Gorkin Wins, But Community Rules At 6th Annual Before
The Fall Pro-Am By Mike Martin
TURF: 6th
Annual Before The Fall Pro-Am Presented By Christian Surfers New Smyrna Beach; Bethune
Beach, New Smyrna Beach, FL; November 14th-15th, 2009
ENERGY: The
waves were two to four-foot in ENE energy with good form, and light winds prevailed
both days. The outside bar at Bethune provided just the right platform to allow
competitors one or two big outside moves, before connecting to the shorebreak
for a finishing smash. And you can’t beat perfect, sunny weather on a mid-November
weekend.
FIRST TIME
AT FIGHT CLUB: Before The Fall is a low key, word-of-mouth event
that draws the same group of New Smyrna Beach locals every year. All the
finalists in 2009 were repeats from 2008, with the exception of Kyle Garson,
who replaced Nils Schweizer. Other Brevard County rippers making the drive this
year included Gary Wheeler and Chris Duff.
SLIDE: Before
The Fall was instituted in 2004 as an outreach by the New Smyrna Beach chapter
of Christian Surfers, which is led by Co-Directors Kate and Bill Whatley.
Longtime competitors themselves, the Whatleys both hold past U.S. National titles,
yet they conceived the Before The Fall contest as the most direct way to reach
out to the local surfing community. While the event has remained modest in
size, the annual Pro Division always attracts the cream of the New Smyrna crop,
and for six years running has enjoyed the status of a de facto “City Championship.”
30-year-old Aaron Cormican
claimed his third consecutive victory in Men’s Pro at the annual event, with
Evan Geiselman placing 2nd, Jeremy Johnston placing 3rd, and Kyle Garson of
Melbourne Beach rounding out the final in 4th-place. Flagler Beach 17-year-old Haley
Watson won the Women’s Pro division over three New Smyrna Beach locals: Amy
Nicholl, Nat Varano, and Abaco Schweizer.
The Whatleys’ stated goal
since the inception of the event was to make Before The Fall as close to an
ASP-level contest as they could. “We hire ASP-rated judges,” Bill Whatley said,
“and Dylan Feindt has been the Head Judge for the past two years.” Feindt, a 27-year-old
New Smyrna Beach native, has been rising through the ranks of ASP judges for
the past three years, and most recently returned from Peru, where he judged the
Movistar Peru Classic stop on the ASP Women’s World Tour. “Before The Fall is
great for allowing the local spectators to see these guys’ level of surfing,”
Feindt said. “The waves were good again this year — maybe better than
last year. And the local finalists are a good example of the age range of New
Smyrna talent. You can’t say that they’re different generations, but Aaron is
now 30, Jeremy is 25, and Evan’s only 16. It was a super close final, with
Aaron less than a point ahead of Evan on most judges’ sheets.”
“It was a glorious event,
with beautiful weather and waves,” said Christian Surfers NSB Co-Director and
Before The Fall co-founder Kate Whatley. “I could see God’s hand in all of it.
At first I was worried because the turnout was down this year, but I realized
we should just relax and enjoy the fellowship with the surfers who did come. We
get great community support from our local sponsors, so it’s more about
celebrating the glory of God than breaking even on the books.”
Kate’s husband and Before
The Fall co-founder Bill once again showed his nine-foot-plus mastery, winning
the Longboard Pro division at the tender age of 51. 2nd-place was 17-year-old Chris
Lind of Palm Coast, 3rd-place went to 43-year-old NSB local Gene Varano, and 14-year-old
Georgia boy Josh Richardson finished 4th. Whatley remains one of the most
stoked surfers in New Smyrna Beach, whether riding his longboard or shortboard
or on the beach taking photos. “We love doing this contest every year because
of its spirit,” Bill said. “And I still love competing.”
THE PAIN: This
contest is a genuine feel-good event, and normal competitive angst is virtually
non-existent. Perhaps the only stressful moment was when local ESA-NCFL
District Co-Director Gene Varano broke his board in the Longboard Final.
THE MAN: While
the 1st-place purse was a relatively modest $1000, repeat champion Cormican
said Before The Fall remains one of his favorite events. “The level of surfing
is insane, and the day has such a good vibe to it,” Cormican said. “No one gets
mad over the contest, parents and families all come out to watch, and it’s just
a good time. We need more events like this one.” Cormican is well placed to
compare different events because he has enjoyed a remarkable year of East Coast
competition, notching two handfuls of victories. Indisputably the champ of New Smyrna, Gorkin’s 2009 run began with a victory at the LandShark Spring Surfari
Pro in April. “I can’t complain,” he said. “My boards have been working great.
I won six of those events on the same 5’9”, which I’ve been keeping in a closet
just for competition. I feed off the level of surfing that we have amongst the
locals here. I surf with Jeremy just about every day, and we push each other so
hard freesurfing, that when we get to a contest, we’re ready!”
Even though he came in a
close 2nd-place, Evan Geiselman expressed a similar opinion about the standard
of local surfing, even though his blossoming pro career keeps him away from
home most of the time. “It was a sick contest,” Evan said. “I’m glad I was in
town for it again, and the waves were really fun. It’s always a challenge
competing against Kyle Garson — he’s probably in New Smyrna more than I
am.”
YOU DO NOT
TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB: “Haley Watson’s dad told me that he got a call from
Haley before he left home to watch the final. Haley asked him to bring along a
new, unused wetsuit she had recently won as a prize. She made a gift of it to
one of her opponents, because Haley learned the girl didn’t have a wetsuit of
her own.” –ESM Chief Photographer/ Co-founder Dick
Meseroll, reflecting on the community nature of the event which he witnessed
for the first time
“I also heard [Haley’s]
story — that’s really the spirit of what this contest is all about.”
–Before The Fall Co-founder/ Christian Surfers New Smyrna Beach
Co-Director Kate Whatley
FINAL RESULTS OF THE 6TH ANNUAL BEFORE THE FALL
PRO-AM PRESENTED BY CHRISTIAN SURFERS NEW SMYRNA BEACH
MENS PRO 1. Aaron Cormican, $1000 2. Evan Geiselman, $ 600 3. Jeremy Johnston, $400 4. Kyle Garson, $200
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By Matt Pruett and Nick McGregor;
Photos by Matt Lusk
