JJ Slays Jupiter
Fall Classic, Nils Clinches Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series By
Mark Schram; Photos by Mark Hill
TURF: 9th Annual Jupiter
Pro/Am Fall Classic Presented By Kona Brewing Company; Carlin Park, Jupiter,
FL; November 20th-22nd, 2009
ENERGY: Conditions were tough for
many of the heats, with knee to waist-high waves breaking right on shore,
forcing competitors to drop in over rocks exposed by swell from Nor’Ida. The
Jupiter Fall Classic featured some cuts, broken fins, and dinged boards, but
the good news is nobody was injured. As competition wore on each day and tide
conditions improved, the ENE windswell delivered some decent sets in the chest
to head-high range, but even with those rare good sets, the swell’s lack of
power, long lulls, and poor form made it difficult at times for even the best
surfers to showcase their talents.
FIRST TIME
AT FIGHT CLUB: This year, the Jupiter
Pro/Am Fall Classic served as the third and last leg of the Western Atlantic
Pro Surf Series, a “triple crown” of sorts that Jupiter Fall Classic Co-Founder
and Director Mike Bloom created to spark interest in the East Coast Surfing
Championships in Virginia Beach, the Belmar Pro in New Jersey, and the Jupiter
Fall Classic in Florida. The winner of each event earned an all-expenses-paid
expedition to a Western Atlantic island for the filming of upcoming surf movie Kayabuya, while the surfer who
accumulated the most overall points earned four trips and $5000.
SLIDE: Run by Bloom and Event
Co-Founder/President James McDow, the Jupiter Fall Classic has become a South
Florida tradition that consistently attracts top-shelf East Coast talent and
the best entertainment in the area. The event kicked off with a registration
party on Friday night at Guanabanas with music from Quincy Mumford and Can’t
Hang, while the guys from Kona Brewing were on hand to dole out samples of
their tasty craft beer and Monster Energy Drink proved why their sales are
beginning to exceed that of popular soft drinks.
With
the waves lacking a bit on Saturday, standout Monster Energy Men’s Pro
competitors like Jeremy Johnston and Noah Schweizer utilized an incoming tide
push to dominate the challenging conditions, with JJ connecting from the mushy
outside to find some solid inside pockets that allowed for carving 360s and
hefty schwacks. Noah, one of the youngest competitors, also capitalized on the
quick inside section, fitting his small frame into several nearshore bowls. In
the Square Grouper Men’s Longboard division, there was a gulf in the decades of
experience, but local duffer Brian Bowen eventually outstyled East Coast star
Mikey DeTemple to take 1st-place. In the Ocean Magic Junior Pro division, Keto
Burns held off a stacked field for the win, and in Women’s Pro, Cocoa Beach
wahine Lauren McLean displayed shades of power surfing in the smallish
conditions to earn a victory. Saturday night’s festivities included jamming out
to hugely popular local reggae band B-Liminal at the Square Grouper, before
Sunday dawned with more morning sickness in the wave department.
Luckily,
an afternoon bikini contest kept the attention level up, before the incoming
tide again delivered the goods, allowing JJ, Aaron Cormican, last year’s
Jupiter Fall Classic champion Alek Parker, and Asher Nolan to slug it out in a
heated final. JJ’s chops were just too strong for the other competitors, and as
he exited the water with a sure win in the bag, Gorkin was on hand to spray him in the face with a celebratory beer, before he and Nils Schweizer chaired
the champ up the beach. Big ups go out to Jorge Gonzalez and Lance-O from
Kulcha Shok for announcing the event and keeping the spectators entertained and
informed.
THE PAIN: North Florida kingpin Asher
Nolan looked poised to win at times, but in the end came up a few maneuvers
short of victory. “Slasher” did put on a clinic up until the final, simply
annihilating every inside bowl that came his way. South Florida surf fans would
have loved to see Big Wave Dave in the shortboard division, although he did
make the Men’s Longboard final, and Jupiter loc’dogs were understandably bummed
when local hero Ryan Helm gracefully bowed out in the semifinals.
THE MAN: 2008 champ Alek Parker
nailed one of the highest single scores of the event for destorying the
lip backside on a solid outside wave, and Kyle Garson, Cheyne
Cottrell, and Jensen Callaway surfed hard into the semis. Jeremy Johnston
and veteran aerialist Aaron Cormican pleased the crowd in the final, with JJ
displaying a ridiculous ability to continuously connect every wave he caught.
However, the last laugh was reserved for Nils Schweizer, as the fellow New
Smyrna Beach native won $5000 and four trips to the Caribbean as his reward for
dominating the Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series.
FINAL RESULTS OF THE 9TH ANNUAL JUPITER PRO/AM FALL CLASSIC PRESENTED BY KONA BREWING COMPANY
MONSTER ENERGY MENS PRO 1. Jeremy Johnston, $2500
2. Aaron Cormican, $1200
3. Alek Parker, $600
4. Asher Nolan, $350
5. Ryan Helm, Cheyne Cottrell, $200
7. Jensen Callaway, Kyle Garson, $100
SQUARE GROUPER MENS
LONGBOARD 1. Brian Bowen, $600
2. Justin Quintal, $300
3. Mikey DeTemple, $200
4. Cooper Brandt, $100
SENIOR MENS LONGBOARD
1. Brian Bowen, $200
2. Doug Bogue, $120
3. Carmen Garcia, $80
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
