The Shreddar

Cheryl got her nickname (“The Shreddar”) by way of a prank played on a reporter.

“I started surfing with nine of my girlfriends. We borrowed boards, wetsuits — it was a really magical time. A reporter from a local newspaper thought we were a good story, so he came down to the beach to interview us. I wasn’t too happy about being pulled out of the water, so when the reporter asked me my name, I said it was Cheryl ‘The Shreddar’ Woodhouse. It was funny because I had just learned how to surf and wasn’t anywhere close to shredding, but I think he got the message. The name stuck.”

Cheryl is now a local surfing celebrity. Each year, Coronado hosts the Jimmy Reilly Memorial Surf Classic (on Shipwreck Beach) to honor a surfer who lost his life in a 1983 car crash. Cheryl has been a fan favorite since having a four-year streak of winning the award for “Best Wipeout”; one of her worst occurred four years ago.

“I was surfing, and I let my board slip. The fin came up and cracked me in the face. It gave me a black eye, and I ended up with some stitches across the bridge of my nose.”

The competition committee was rumored to be debating naming the award after Cheryl, but this year her streak was broken; “Best Wipeout” went to Jody Esquer...while Cheryl took second place in the Women’s Open division.

Cheryl cites tranquility and exercise as benefits of the sport but says she will no longer surf at night.

“I was surfing at night during red tide; it was amazing with all of the phosphorescence in the water. I thought I saw something up ahead of me, and I figured it was a buoy or a swimmer or a kayak. My friend saw it as well and quickly said that it was time to get back to the beach. I realized it was probably a shark fin.”