ESKA News

Events Coming Up on the East Coast

2008-09-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

We were bummed to have to postpone the big Battle for Hatteras event because of TS Hannah, we'll be rescheduling that event soon.

Nationals is happening on the West coast this year on October 25-26 at Davenport, CA
Please consider attending!
More info

In the meantime, there are some east coast ESKA events coming up that you should check out:

Sept 27th 2008
Surf City Smash
Surf City/Topsail Island
North Carolina
Contact:
Gordon Rock
roadtoad22 AT charter DOT net

October 17-18 2008
Folly Beach Surf Kayak Competition
Folly Beach
South Carolina
Organized by Charleston County Parks and Rec
Sponsored by Mega Kayaks, Savannah Canoe and Kayak, and Kokatat
*a New Mega Surf Kayak is going to be given away at this event.
More Info

2008-08-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

For those who might be interested, there is an excellent Surf Camp experience being organized in Rhode Island in October, check it out:

Rhode Island Surf Camp 08'
Join us for a week of surf kayaking adventure featuring world class instruction,oceanfront accommodations, delicious meals and good company.

We will be staying in a beautiful home that overlooks three distinct breaks in Little Compton,RI. Our search for great surf will also take us to Newport,Matunick,and Westport.When we are not surfing you'll have plenty of time for relaxing,bike riding,kite flying or lounging on the beach.

Dates:October 11th-18th Cost $1299.00 includes meals and lodging

ESKA News: OBX a no-go, but the Tsunami Smash will be a World Cup Qualifyer

2008-05-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately the waves didn't cooperate at last weekends OBX event in Kill Devil Hills. This is the first time in 10 years that an OBX contest has been cancelled due to lack of waves, out of 15 or so contests we've had over the past decade, thats not bad odds.

Sorry to those who drove a long way for the event. We always like seeing Tom May from Florida, and Robert Fisher came down from all the way up in Mass. to compete in his first surf kayak contest. Hopefully they'll make it to another event soon.

Thank you to Doug Banjak and Kitty Hawk Kites for hosting the event, we're going to try to make it up possibly in the fall.

In other news, the Tsunami Smash in Topsail Island NC has been selected to be the US East World Cup Qualifyer.

We had planned on doing a World Cup event later in the summer, but it would have to be in August (at the latest, a poor time for surf) and after discussing with WC organizer Rusty Sage, we decided the best thing to do is to count the Tsunami Smash as the qualifyer for the east coast.

We hope several people will come out to compete for an invite to the World Cup finals! Those competing in the Men's, Women's, and Junior's High Performance classes will be eligible to qualify. Qualifying positions will be determined based on placement, number of competitors, and other factors.

Check out the info below for the Tsunami Smash, sponsored by Tsunami Waveski, organized by Gordon and Paula Rock on May 17th:

The Tsunami Smash!!!

Kayak and Waveski surfing competition

May 17, Surf City, NC, Broadway Street access 8:00 A.M.

An ESKA sanctioned event

Definitions...

HP: any decked craft under 9' that uses a spray skirt to keep water out of the boat

IC: 3 meter minimum displacement hull craft as defined by the world kayak surfing association

Waveski: High performance sit-on-top surf craft under 12 feet long, using a lap belt or thigh straps to keep the rider attached to the craft. (No age or gender divisions)

K1: plastic production kayak designed for use in the river (playboats etc…no age or gender divisions)

SOT: Plastic production (commonly available to the public) sit on top kayak

Beginner: Has been paddle surfing less than 1 year, SOT and plastic sit-in kayaks only, no waveskis

JR: under 18 years of age on contest day. Senior: over 18 and under 40 years of age on contest day

Master's: 40-49 years of age, Grand Masters 50 years of age or over.

WIDE OPEN

Helmets, US Coast Guard approved PFDs, and signed assumption of risk waivers are required for all competitors.

FAQ: Can I use my plastic SOT in waveski? Yes. Waveski in Beginner? No

Can I use my IC boat in HP? No. HP boat in IC? No

Can I use my k1 boat in hp? yes.

