By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Sometimes they're called Masters, or Senior Masters. Others call them "Elder Statesmen," though "Stateswomen" would be more correct. One contest refers to them as "the Auntie Division." But by any name, they're as competitive as Roxy Girls. And more experienced.

Shay Bintliff, an emergency-room doctor and avid 60-something-year-old surfer, is hoping to drum up a little competition on the waves.

A member of the Hawaiian Longboard Federation, Bintliff was looking ahead to the organization's five-event season, which starts in May.

"There are seven divisions for men and only two for the women: Junior Wahine, 19 and under, and the Wahine, 20 and over," she said, "which means we old farts have to compete against the young puppies! It just ain't fair!"

Bintliff contacted the Hawaiian Longboard Federation and lobbied for a women's division that was a little less inclusive. It was decided that a Women's Masters division would be added to the season if they can get at least 12 women older than 40 to sign up to compete. So Bintliff is actively recruiting.

Not like that should be so difficult. There are a number of wahine-only contests that draw large numbers of competitors, including China Uemura's Wahine Classic. But the Hawaiian Longboard Federation contests are a little bit different because the meets have both men's and women's events, and sometimes women prefer women-only surfing events.

Also, it's not just about women over 40 surfing. It's about women over 40 competing. Bintliff can surf any time she wants to. What she wants is to compete.

Diane Fujii-Johnson, president of the Hawaiian Longboard Federation, says competitive surfers are just born that way. They love the challenge.

"They always want to push themselves. ... They'll try maneuvers, try different things, use a variety of boards to see which performs better, so I think they're really in tune with the performance of surfing and how they can better themselves over time versus maybe a recreational surfer," she says.

Does this have anything to do with the recent mass-marketing of women's surfing? Not at all, Fujii-Johnson says. Women have always taken board to wave, long before surf fashion, long before "Blue Crush," long before Gidget.

"I think that part of surfing has sort of been shoved aside as far as, you know, you hear 'women's surfing is suddenly all of a sudden exploded!' and it's like, no, women have always been in surfing."

So to all those competitive surfing aunties out there, those experienced women wave riders, Doc Bintliff is calling you out. For more information on the Hawaiian Longboard Federation, call 988-1726 or visit the Web site www.hlfhawaii.com.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.