TRIMMING THE FAT First It Was Too Big To Surf… Then It Was Almost Too Small To Surf… The 43rd Annual ESA Eastern
Surfing Championships Stressed The Importance Of Tightening Up By Matt Pruett
It’s easy to overthink Easterns.
I should know. I’ve been covering this contest in some capacity or another
since 1998 and have the boxes to prove it — more boxes full of notepads
and old programs, microcassettes and DVDs, zip drives and audio bytes, heat
brackets and score cards than most sensible people would’ve forgotten years
ago. And probably should have. Because most of it is useless research.
Speculative, numerically flaccid minutia that asked a lot of stupid questions
that would be answered long before the story was due, much less published:
Is there a hurricane coming? What’s the surf forecast? Do we have all the
necessary permits? Will the mosquitoes be bad? The jellies? Sea lice? Will they
go on hold, and how will they wrap up in time? Will all the communication
circuits be open? How good is each and every single competitor in each and
every single heat of each and every single division in this contest? What town,
district, state, and region are they representing? What are their surfboard
dimensions? Who farted?
No one wants to spend three hours reading a 6000-word contest report, and you
certainly don’t want my ulcer on your conscience, so let’s eighty-six the
foreplay. Besides, what am I supposed to say? That lone New Yorker Alex Fawess
made half the adult field look like sissies — paddling out and pulling in
after organizers deemed the Lighthouse “unrideable”? That would be
disrespectful. That Daniel Glenn now has free Gatorade for a year after winning
the “Go All Day” Award for camaraderie and hard work? He’d probably trade that
in a heartbeat for one more shot at repeat champ Cam Richards in the Boys
final. That Great Lakes Masters entrant Burton Hathaway had to drive 22 hours
to get to this contest? A far better question is how in the world a freshwater
surfer was able to snag runner-up honors behind former ESA Men’s champ Slater
Powell, but ahead of defending
Masters champ Jeff Anthony? That for many of the Adult heats, all those vitamin
supplement stickers, super-jock calisthenics, and pre-heat psych tactics on the
beach turned into broken boards, fits of cursing and wheezing, and lineup
denials only minutes later? Hey, man. It’s Hatteras. It’s a hurricane swell. What
do you expect?
That while the Easterns has historically been
regarded as one of the three biggest things to happen in East Coast surfing every
year, the energy on the beach for the final day of Youth Competition left
something to be desired? It’s no secret that a few ESA lifers haven’t been
happy with the organization’s path in some time. And the lack of a NGB isn’t
making consensus any smoother.
But that’s a story for another day.
However the finals happened, they happened. And for
the sake of brevity and pragmatic reporting, the finals are the real story.
Because for a few hours this past Saturday at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in
Buxton, NC, with barely contestable knee-high burgers limping to a pathetic
death on the sandbar, it wasn’t the “family vibe” or the refreshed ESA Allstar
Team roster or all those preliminary floggings and hold-downs that mattered
most. It was the finals.
The 43rd Annual ESA Eastern Surfing Championships brushed off Igor’s stiff
onshore vibes for two days before playing catch-up on Tuesday via
double-beached Adult Competition heats. Peep some photos here.
In Youth Competition, maxed out with 12 waves at the
five-minute mark, Virginian sponger Jackson Lewis handily won Menehune
Bodyboard while ESA-VA District teammate Cam Fullmer held off Tarheel rival Bradley
Rose to win Junior Longboard. Looking like a little Tony Silvagni, ESA-NCFL
District helgie Daniel Glenn topped the Menehune Longboard grems. Looking to
back that up with a Boys Shortboard title, Glenn interfered on Corey Howell,
who interfered on Cam Richards, who interfered right back, leaving Giorgio
Gomez with what should’ve been a sure thing… if Richards hadn’t channeled his
inner Jeremy Johnston, turning the heat into his own personal chew toy despite
the interference. Cam’s longtime ESA-NSC District teammate Keenan Lineback did
similar work in the Junior Women’s, three decent frontside hits on one wave
undoing three tenacious Floridians just like that. But the Sunshine Staters got
their revenge on the Palmetto State in the Girls final, where ESA-CFL District
jewels Nikki Viesins (2nd, on her backhand) and Emily Ruppert (1st, on her
forehand) handed Katie Gordon defeat. But at least Gordon got to watch her
brother Luke completely annihilate the Menehune ranks on the heels of a healthy
7.67 right, where Gordon completed three full, mature, wraparound carves before
the wave was even breaking. Behold the newest darling of the ESA.
And the marquee bouts? Junior Men’s and Open
Shortboard were basically a tête-à-tête between the ESA-SNC District’s competitive
voice Nick Rupp, who was singing his swan song here, and ESA-CFL District
come-up Chris Tucker. Rupp’s already won five ESA titles (four in a row) off
one lethal backside turn alone. But Tucker’s got that Marzo-like frontside
blow-tail thing that never fails to get the crowd excited. Basically, when it
was big for the Open, Tucker blew tail and won. When it got small for the
Juniors, Rupp smashed the doo-doo out of the lefts and won, saying “lates” to
Tucker, the ESA, and amateur surfing in general.
“Right out of the gates, Cam Richards set the whole
tone for this contest with his first ride,” said ESA Allstar Team Coach Pat
Emery, who had a decade of personal competitive experience with the ESA before
taking the coaching position. “He locked into a sick left that roped across the
sandbar, and that set the bar for the rest of the competitors. Nick Rupp went
out and duplicated Cam’s feat, Chris Tucker felt the need and turned the heat
on, and that Open final was nothing short of spectacular. The action was
world-class all the way.”
