There are abundant qualifying points and dollars that come with winning the Paul Mitchell Supergirl Pro surfing championship, but it is the super hero-worthy, flowing red cape emblazoned with a large “S” that is clearly the conversation piece of the event.

For Carissa Moore, maybe there was more than just symbolism that came with wearing it on the awards stand.

Because immediately upon capturing what is billed as the “world’s largest women’s surfing event and music festival” qualifying event in Oceanside, Calif., on July 29, Moore went out over the weekend and posted her best finish in Championship Tour competition in nine months.

A third place in the World Surf League’s Vans U.S. Open on Sunday in Huntington Beach, Calif., was her best Championship Tour showing since winning the Roxy Pro in France last year and a definite confidence and rankings booster, moving her up to fifth place for the season so far.

“It had been a while, that’s for sure,” Moore said.

It has been a tough slog for the 25-year-old since winning her third world championship in 2016. “I had just been out of sync with some things,” Moore said.

This year that had meant nothing above a fifth place on the WSL Championship Tour in six tries, until Sunday.

“I expect more of myself, so I’m definitely not satisfied and I’m working toward doing better,” Moore said.

“But it (the Supergirl win) was definitely validating,” Moore said. “I came home from (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, where she had been a third-round casualty last month) and I talked with my dad and it was like, ‘Hey, we need to shake some things up and try some different things,’ so we went back to the drawing board and decided to keep things a little simpler. Just seeing that pay off pretty directly was validating.”

Moore said, “I’ve been on the Championship Tour for a while now — this is my ninth year — and I’m figuring out different motivations, different ways to approach things. I’m realizing what works, what doesn’t work and what makes me happy.”

Moore said, “I think, for me, it was probably the most focused I’ve been all year. I felt I went into the event with a better approach, more focused on what I needed to do to accomplish my goals. I think I can over-complicate things, in my head, start doubting or worrying about things rather than just focusing on the positives and what needs to happen instead of what might go wrong.”

As for the championship cape that had eluded her in three previous tries, “It is really special,” Moore said.

But she also recognizes that more can be done with it in the spirit of the meet in which she won it. One of the reasons she said she elects to compete there is that it is more than just a surf contest. It is also, Moore said, “about supporting the empowerment of women.”

As part of her “Moore Aloha” non-profit foundation, she said she and her father, Chris, work with “some younger girls at one of the local surf spots to get them to enjoy being in the water. So I’m thinking about doing a little contest, something fun, and one of the girls can keep the cape.”

It has apparently served its purpose for her, “and doesn’t belong in a closet,” Moore said. “Somebody needs to (be able to) enjoy it. That’s the goal.”

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.