Can I use my SOT or Waveski in HP? No.

I'm experienced in river kayaking but new to surfing, Can I enter as a beginner? Yes.

Organizer reserves the right to combine or cancel divisions with fewer than 3 entrants

Please check all categories that you wish to enter.

Women's IC___ Women's HP___ Jr.IC___ JR.HP___ Master's IC___ Master's HP ____

Senior men HP___ Senior men IC___ Grandmaster HP___ Grandmaster IC___ Beginner___ Waveski___ K1___ WIDE OPEN___

Please note that there is no SOT specific class, as we are leaving this category open to beginners

For those entering multiple categories, we will try to avoid Back to back heats, but make no guarantees.

Name__________________________ Address___________________________________

Telephone number___________________ E-mail address__________________________

Total number of categories entered____ Amount paid________________-

ACA #_________________________ Non ACA members please include an additional $5 for insurance

Contest fee is $30 per contestant, and $5 for each additional category, The wide Open Division is an additional $10 with all entry fees for this division going to the Wide Open division winner.

Make check or money order payable to Gordon Rock. 982 Hoover Rd. Hampstead, NC 28443

E-mail entries to

The Event permit is for the beach only, not the ocean. I can ask swimmers and other surfers to not enter the scoring zone, but will have no authority to enforce it. Please don't hit the tourists. Our ESA judges are very experienced, their decisions are final.

Competitors are encouraged, but not required to attend the competitor’s meeting at Flamin Amy’s Burrito Barn on the 4000 block of Oleander Dr. in Wilmington. May 16 at 7:00. Heats for the wave ski and Wide Open divisions will be randomly drawn here, the rest of the field will be announced on contest day

Further questions should be directed to Gordon Rock at 910-228-7625

: surf what you brung, any of the aforementioned craft. The entry fee for this category is an additional $10, with 100% payout from this category to the winner of this categoryRoadtoad22@charter.net Entries accepted up to May 12

ESKA Contests for 2008....

2008-04-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

Upcoming ESKA events

We're kicking off the spring circuit in a few weeks in OBX NC, in the Kill Devil Hills area with the Kitty Hawk Kites contest:

May 3 - 6th Annual Kitty Hawk Kites Surf Kayak Competition – 1st St. Beach Access, Kill Devil Hills, NC presented by Kitty Hawk Kites. The water of the sound and the Atlantic await the best sea kayakers on the coast as they show what they've got! You won't want to miss this one...come watch these high adrenaline water sports. In addition Kitty Hawk Kites will have the latest kayaks to demo. Proceeds of the registration of this event will go to benefit a local environmental charity. 877-FLY-THIS or 252-441-4124. www.kittyhawk.com

Also coming up is the ESKA Topsail Island event presented by Tsunami Waveski's and hosted by Gordon and Paula Rock:

Tsunami Smash, Surf city, NC May 17 - Wilmington NC area.
Contact roadtoad22 AT charter.net for more info

We will also be holding some events this fall, including Folly Beach, SC presented by Charleston County Parks and Rec, Hatteras, NC, Tybee Island, GA, and Wrightsville Beach, NC. More info on those events soon.

Thanks, hope to see you all at these events. And remember, no matter what skill level you are, you will have fun at our contests, we have beginner/intermediate classes for those looking to just get started, and it is a great chance to come out and meet some of the US East team and learn more about surf kayaking!

US East finishes 6th. Congrats to World Champion Ross Fulcher and the other US East Finalists!

2007-10-29T06:52:00.001-07:00

We're proud of our repeat World Champion Old Guy Ross Fulcher!

And here are the American Champs Buck, Ross, and Rusty. Sounds like the cast of a western.
We noticed that 20% of all World Surf Kayak Champions appear to prefer a mustache.

US East finishes 6th. Congrats to World Champion Ross Fulcher and the other US East Finalists!

Well the 2007 World Surf Kayaking Championships are officially over. Here is a run down of what happened over the final days.

