YOUNG AND OLD

Sweetwater Leaves It Up To The Grom At Oakley Surf Shop Challenge Mid-Atlantic Regional      Qualifier; “Uncle” Andrew Gesler Drives Heritage Win Home In Northeast
       By Matt Pruett and Nick McGregor

 
 

TURF: Oakley Surf Shop Challenge Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Qualifiers; Casino Pier, Seaside Heights, NJ, and Kitty Hawk Bath House, Kitty Hawk, NC; April 20th and 22nd, 2010

ENERGY: One good thing about toughing out a gnarly winter is all those freezing offshores make for tits sandbars. While the surf forecast predicted knee-high or worse in both New Jersey and North Carolina, consistent thigh- to waist-high dumpers in the Garden State and chest-high sets on the Outer Banks complemented idyllic springtime weather in both locations.

Down Tarheel way, 10 to 15 mph southeast winds made longtime Whalebone family statesman Barry Price exclaim, “Look how that wedging right keeps peaking off that rip! Man, the sandbars in town are so good right now.”

FIRST TIME AT FIGHT CLUB: You wouldn’t know it from the slim spectator turnout, but both events were actually fine forums in which to showcase the best surfers from Maine to New Jersey in the Northeast and three states (Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina) in the Mid-Atlantic, all pitting their blades and footwork against one another in hopes of helping their team secure a slot in the $10,000 Oakley Surf Shop Challenge National Championships later this summer in Huntington Beach, CA.

The contest series’ newly instituted Mid-Atlantic Regional made many surfers happy. “We really didn’t want to have to drive up to cold-ass New Jersey this year,” chimed Virginia Beach-based Coastal Edge teamrider Lucas Rogers, who helped his team grab runner-up honors in their first year competing in last year’s somewhat ill-attended Garden State Challenge. “Holding it down here is so much better because we don’t have to drive as far and it feels like just another session with the boys.”

“We couldn’t be happier about how this first Mid-Atlantic event that’s been added to the series worked out,” said Competition Director Darren Brilhart. “Having a two-day waiting period was key. We scouted the whole area the day before with some local advice, and found this was the best sandbar, though we knew we had to get going at 8:00 a.m. and finish before the tide got too high. We added computer scoring and brought out an ASP International judge to make for a more professional event. But the main goal is the same: to bring credibility to the surf shops, while giving the teamriders — who already get a lot of free stuff and attention — an opportunity to compete alongside the employees who put in such hard work in the stores. It’s great to have the shop guys reap some of the glamour for a change.”

SLIDE: “It’s all on you grom!”

But there was no pressure as Sweetwater dispatched their last surfer, Mason Barnes, into the Mid-Atlantic final. Ten squads from Virginia Beach to South Carolina composed of surf shop teamriders and store employees — Sweetwater, Whalebone-OB, Village People, 17th Street, Wave Riding Vehicles-OB, Whalebone-VB, The Pit, Coastal Edge, Wave Riding Vehicles-VB, and Outer Banks Boarding Company — competed in one round of two tag-team-relay-style heats, the five teams with the highest point tallies (one score per competitor plus double for the whammy surfer’s claimed wave, only three rides allowed per surfer) advancing to the 70-minute final. And with Outer Banks Boarding Company ringer Noah Snyder (the only regularfoot whammy surfer in the comp) blowing it on a bomb (read below), Village’s Cam Richards being too patient and subsequently getting dogged by the rising tide, and Wave Riding Vehicles-VB’s recently rostered Floridian Jeremy Johnston claiming a ho-hum 5.33 early in the heat, Coastal Edge looked to take the win, as Lucas Rogers backed up an earlier round 8.8 backside air-reverse with a squared-off backside clinic punctuated with a reverse for an 8.5.

Luckily for Mason, Sweetwater’s whammy surfer, Michael Powell, tagged a right to the sand on his third wave for an 8.67. Powell, who’s preparing to graduate from UNC Wilmington and begin an internship with Northwestern Mutual in hopes of getting his life insurance license, left the grom only requiring 2.76 points to grab the victory. Mason posted 4.04, 3.6, and 5.93. More than enough.

