AAU
National Surfing Championships Give Surfers Young And Old A Unique Athletic
Opportunity By Prescott Metcalf
TURF: 2011 AAU National
Surfing Championships Hosted By Slater Brothers & Space Coast Sports
Promotions; Coconuts On The Beach, Cocoa Beach, FL; August 12th-14th, 2011.
ENERGY: “If Todd can head out
there and catch a wave then we’re running the contest.” So said Sean Slater of
his guinea pig friend Todd Holland on the opening morning of the 2011 AAU
National Surfing Championships. Yes, the waves were tiny — about as small
as you can get before a contest is called off. But what we lacked in waves for
the AAU National Championships was well made up for in terms of support and
stoke. The weather cooperated beautifully by bringing us into the dog days of
summer properly: sunny, a few patchy clouds, light and variable breezes, and
very hot sand with plenty of tourists.
FIRST TIME AT FIGHT CLUB: This
was your correspondent’s first contest in Florida waters. I wish the waves were
a little bigger for my 6’2”, 195-pound frame, but the people and vibes were
excellent. We also saw surfers from Rhode Island all the way down the Eastern Seaboard
to Florida, Texas, and Barbados. The lineup also saw a couple of other
visitors, probably not their first time at fight club, but welcomed either way
— over the loudspeakers during the course of the weekend I heard Sean and
Javier spot tons of manta rays, porpoises, manatees, whales, and spinner
sharks. “We’re really proud of this event and our goal is make it better year after year," said event sponsor Sean Slater. "It’s also about having fun and we hope everyone had a great time despite the small surf."
SLIDE: The AAU Championships
saw a slew of sponsors including City of Cocoa Beach, National Kidney
Foundation, Renewal, Jobbeedu, Phix Doctor, Mike Doyle Custom Surfboards, Sun
Bum, Cushe, Kashi, S.O.S., VitaCoco, Green Room Café, Coconuts On The Beach,
Christian Surfers, Bubble Gum, and GoPro. Space Coast Sports Promotions had a
live stream of the contest running from early Saturday through the finals and
awards ceremony on Sunday. The Eastern Surfing Association and the Texas Gulf Surfing
Association showed a very strong representation throughout the whole event.
Most if not all of the surfers in this competition participate or have
participated in one of those two organizations prior to competing here. “We are really happy to have these two organizations participate in the AAU," said AAU Director of Surfing Rusty Buchanan. "The AAU offers great insurance benefits to individuals and organizations alike and we’re hoping to get more organizations onboard to enjoy the same benefits and work towards the same goals and missions of the AAU." Even
though the waves were not all there the surfers were, with many eyeing the goal
of becoming an AAU National Champion and capturing one of the coveted slots
into the Slater Brothers Invitational come Halloween. This year, the top six finalist in Open Shortboard and Open Longboard earned those berths.
From the little groms in Junior Menehune
all the way up to the Open Shortboard Men’s and Women’s, and on through the
Senior Men’s divisions, competition was fierce. There was a moment in my
semifinal Open Longboard heat where eventual champion Corey Williams got a wave
that I should’ve been on. Sure I didn’t play my heat strategy right, but he
obviously wanted it more. In the end, we shook hands and I congratulated him on
his heat and eventual competition victory. It seemed everyone was doing this throughout
the course of the weekend, just showing fun and positive, competitive vibes,
aka great sportsmanship.
The judging panel of Bryan Hewitson, Cam
Anderson, John Holeman, and Stephen “Skippy” Slater were genuine to honor the
best surfers for their standout performances. If you’re a good surfer and a
great competitor you’ll find ways to win, from one-foot to ten-foot —
truly competitive surfers will prevail (even if they get a little lucky.)
THE PAIN: Not one competitor
was allowed to complain about the conditions because we all had to surf in it.
