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

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