The US East team hung in with the pack throughout. We were consistantly in the 4^th and 3^rd spots over the first two rounds of the event. We won or got second in some crucial heats, and all of our team members were going for big drops and giving it their all. This contest was particularly difficult because there were 9 full teams from all over the world, a first for the World Championships.
We got a chance to surf Mundaka for the second round of the team event, which was a great experience for everyone. In the end we finished in 6^th place, 3 points behind the US West in 5th. All in all we surfed respectibly and were glad to get a chance to compete against the World's best. Congrats to the finalists.....1^st Basque, 2^nd Northern Ireland, 3^rd Jersey, and 4^th England.

In the individual event we had many successes. Several US East paddlers made the 2^nd round, Quarter finals, or Semi finals. We had 3 paddlers in the finals, Erik Miller in the Masters Short Boat, Ross Fulcher in Grand Masters Long Boat, and Devon Barker in Womens Short Boat. Erik Miller surfed wonderfully throughout the event, earning valuable points for the US East team and moving right through the individual rounds with his signature end moves and great wave control. He surfed valiantly on a beautiful sunday final with the sun shining and the waves peeling at Bakio. He finished
4^th overall and we're all very proud of him.

Devon Barker, World Champion at the 2005 Worlds in Costa Rica, showed her skill in the much improved Women's short boat class, making it all the way to the Short boat final. The level of surfing among the women has gotten so much more competitive, and it is inspiring to see. Devon had a tough final, with big closing waves, and she managed to surf to a 3^rd place finish, something to be proud of.

And Ross Fulcher, double World Champion at the 2005 event, showed us all that old guys still rule. He surfed his way to the Grand Masters Long Boat final. The final was exciting to watch, with these old timers taking some scary late drops to prove that they deserve as much respect as the rest of the field. Ross showed his east coast experience, dropping on a big face, making a nice bottom turn, and hitting a really dynamic tail slash off the lip in the brutal closeout. He finished 1^st place, making him a 3 time World Champion. Way to go Ross! (And he says he's retiring.....riiiiggghttt)

Also of note was “honorary” Eastie Buck Johnson, finishing 2^nd in the GM Long Boat class and becoming Champion in the Master's Long Boat class....all with a “Hurricane e” on his boat, placed there by an unidentified US East paddler. Congrats Buck.

Thanks to the whole US East team for working hard, we're already setting our sights on Portugal in 2009. Also thank you to all of our families, friends, and sponsors back home for their support.
The US East Team is sponsored by: Gath, Surf the Earth, Sea Specs, Bass Pro, Werner, Astral, and Great Outdoor Provision Company and Salt Marsh Kayak Co.

And thanks to Paula and Gordon Rock for doing an excellent job as Manager/Captain/Etc!

US East Surf Kayak Team is headed to the World Championships

2007-10-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

The US East Surf Kayak Team is headed to the 2007 World Surf Kayaking Championships in Mundaka, in the Basque Country region of Spain.

The team is defending its 3rd place finish at the 2005 World Championships, and hopes to do even better this time around.

The contest runs from October 18th through the 28th.

Visit the US East website and blog, managed by Andy Gates at www.useastsurfkayakteam.blogspot.com Information about each Team member will be added soon, and check back for updates throughout the competition (depending on the web access we have over there)

Also visit www.wska.org for more info on the 2007 Worlds

Wrightsville Beach Rally 2007 Results

2007-09-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

The ESKA crew sporting awesome hats donated by Salt Marsh Kayak Co.

Gordon and Paula Rock put on another great event this year, and even ordered up some waves.
The Wrightsville Beach Rally was once again held at Shell Island in Wrightsville Beach NC. We had some nice waist high clean waves with the occasional bigger set from time to time.
We had a full day of competition, running a complete "surf what you brung" competition after the main comp had finished.

Spencer Cooke and Russ Buskirk had the biggest days, taking home most of the top finishes.

A huge thank you to Gordon and Paula for doing a great job once again on event organization.

