The Eastern Surfing Association held its 2013 Northeast Regional Surfing Championships in Sea Isle City, New Jersey this past weekend, showcasing the best amateur surfers from New England, New York, New Jersey and also the Great Lakes.
“The contest was so much fun,” said ESA Executive Director Michelle Sommers. “Although the waves were pretty small, they remained consistent throughout the event and the competitors put on a fantastic show. The local businesses and South Jersey surf community really came out to support the ESA. It was nice to bring our event to an area affected by Hurricane Sandy to help support the local economy, and Sea Isle City really pulled out the stops to show the ESA a good time!”
Competitors qualified for this event through their local ESA districts over the past year and were competing for a coveted slot at the ESA’s premier event, the 46th Annual Eastern Surfing Association Championships (Easterns®), scheduled for September 15-21 at Nags Head, North Carolina. The ESA’s Northeast Regionals was also qualifier for the Surfing America Prime Series and the Surfing America USA Championships.
There was a live webcast on the ESA website (www.surfesa.org) featuring surf action and interviews by Beach Video during all three days of competition. “It was wonderful to be able to allow people who couldn’t attend the event in person to view it live online while it was happening,” says Sommers. “There is also a video recap of each day of competition on our website for those who were unable to watch it live.”
History was made in the Open Shortboard division, with Southern New Jersey Junior Women’s standout and ESA All-Star, Cassidy McClain, taking out all the guys to win first place. Second place went to Chuck Barend, and third to Chad Bruce. Alex Brooks, Andrew Rooney and Kyle Tester rounded out the the Open Final with fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
The ESA Under Armour Junior Mens division saw Central New Jersey’s Patrick Parenty claim first place over Chad Bruce in second and Cooper Fortney in third. Central New Jersey also took the Boys division and the Menehunes division, with Spencer Bridges winning Boys, followed by Greg Osborne and Andrew Rooney, and Jude Clark winning Menehunes, followed by Kyle Tester in second and Logan Kamen in third.
New York’s Miller Overbeck won the Girls division over Jordan Allegretto, with Maria Barend and Kallie Leonik tying for third. Cassidy McClain was also a winner in the Junior Womens division, followed by Selena Moberly in second and Lindsay Bariault in third place.
South Jersey’s Tom O’Brien took first in the Jimmy Lewis Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) surfing division, with Craig Lieder in second and Patrick Dermody in third.
The Junior Iron Man award went to Spencer Bridges, who competed in multiple divisions and had the highest placings in those divisions during the event, while Tom O’Brien won the Iron Man award.
The Hot Wave Award was given to Southern New Jersey’s Kevin Dewald , who scored a 9.07 in the Mens Longboard division, closely followed by Cassidy McClain, with a 9.00 in Open Shortboard.
There was also an exciting All Star Tag Team event, featuring five ESA districts battling one another for bragging rights. The ESA’s Northern New England District won the event, with a team consisting of Juli Brown, Kainalu Nichols, Carter Walsh and Chad Bruce. Central New Jersey came in second, followed by New York District, Southern New Jersey District and another Central New Jersey team.
Photos of the event taken by Surfer Magazine’s Joe McGovern are posted on the ESA website and Facebook page.
Special thanks go out to Sea Isle City, Imperial Cerveza and Heritage Surf & Sport, along with all the local sponsors who helped make the event a success. ESA National Sponsors include Under Armour, Sun Bum, Hyperflex Wetsuits, Starboard Surfboards, Jimmy Lewis SUP, Catch Surf, Surfer Magazine and Swellinfo.