New Jersey Darkhorse Pat Schmidt Upends Florida Favorites For Freshwater Victory At 2010
King Of The Groms By Nick McGregor
TURF: 2010 Quiksilver King Of The Groms; Typhoon Lagoon, Walt
Disney World, Orlando, FL; June 9th, 2010
ENERGY: Just like last year, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon
wave pool churned out mechanical three- to four-foot freshwater rights for a
select group of 28 Right Coast groms, all of whom were stoked to get a private
session in on the wave. The only irony? A rideable two- to three-foot windswell
popped up on the Space Coast the same day as this year’s King Of The Groms,
after Quiksilver East Coast main man Matt Kechele was forced to move the
contest west in 2009 due to a months-long Atlantic Ocean flat spell. But with a
handful of groms stoked to get the chance to surf Typhoon Lagoon for free, Kech
wasn’t fazed. “It can be really difficult to get good waves this time of year,
so the Disney Typhoon Lagoon wave pool is the perfect solution,” he said. “It’s
so nice to be able to count on surf.” Quiksilver U.S. Event Director Todd Kline
agreed: “We had such a great response from the competitors [last year] who got
guaranteed glassy three-foot surf at the Lagoon, that we are back in 2010!”
FIRST TIME AT FIGHT CLUB: With the novelty of
the freshwater location worn off in the King Of The Groms’ second year at
Typhoon Lagoon, Kech set about fine-tuning the Quiksilver Skins Select format
used in 2009. This year, the 28 surfers in Round One got the chance to surf
three waves, but didn’t have to worry about the pressure of choosing which one
to claim, as their highest wave score counted towards advancement. And
rather than only having two waves to catch in Round Two, each of the 14 surfers
who advanced got four rides in the final frame, giving them more time to refine
their approach to the unique, concrete-bottomed curl. Most impressively, after
only one competitor out of 38 in 2009 came from out of state, this year’s
whittled-down King Of The Groms field featured promising young talent from
every Florida region, in addition to South Carolina, North Carolina, New
Jersey, Puerto Rico, and even Barbados.
SLIDE: Never surfed a wave pool or watched someone else do it?
Think surfing in chlorine would be just as easy as shredding saltwater? Think
again. As contest announcer Jeremy Anderson succinctly put it, “Surfing in
freshwater’s a little different — there’s not quite as much power pushing
back at you.”
That didn’t slow
down first round standout like Jupiter, FL’s, Giorgio Gomez, who laid into a
backside tailslide right off the bat, or South Carolina’s Luke Gordon, who took
off close to the wall with confidence and linked smooth cutbacks with critical
floaters over the wave’s shallow end section. Southern North Carolina’s Knox
Harris displayed shades of Tarheel progenitors like Buddy Pelletier with his
clean, smooth bottom turns, while St. Augustine’s Jonathan Heater, the least
sponsored surfer of the entire event, used his bigger frame to muscle a few
backside carves into submission.
Central Florida
up-and-comer Corey Howell also looked strong coming out of his proper bottom
turns, while little Luke Marks stayed coiled up to explode with one of the best
frontside attacks of the event. Newport, NC’s, Stevie Pittman hashed out
strategy with his dad Chester before nearly landing a solid air-reverse, but it
was South Carolina’s Cam Richards who really sizzled, combining full-throated
backside slashes with a few near-perfect backside ollies.
Three of the last
four Round One surfers were also the hottest, as Manasquan, NJ’s, Pat Schmidt
used his length as an advantage to glide down each and every wave while linking
turns more seamlessly than anyone else. After Pat, New Smyrna Beach hotshot and
2009 King Of The Groms runner-up Noah Schweizer threw down some huge, stylish
cutback wraps to advance, while South Florida’s Tanner Strohmenger, 2009’s
3rd-place finisher, looked focused and determined on each pushed-to-the-limit
frontside turn and whitewater bash he could manage.
In the final round,
each surfer got four waves, with their best ride counting towards the final
tally. Luke Marks surfed solid but bogged a bit on his second wave, while
Giorgio Gomez flew across the pool, attempting to release his fins and push
each final maneuver past the breaking point. Noah Schweizer added a little extra
something to each of his wraps, and was the first surfer of the night to land a
proper frontside air on his last wave. Fellow NSB standout Daniel Glenn
displayed solid aggression, but may have suffered from some fin-choice issues
as he looked almost too fast for his own good.
Merritt Island’s
Sam Duggan spiced up the chlorinated wave pool with some downright classic
fades and soul arches, punctuating his second wave with a solid vertical snap,
before Tanner Strohmenger, one of the few competitors gambling and surfing
without a leash, tossed up air variations on three of his four Round Two waves
to do everything in his power to win. Treasure Coast rising star Nathan Behl
went for broke on nearly every ride too, before Cam Richards tested out his aerial
repertoire four times in a row.
Barbados grom Josh
Burke may be a little guy, but that didn’t affect his big top turns, and Burke
even got a little ollie in on his last attempt. Corey Howell landed a backside
air sideways in the face of the wave, increasing his score due to degree of
difficulty, before past King Of The Groms champion Mauro Diaz put together one
of the best top turn/lip bash combos of the contest. But when Pat Schmidt hit
the water for his last test drive, every kid, parent, and even Disney employee
on the premises knew who the winner was — not only did Pat lay down
butter-smooth frontside carves on all four of his waves, but he also landed an
air-reverse and an alley-oop on his first two attempts, netting a 8.61 for the
former that ended up being the highest score of the evening. “Pat put a little
more punctuation on his first turn, which is what the judges were looking for,”
Kechele said. “And then he finished each wave off strong, which is hard to do
out there.”
THE PAIN: According to some, Deerfield Beach’s Tanner
Strohmenger should have defeated Evan “Golden Child” Geiselman at the 2009 King
Of The Groms, making the South Florida standout a shoe-in favorite for this
year’s installation. But even for all of his aggressive slashes and aerial
attempts, Tanner still fell short with a 2nd-place finish. “I know Tanner was
bummed to be right on the edge again,” Kechele said. “He’s been on fire lately,
just surfing so good.”
THE MAN: What do you do if you unexpectedly win $1000, a
gaggle of gear for Best Air, another $250 for Best Wave, a trip to Capbreton,
France, for the Quiksilver King Of The Groms World Championships, and the honor
of the being the first Northeast surfer to ever win a KOG competition? For Pat
Schmidt, he wasn’t quite sure at first, looking hesitant as Kechele anointed
him with this year’s crazy cool green KOG crown and handed over the massive
winner’s check. “I’ve never surfed Typhoon Lagoon before — I didn’t think
it would be that different surfing in freshwater,” Schmidt said. “My first wave
felt really weird, but on my second wave, I got it down a little bit better and
built confidence as I surfed.” As everyone packed up to head home, though, Pat
could be seen off to the side, smiling and on the phone. “Hey Mom? Guess what?
I won!”
YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB: “It’s OK to smile and
have fun, Pat!” –Quiksilver main man/ King Of The Groms
Contest Organizer Matt Kechele, urging 2010 champion Pat Schmidt to celebrate
his victory
“I'm stoked to get
the trip to France in September, and since I'm heading to California for NSSA
Nationals and the U.S.A. Champs next, this is definitely a good way to get some
momentum going." –New Jersey underdog/ 2010 Quiksilver King Of
The Groms champion Pat Schmidt
FINAL RESULTS OF THE 2010 QUIKSILVER KING OF THE GROMS:
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;
Photos by Matt Lusk