Here are the results:

K-1
1. Spencer Cooke
2. Joey Hall
3. Philip Aschilman
4. David C

Mens IC
1. Spencer Cooke
2. Anthony Bell
3.Joey Hall
4. Russ Buskirk

Mens HP
1. Russ Buskirk
2.Spencer Cooke
3.Gordon Rock
4. Joey Hall

Masters IC
1. Russ Buskirk
2.Charles Salters
3.Ross Fulcher
4. Pete Titus

Masters HP
1.Ross Flucher
2. Den Latham
3. Russ Buskirk
4.Pete Titus
5. Charles Salters

Waveski
1.Anthony Bell
2.Philip Aschliman
3. Paula Rock
4. Charles Salters
5. Russ Buskirk

Senior Open - Co-ed
1. Ross Fulcher
2. Anthony Bell
3. Russ Buskirk
4. Gordon Rock

"Psycho" Pete Titus, picking up an award

The HP finalists

ESKA 07 Circuit Event #2: Wrightsville Beach Rally

2007-09-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

The Wrightsville Beach Rally organized by Gordon and Paula Rock will be held the weekend of September 15th 2007 in Wrightsville Beach NC. We hope to see many old and new faces at this event, it is currently the only ESKA event scheduled this fall, due mostly to the fact that the World Championships will be happening in October.

More info on the WB Rally is available here, please get your entries in!

http://boatertalk.com/forum/SurfZone/1331587

07 ESKA Circuit Event 1: OBX presented by Kitty Hawk Kites, Report and Results

2007-05-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Andy Gates dropping in (click for larger)

I say this every time, but I LOVE any time we hold an event on the Outer Banks. There is just something about the place that feels like a true destination.

We were glad to once again have Kitty Hawk Kites host a great event for the ESKA this past weekend at 1st Street in Kill Devil Hills. The forecast was originally for gale force winds and cold temps, but we were pleasantly surprised to have sunny skies and low breeze for the day. The surf was a bit unpredictable, with many random peaks, but through the day the size was between waist and shoulder with a few head high waves mixed in. All in all pretty good conditions for a contest. The best rides occurred when competitors caught an outside wave, managed to maintain speed during the "uphill" mid section, and caught the inside for a chance at an end move in the shore break. Ross Fulcher led a class in wave selection as he had these long rides all day.

We had a great day of competition, followed by a few hours of free surfing and dinner at Tortuga's Lie.

Ross Fulcher
There were many good rides in all of the classes, pretty impressive for the first contest of the season. The day belonged to Ross Fulcher, in one of his best contest showings ever, as he surfed consistently to win four classes! Men's IC, Men's HP, Master's IC, and Master's HP. Congrats to Ross for a good day of surfing.

We were glad to welcome a new face to the competition, Stewart Diesel-Reynolds from Virginia, who competed in the Waveski division.

Antnee Bell had good rides all day (Click for larger)

At the end of the day we held a heat entitled SUPER DEATH MATCH EXTRAVAGANZA BATTLE ROYALE which featured the top scorers from each of the divisions. A fun heat to watch, in the end Russ Buskirk triumphed as the representative for the Master's IC class.

This contest held particular significance for me, as it was my first time back in the surf after months of physical therapy trying to rehab my shoulder injury. I was so happy to be surfing with my friends again, I've missed it (though I was REALLY out of practice!) Thanks to everyone who asked me about it and had supportive words to say, I appreciate it. (And thank you to Katherine and Jen at Hendersonville Sports Medicine for helping me get better these past few months)

Huge thanks to Doug Banjak and Kitty Hawk Kites for doing a good job on this event again, and thank you to the judges and Jo for tabulating.

Here are some results and pics. -Joeyu

Men HP:
1st Ross Fulcher
2nd Anthony Bell
3rd Russ Buskirk
4th Joey Hall

Men IC:
1st Ross Fulcher
2nd Anthony Bell
3rd Joey Hall
4th Russ Buskirk

Men K-1
1st Jason Gull
2nd Andy Gates

Men HP Consolation Final:
1st (5th overall) - Andy Gates
2nd (6th overall) - Gordon Rock
3rd (7th overall) - Jason Gull
4th (8th overall) - Eugene Link

Waveski:
1st Stewart Diesel-Reynolds
2nd Gordon Rock
3rd Jason Gull

Masters IC:
1st Ross Fulcher
2nd Russ Buskirk
3rd Pete Titus

Masters HP:
1st Ross Fulcher
2nd Pete Titus
3rd Russ Buskirk

Andy Gates, bottom turn and cutback to pocket (click for larger)

Ross went to the podium MANY times

Jason Gull of DC was stoked to win the Men's K-1

Here's me making a lame attempt to use my shoulder as an excuse....