I think the most pain we saw was a seagull wrapped up in fishing line that some
St. Augustine competitors paddled out to bring in and set free. Also, the
copious amounts of cigarette butts that are readily available next to you in
your spot of sand on the beach and everywhere else. Bruce Moeller and the crew
from the Cocoa Beach Surfrider Foundation kept us on our toes throughout the
weekend to be good stewards towards our beaches and ocean. "We were also really happy to see that attendees and participants made an effort to keep the event area clean," Sean Slater said. "We make frequent announcements to clean up trash off the beach and it made a difference at the event this weekend with so many people."
THE MAN: The ladies and
gents who stood out the most and were most heard over the loudspeakers were Sam
Duggan, Corey Williams, Chris Duff, Jazmine Dean, and Cassidy Melane. They as
well as a few others showed us they could surf anything throughout a
competition and come out on top. The Sportsmanship Award went to a surfer who
traveled down from Virginia to compete after a tough start to the summer. James
Normile found surfing to be his release of energy and emotions from the loss of
his sister. He can attest as a lot of us can that surfing changes your life for
the better. I believe almost all of the folks there deserve some credit or
recognition. From the organizers, sponsors, families, and friends, the overall
feedback on the AAU National Championships is that it went very well. Sean and
Stephen Slater, Debbie Hodges and the many ESA District Directors (Will Gresham
and Cheryl Williams), G. Scott from Texas for the photos, and the supporters
and sponsors that were present made everyone feel welcome and comfortable.
YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB: “There is so much politics in surfing right now, and I’m just
trying to keep the surfing part out of that. Like the fun we had when we were
little kids and not worrying about the politics.” –Event organizer Sean
Slater
FINAL RESULTS OF THE 2011 AAU NATIONAL SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS
HOSTED BY SLATER BROTHERS & SPACE COAST SPORTS PROMOTIONS:
OPEN
SHORTBOARD 1. Chris Duff
2. Corey Howell
3. Sam Duggan
4. Tyde Behrens
5. Conner Lester
6. Shane Wiggins
OPEN
LONGBOARD 1. Corey Williams
2. Adam Vaughn
3. Sam Duggan
4. Michael Johnson
5. Canon Embry
6. Willey Prescott Cole
OPEN WOMENS 1. Cassidy Melane
2. Crystal Cooper
3. Jazmine Dean
4. Amanda Gaberson
5. Leah Taylor
6. Debbie Walker
WOMENS
LONGBOARD 1. Amanda Gaberson
2. Crystal Cooper
3. Jazmine Dean
4. Kati Radcliff
5. Jessica Libertore
6. Chelsea Gresham
GIRLS 1. Jazmine Dean
2. Rachel Presti
3. Serena Nava
4. Hadass Daigle
5. Aransas Blaha
6. Eva Woodland
MENS 1. Shane Wiggins
2. Alec Zappone
3. Wilson Lugo
4. Chad Carr
5. Tyde Behrens
6. Kieran Grant
SENIOR MENS 1. Steve Moldenhauer
2. Randy Sanders
3. Gino Tamaselli
4. Ray Klaus
BOYS 1. Chauncey Robinson
2. Josh Burke
3. Fisher Grant
4. Brock Roper
5. Nathan Marney
6. Riley Braun
JUNIOR MENS 1. Corey Howell
2. Conner Lester
3. Sam Duggan
4. Alec Zappone
5. Cannon Embry
6. Nick Hoff
South Carolina’s Cam Richards Steals 12th Annual
Tommy Tant Memorial Classic Men’s Pro Title From Florida Vets; Cody Thompson, Amy Nicholl,
Noah Schweizer, And Dan Worley Also Win Big
VQS
HITS THE JACKPOT AT CASINO PIER Jellyfish Surf Series Winners Include Local Boys
Hammer, Schmidt, Vanaman, And Siganos, Along With Florida Girl Emily Ruppert
DUBIOUS RECORD The WRV
Outer Banks Pro Presented By Hurley Offers Locals Genuine Perspective & More
Money Per Square Foot Of Wave Than Any Surf Contest In History
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
