The Eastern Surfing Association held its 2013 Southeast Regional Surfing Championships at the New Smyrna Beach Inlet in New Smyrna Beach, Florida this past weekend, showcasing the best amateur surfing in the region.
“It was an exciting contest,” said ESA Executive Director Michelle Sommers. “We had consistent surf throughout the entire event, and the competitors put on a fantastic display of progressive surfing. The local surf community really came out to support the ESA, and everyone seemed thrilled with the positive direction in which the organization is moving.”
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 three Regional events are also qualifiers for the Surfing America Prime Series and the Surfing America USA Championships.
There was a live webcast during all four days of competition on the ESA website (www.surfesa.org). “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.
This was the first official year for the Jimmy Lewis SUP Surfing Division, which was dominated by Giorgio Gomez, who took first, with Kieran Grant in second, and Fisher Grant in third. Taking the Menehune Division was Noah Dovin, with Blake Elmore and Christian Daniels in second and third, respectively.
Nick Groshell, Chris O’Donnell and Chase Stevens were the one, two, three finishers in the Boys Division, while Parker Greenwood, followed by Cobie Gittner and Hobie Sears rounded out the top three in the Under Armour Junior Mens Division.
The Girls Division was lead by Shealyn Cunningham, with Izzi Gomez in second and Avery Aydelotte in third, while Piper Austin took Junior Womens, followed by Jazmine Dean and Sydney Herring.
The Iron Man and Iron Woman Awards were presented to Fisher Grant and Izzi Gomez, who competed in multiple divisions and had the highest placings in those divisions during the event. There was also an exciting All Star Tag Team event, featuring six ESA districts battling one another for bragging rights, with North Central Florida District coming in first place, followed by St. Augustine District in second and North Florida District in third.
A complete list of all the results can be found at www.surfesa.org. Photos of the event are posted on the ESA website and Facebook page. The webcast will be repeated in its entirety on the ESA website over the next several days.
Special thanks go out to ESA National Sponsors, including Under Armour, Sun Bum, Hyperflex Wetsuits, Starboard Surfboards, Jimmy Lewis SUP, Catch Surf, Surfer Magazine, and Swellinfo.
Also, just a reminder to stay tuned for info on the ESA Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Regional events, which will be taking place in the coming weeks.
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