CJ Comes Home, Captures Second Slater Brothers Invitational Victory By Nick McGregor
TURF: 4th Annual World Skin Cancer Foundation Slater
Brothers Invitational; Coconuts On The Beach, Cocoa Beach, FL; November
6th-8th, 2009
ENERGY: Unlike past years, the Slater Brothers Invitational
had plenty of swell — just plenty of wind, too. But when Cocoa Beach is
three to five-foot, you take what you can get, even if the wind’s blowing
onshore at 25 mph. Unfortunately, the finals paddled out on Saturday at dead
low tide, leading fans on the beach to bust out their binoculars just to see
the boys carving through some Cocoa Beach mushburgers.
FIRST TIME
AT FIGHT CLUB: After running at the
Holiday Inn Oceanfront its first two years and the Hilton last year, the Slater
Brothers Invitational moved in 2009 to Coconuts On The Beach, which allowed for
a more open, party-friendly vibe — and also provided space for a
mini-ramp on the beach. “This was the first place I ever surfed when I was five
years old,” Event Co-Director Sean Slater said. “It’s our local spot, and it’s
where everyone hangs out, so it’s awesome to have the contest here.”
In addition, the final day of the Invitational featured
a “Surfing With The Stars” event, which allowed local surfers like Corey
Howell, Sam Duggan, and Frankie Naumann the opportunity to surf with Kelly
Slater, CJ Hobgood, Benji Weatherley, and Todd Holland, depending on how much money
they raised for the World Skin Cancer Foundation. “We tried the team thing this
year, and there was a lot of interest in it,” Sean said. “Any reason to raise
money for a good cause and get the kids out there surfing with the stars is a
good one.”
SLIDE: Even with the sloppy conditions, top Brevard County
talent like Mason Sapp, David Awbrey, Jake Kirschenbaum, Alek Parker, Justin
Jones, Chris Duff, Eddie Guilbeau, Marshall Alberga, CT Taylor, and Kyle Garson
mixed it up with WCT veterans Kelly Slater, CJ Hobgood, and Shea Lopez, and
Sunshine State standouts Asher Nolan, Jeremy Johnston, and Ryan Briggs.
Unfortunately, both Kelly and Shea fell ill before shortboard competition
began, opening the floodgates for a new Slater Invitational champion to be
crowned.
But in the shortboard semifinals, a few shockers
occurred, with Justin Jones downing competitive machine Asher Nolan in
Semifinal #1 and Cocoa Beach native David Awbrey, who’s coming off a nasty knee
injury, defeating Alek Parker in Semifinal #2. Perennial Slater Brothers
finalist Kyle Garson drew CJ Hobgood in Semifinal #3, but CJ’s on-fire foam
climb/ rock ‘n’ roll combos and explosive reverses in the soft conditions
ensured his advancement. In the three-man final, powerful tail-out
backside turns and butter-smooth reverses clinched the victory for CJ, as
Awbrey and Jones simply couldn’t find a steep section to work with.
In Pro Longboard action, Jacksonville top tipper
Justin Quintal couldn’t be beat, riding nearly every wave in the final from the
far outside all the way to the sand while mixing up hang fives, sweeping
cutbacks, and even a few almost-vertical turns on his 9’0”. Contest MC Hunter
Joslin remarked several times throughout the event that Quintal “looked like a
man possessed,” and Justin withstood the stiff competition from East Coast star
Mikey DeTemple and Cocoa Beach loc’dog Shawn Bowman to claim the $800 1st-place
prize. “At least we had windy, mushy waves, instead of it being ankle-high,”
Quintal said. “But those are still some of the most challenging conditions I’ve
ever surfed in my life.”
THE PAIN: Other than the illnesses suffered by Shea and Kelly,
not much on offer at this fundraiser that benefits the World Skin Cancer
Foundation. Free skin cancer screenings went on throughout the weekend,
acoustic blues/ hip-hop singer/songwriter G. Love played to a packed house on
Friday night, and Rob Machado and Taylor Steele even showed up to premiere
their new movie The Drifter on
Saturday night. And even a temporary power outage on Saturday couldn’t slow the
Slater Brothers Invitational down. “We had no trouble with the electricity, and
the turnout was great,” Sean said. “I was stoked to get G. Love here, and the
event ran so smooth because the city of Cocoa Beach has been so cooperative. We’re
taking care of the beach, keeping it clean, and the city’s believing in us and
giving us the freedom to do a good job.” No pain there, that’s for sure.
THE MAN: CJ Hobgood lodged his second Slater Brothers
Invitational win in the contest’s four-year existence, and generously donated
his entire $1500 1st-place check back to the World Skin Cancer Foundation. “I
was just stoked there were waves,” CJ said. “I got to hang out with my daughter
and my friends, and raise a little money. It’s always cool when Kelly or myself
wins, because we donate our winnings back to charity.” Not too shabby for the
#5 ranked surfer in the world, who was supposed to be home on vacation.
And we have to give Kelly a little credit, not only
for showing up and getting swarmed by fans while suffering from what he called
the swine flu, but also for taking a good 15 minutes to speak with ESM about his past, present, and future.
“It’s a little crazy — I’ve been home for two days and I’ve had three
different conversations going at a time,” Kelly laughed. “But it’s good to see
people I grew up with and don’t get to see. This is the only event I can really
do in Florida, and it makes more sense to have it at Coconuts, where the beach
is easier to access.” Kelly was also surprisingly open about his 2009 ASP World
Tour performance, admitting, “I don’t think I was up for it from the onset
— there was a lot of pressure on me to win title #10.”
YOU DO NOT
TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB: “CJ has been
a part of this event for years, and he’s never complained once about it. It’s
like he goes to work all year, then comes home for vacation, and goes right
back to work.” –Slater Brothers Invitational Event
Co-Director Stephen “Skippy” Slater, on the generous nature of the contest’s
star competitors
“Where’s the Journey on this playlist?” –Contest
MC Travis Ajay, getting jiggy with Sean Slater’s iPod to soundtrack the event
“It’s cool that G. Love showed up — it meant a
lot to me, but I know it meant a whole lot more to Sean.” –Nine-time
ASP World Champion Kelly Slater, stoked on the hometown concert that went
hand-in-hand with the Slater Brothers Invitational
FINAL
RESULTS OF THE 4TH ANNUAL WORLD SKIN CANCER FOUNDATION SLATER BROTHERS
INVITATIONAL
PRO
SHORTBOARD 1. CJ Hobgood, $1500
2. Justin Jones, $800
3. David Awbrey, $600
4. Asher Nolan, Alek Parker, Kyle Garson
PRO LONGBOARD 1. Justin Quintal, $800 2. Mikey DeTemple, $500 3. Shawn Bowman, $500 4. Steve McLean, $300
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