Despite “world-class” action still happening at the
Easterns, Emery says the Eastern Surfing Association will be tightening up
their Allstar Team this year, compressing the ranks so they can do more traveling,
training, and competing with the finds they do have. And considering the dissent
on the beach and an obvious lack of spectator vigor, it’s clear the ESA may
have to do some tightening up, as well. Just like these stories are tightening
up with the times.
And while so many silly caddies continue to argue about the golfers’ futures,
10-year-old work-in-progress Stevie Pittman’s focus is never clouded. “I just want
to have fun and surf,” he says. “I try not to think too much about all these
contests and stuff.”
FINAL
RESULTS OF THE 43RD ANNUAL ESA EASTERN SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS:
FINAL
YOUTH RESULTS:
MENEHUNE
1. Luke Gordon (NSC)
2. Stevie Pittman (CNC)
3. Chris O’Donnell (TCFL)
4. Luke Marks (CFL)
BOYS
1. Cam Richards (NSC)
2. Daniel Glenn (NCFL)
3. Corey Howell (CFL)
4. Giorgio Gomez (TCFL)
JUNIOR MENS 1. Nick Rupp (SNC)
2. Chris Tucker (CFL)
3. Dylan Kowalski (SNC)
4. Keto Burns (NFL)
MENEHUNE
LONGBOARD
1. Daniel Glenn (NCFL)
2. Fisher Grant (CFL)
3. Zach Freyer (NSC)
4. Canon Embrey (SAFL)
JUNIOR
LONGBOARD 1. Cam Fullmer (VA)
2. Bradley Rose (SNC)
3. Patrick Nichols (PBFL)
4. Zach Tomlinson (SNJ)
MENEHUNE
BODYBOARD 1. Jackson Lewis (VA)
2. Noah Fiedler (VA)
3. Joey Gillen (OBNC)
4. Simon Hetrick (DMV)
FINAL
ADULT RESULTS:
OPEN
SHORTBOARD 1. Chris Tucker (CFL)
2. Nick Rupp (SNC)
3. Shane Burn (SNC)
4. Corey Howell (CFL)
ALL STAR
TAG TEAM 1. SNC District Team, 42.33 points
2. NSC District Team, 40.46 points
3. TCFL District Team, 29.83 points
4. SNJ District Team, 18.57 points
IRON MAN
1. Pat Emery (CNJ), 71 points
MENS
1. Connor Willem (CNJ)
2. Chase Robertson (TCFL)
3. Royce Weber (CNJ)
4. Rick Mellen (PBFL)
MASTERS
1. Slater Powell (CNC)
2. Burton Hathaway (GRLK)
3. Jeff Anthony (NY)
4. Prescott Metcalf (OBNC)
SENIOR MENS
1. Jason Motes (NFL)
2. Pat Emery (CNJ)
3. Chuck Barend (SNE)
4. Kai Dilling (SSC)
GRANDMASTERS
1. Reese Patterson (OBNC)
2. Charley Hajek (SAFL)
3. Joe Gillen (OBNC)
4. Jay Smith (NCFL)
LEGENDS
1. Bobby Holland (VA)
2. Doug Bogue (TCFL)
3. Jon Jones (PBFL)
4. Ed Fawess (NY)
GRAND
LEGENDS
1. George Alford (NCFL)
2. Michael Clark (VA)
3. Tom McClaren (SNJ)
4. Chum McCranels (PBFL)
WOMENS
1. Teale Beckenbach (NFL)
2. Laura Parks (NSC)
3. Katie Sullivan (NFL)
4. Gigi Reiter (EWF)
LADIES
1. Ana Barend (SNE)
2. Terry Green (NSC)
3. Vivian Jordan (NSC)
4. Cayce Patterson (OBNC)
MENS LONGBOARD 1. Steven Mangiacapre (SNC)
2. Alex Fawess (NY)
3. Kevin DeWald (SNJ)
4. Shane Matthews (SNJ)
MASTERS LONGBOARD
1. Pat Emery (CNJ)
2. Chuck Barend (SNE)
3. Jason Motes (NFL)
4. Dave Mello (SSC)
LEGENDS
LONGBOARD
1. Bill Whatley (NCFL)
2. Tom Leonik (SNJ)
3. Lenny Nichols (NNE)
4. Joe Grottola (SNJ)
LADIES
LONGBOARD
1. Ana Barend (SNE)
2. Kim Romagnesi (NY)
3. Jo Pickett (SNC)
4. Vivian Jordan (NSC)
OPEN BODYBOARD
1. John Heyman (NY)
2. Brian Breiholz (OBNC)
3. Kyle Latch (DMV)
4. Matt Landon (DMV)
GREG NOLL
EAST COAST HALL OF FAME (INVITATIONAL) 1. Peter Pan (SNE)
2. Chum McCranels (PBFL)
ADULT HOT
WAVE
1. Ana Barend (SNE), perfect score (straight 10s)
THE OLD IN-OUT
The 2009 WRV Outer Banks Pro Presented By Hurley Is Moving Ahead Like Clockwork
Along The Graveyard Of The Atlantic... Let's Hope Hurricane Season Doesn’t Dish
Out A Bit Of The Old Ultraviolence
BILL OF SALE Surf Expo Comes To Town Early With Lower-Than-Usual
Attendance Rumors And Category 4 Hurricane Bill Zooming In. Will You Blow Town To
Bro Down Or Sit Tight And Get Right?