Paula Rock, fresh from her appearance in the DEATH MATCH wins an MTI lifejacket

We're not so sure about Russ's mental state these days....but at least he's documenting the whole proccess....
(photos by A Gates and J Hall)

ESKA beginner workshop and US East Fund Raiser at CCPRC Kayak Symposium

2007-05-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

The booth

The ESKA and the US East Team participated in the Charleston County Parks and Rec Kayak Symposium a few weekends ago. For the second year in a row ESKA Vice President Ross Fulcher, with his wife Roseanne, and member Russ Buskirk taught a beginner surf kayaking workshop at the event. With over 25 people attending the off-water class, and 12 participating in the on-water class, the workshop was a success. We hope that exposing beginners to the sport of surf kayaking will help them develop a love and appreciation for it.

Gordon and Paula hard at work for the team

The US East team also held a fund raiser raffle with prizes donated by Salt Marsh Kayak Company and a rec boat donated by Bass Pro Shops. We thank these sponsors for their support.
All monies will be used to help get the team to the World Championships this fall.
(photos by Russ Buskirk)

A reminder, this weekend is the OBX surf comp, hosted by Kitty Hawk Kites. It is also event #1 on the ESKA Circuit for 2007. IF you are planning on attending PLEASE get your entries in to KHK before Thursday. Entry forms are availible at www.kittyhawk.com

ESKA 07 Circuit contest #1, OBX, presented by Kitty Hawk Kites, ENTRY FORM NOW ONLINE

2007-04-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

Just talked to Doug at Kitty Hawk Kites, he's put the entry form for the May 5th ESKA OBX surf kayak comp up on their website.

This is the first 2007 event for the ESKA east coast circuit.

He's asked that folks please sign up ahead of time so they can anticipate numbers (that means you slackers who usually wait to the last minute please get it in early!). If you register on or before the thursday prior to the event, you will save 5 bucks.

Entry form:
http://www.kittyhawk.com/community/images/registration2007.pdf

Please bear in mind that the "beginner" classes may be combined into one larger "beginner open" class depending on numbers.

Thank you

Joey Hall
ESKA

ESKA 2007 Circtuit Event #1: OBX presented by Kitty Hawk Kites

2007-04-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

The good folks at Kitty Hawk Kites are again hosting the OBX event this year for the ESKA circuit. We appreciate the support they've given over the years.

Event will be held on May 5th, with a may 6th make-up date if necessary.

May 5 - 6 - 5th Annual OBX ESKA Surf Kayak Competition @ 1st Street Beach Access, Kill Devil Hills, NC presented by Kitty Hawk Kites. Y877-FLY-THIS or 252-441-4124. www.kittyhawk.com

Classes will include International, High Performance, K-1, Beginner open, Masters, and a Waveski division (if there is enough interest).

Entry form should be up next week, and more info will be on the KHK sites as well as www.eskasurf.com

This will be the first ESKA event of the 2007 circuit, we had a great 2006 circuit and are looking forward to this season.
OBX is the only event scheduled for the spring, but we're planning on 3-4 , more events this fall, including the Wrightsville Beach Rally the last weekend of Sept, hosted by Gordon and Paula Rock.

Also, this weekend (April 21st) the ESKA will again be presenting a beginner surf kayaking class at the Charleston County Parks and Rec Kayak Symposium. Pass the word on to anyone looking into learning more about surf kayaking from US East Surf Kayak Team members Ross Fulcher and Russ Buskirk.
http://ccprc.com/

More updates soon. Thanks again to Kitty Hawk Kites and Doug Banjak.

