalists:
1) Rafael Castro (USA)
2) Pajar Ariyana (IDN))
3) Dylan Wilcoxen (IDN)
4) Ash Jenner (AUS)
Women’s Shortboard Finalists:
1) Ella McCaffray (USA)
2) Taina Angel Izquierdo (IDN)
3) Dhea Natasya Novitasari (IDN)
3) 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.
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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. [rls]