The Eastern Surfing Association held its 2013 Mid-Atlantic Regional Surfing Championships in Ocean City, Maryland this past weekend, showcasing the best amateur surfing in the region.
“It was an exciting contest,” said ESA Executive Director Michelle Sommers. “We had great weather and consistent surf throughout the entire event. The competitors, some of whom drove more than 9 hours to compete, put on a fantastic display of progressive surfing. The local business and 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 by UnScene Productions 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.
Boyd Brown, Jordan Montgomery and Quentin Turko were the 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishers in the Boys Division, while Tyler Faulkner, followed by Hunter Skolnick and Justin Pender rounded out the top three in the Under Armour Junior Mens Division.
The Girls Division was lead by Katherine Neff, with Carly Carter in second and Julia Eckel in third. ESA All-Star Team Members Grace Muckenfuss and Darsha Pigford took Junior Womens, first and second respectively, followed by Madison Huckabee in third.
The Junior Iron Man award went to Simon Hetrick from the Delmarva District. There was a tie between Bruce Willis and Michael Foard for the Senior Iron Man award and the Iron Woman Award was presented to Katherine Neff. These competitors competed in multiple divisions and had the highest placings in those divisions during the event.
This was the first official year for the Jimmy Lewis SUP Surfing Division, which was dominated by Reggie Barnes, who took first, with Michael Carter in second, and Randall Kato in third. Taking the Menehune Division was Micha Cantor, with Seth Brown and Laird Myers in second and third, respectively.
The Sportsmanship Award was presented to All-Star Team Member Georgia Cook from Georgia. Tyler Faulkner from ESA’s Southern North Carolina District won the Hot Wave award for scoring a 9.0.
There was also an exciting All Star Tag Team event, featuring four ESA districts battling one another for bragging rights. Southern North Carolina came in first place with Daniel Sacchi, Darsha Pigford, Tyler Faulker and Shane Burn making up the team. Southern South Carolina came Northern South Carolina in second and Southern South Carolina in third.
A complete list of all the results can be found at www.surfesa.org. Photos of the event were taken by Nick Denny and will be available at http://www.nickdennyphotography.com/ and posted on the ESA website and Facebook page.
Special thanks go out to the Town of Ocean City and K-Coast Surf Shop, along with all the Ocean City, Maryland local sponsors. ESA National Sponsors include Under Armour, Sun Bum, Hyperflex Wetsuits, Starboard Surfboards, Jimmy Lewis SUP, Catch Surf, Surfer Magazine, and Swellinfo.
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