In the Northeast Qualifier, the tight Heritage Surf Shop squad of Andrew Gesler, Jamie Moran, Zack Humphreys, and Ian Bloch repeated their Garden State victory from last year, beating the Kelly brothers-led 7th Street Surf Shop 29.31 to 21.59 in the final. “We have a consistent formula for running under the [OSSC] format that’s only been fine-tuned after each passing year,” Gesler said. “We’re ready to take it out west again — not to mention there’s a fire under our asses because of not competing as a full team last year due to conflicting schedules.”

THE PAIN: “I guess I need a 12 now,” joked OBBC whammy surfer Noah Snyder after teammate Chris McDonald ate it on a crucial wave on takeoff. But on his first wave — the biggest and best of the day — Noah pearled like a Newport News housewife, forcing him to swim in and retrieve his gleaming-new board in front of a beach access full of smack-talking entourages, and effectively putting his team out of the running. “I have never seen that in my life,” barked a flabbergasted Wes Laine. “Noah is Mr. Clutch.”

THE MAN: If Coastal Edge buyer Wes Laine quarantines the guy at a righthand pointbreak for a month, then forces him to do a winter in Hawaii the way Wes did at that age, Lucas Rogers will be the best surfer in Virginia Beach. If he isn’t already.

Ditto for South Jersey’s Andrew Gesler, who proved he rips on anything under his feet. “Uncle” Andrew rode a 5’5” twin-fin in the Northeast qualifier, notching double-whammy scores of 7.13 and 8.17 that were all the more surprising given Casino Pier’s middling surf. “Surfboard quivers are like a bag of golf clubs these days,” Gesler said. “You need the right club for each situation. [That’s why] I rode a wider board with more volume that helped me get into those waves.”

YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB:
“So WRV gets to pull Jeremy Johnston out of Florida so he can paddle right out and get a 9.0 for them. Friggin’ lame.” –Whalebone-OB teamrider Sterling King on Wave Riding Vehicles’ suspicious acquisition of New Smyrna Beach, FL, pro Jeremy Johnston (along with Wrightsville Beach’s Mark Yonkers). The obvious whammy designee, JJ posted an event-high 9.0 for a blistering series of backhand verts in Heat #2 of Round One

“Yeah, we tried to stack it. We put Yonkers on the team just last week and JJ’s been riding our boards for a couple months now. He’s WRV’s pride and joy down in Florida now.” –Wave Riding Vehicles team member and Surf Camp honcho Brendan Petticrew

“Hey, surfboards cost money.” –Jeremy Johnston’s astute explanation

“I think the concentration of shops in New Jersey play a critical role in the East Coast retail marketplace. And in terms of surf talent, whatever shop wins this Northeast Qualifier has a good chance at the national title.” –Oakley Marketing Director Liam Barrett, speculating on Heritage’s chances at a Oakley Surf Shop Challenge National Championship

FINAL RESULTS OF THE OAKLEY SURF SHOP CHALLENGE NORTHEAST REGIONAL QUALIFIER:
1. Heritage [www.heritagesurf.com], 29.31 points (Jamie Moran, Zack Humphreys, Andrew Gesler*, Ian Bloch)
2. 7th Street [www.7thstreetsurfshop.com], 21.59 points (Brian Williams, Rob Kelly*, Chris Kelly, Sean Santiago)
3. Inlet Outlet [www.inletoutlet.com], 20.62 points (Corey Frank, Terence Doll, Pat Schmidt*, Justin Taylor)
4. Bare Wires [www.barewiresurfskate.com], 20.10 points (Clay Pollioni, Tommy Ihnken, Tyler Thompson, PJ Raia*)

FINAL RESULTS OF THE OAKLEY SURF SHOP CHALLENGE MID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL QUALIFIER:
1. Sweetwater [www.sweetwatersurfshop.com], 33.37 points (Ross Stevens, Michael Powell*, Mason Barnes, Owen Moffett)
2. Coastal Edge [www.coastaledge.com], 29.74 points (Wes Laine, Lucas Rogers*, Bryce Humphreys, Tyler Bohn)
3. Wave Riding Vehicles-VA [www.waveridingvehicles.com], 25.06 points (Jeremy Johnston*, Mark Yonkers, Brendan Petticrew, Ian Parnell)
4. Outer Banks Boarding Company [www.outerbanksboarding.com], 15.76 points (Noah Snyder*, Chris McDonald, Jamie DeWitt-Baittinger,
Morgan Taylor Leavel)
5. Village People [www.villagesurf.com], 13.66 points (Cam Richards*, Cole Richards, Luke Gordon, Evan Barton)

 



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