Joey Hall
ESKA President

ESKA 2007 events...

2007-03-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
The next ESKA event is scheduled for May 5-6 in Kill Devil Hills, OBX, NC.
The event will be presented by Doug Banjak and the fine folks at Kitty Hawk Kites.
Classes will include High Performance, International, K-1, Men, Women, and Masters divisions. There will also be a Waveski division provided there is enough interest for it.
More info will be available here, or you can visit www.kittyhawk.com.

There is a possibility of another spring event, so keep your ears open for that.

This fall we are hoping to have a new event in Virginia Beach, as well as Myrtle, Jacksonville, and others.

Gordon and Paula Rock will once again be hosting the Wrightsville Beach Rally on the last weekend of September.

Looking forward to another great year.

Joey

US East Team Trials report and results......Team to be named soon...

2006-11-14T08:07:00.000-08:00

Andy Gates

Well, team trials weekend started for me when my good buddies Andy and Felipe showed up at my house on thursday afternoon. We packed Andy's Explorer full of smelly paddling gear, camera equipment, and contest supplies and hit the road. We headed up to Raleigh to pick up our friend Alexander, whom we'd met at Nationals, at the Raleigh Durham Airport. Alexander the Great arrived on Friday morning, we picked him up, and headed towards good ol' OBX.
As is my luck, on the way there a kidney stone attacked me, so upon arrival in Kill Devil Hills we dropped Alexander and Felipe off to surf and Andy drove me to Urgent care, where the doctor fixed me up as best he could.

There were overhead sets on thursday afternoon, and many of the competitors got some good practice in. I have to note that hard charger Geoff Kegley surfed on Wednesday when it was by all accounts "scary big".....Kegley's favorite.

We were all pretty bummed that the forecast said the good swell had arrived early, and probably would not hold out through the weekend. For our team trials we run two separate events on two separate days, so we were hoping for surf all weekend. We met up with everyone else on friday night, signed waivers, and shared opinions as to what we thought the surf would be like the next day.

We were pleasantly suprised the next morining when we arrived at First Street and there were plenty of clean chest to shoulder rollers, with some head high sets. The surf was pretty mushy, but no one seemed to mind......especially since the weather was warm and gorgeous! The only problem was that the break was packed with board surfers.....and we had no desire to irritate the locals. Luckily we were able to squeeze our contest site onto a side peak that was pretty much as good as the main one. We had very few incidents with surfers all weekend, and we're glad they were understanding.

The action on Saturday was really competitive, and everyone was having good rides.
Charles Salters surfed solidly all the way to the Men HP finals, and finished first overall for event 1. Close behind him was Philip Aschliman, ripping it up in a borrowed boat.
We were stoked to have Devon Barker and Eric Miller competing with us, and they wound up with some first places as well. "Psycho" Pete Titus did not dissapoint either, taking late drops on the steepest waves he could find to finish first in Masters IC
As is usually the case in the Outer Banks, the shore break was rather viscious, but other than a few wipeouts during paddleouts, everyone handled it like a champ......no doubt most of the competitors are still picking shells out of their hair though!

It was great having Eugene Link in the competition as well. Eugene's first ESKA contest was this past spring, and he was at Nationals as well. He told me he likes coming out to the contests because he always learns something from watching the other riders, and I've notice his skill level progress these last months. He had some very good waves in all of his heats.

After Day 1 was complete, we reseeded the heats and crossed our fingers that we'd have surf the next day (and that it wouldn't be too much like traditional OBX beatdown conditions.

Day 2 saw conditions getting a little smaller and a bit less clean, but there was surf once again.
The weather wasn't as nice though, and the rain started early. It didn't phase the competitors or the spectators though, and everyone toughed it out through the rain.

Once again there was good surfing all around, Paula Rock, Kris Whitmore, and Devon all had good rides in the women's divisions. Eric Miller pulled out another win in the Master's HP class.

Our youngest competitors did very well too, Alexander Stubbs, from the northeast, surfed solidly in all of his heats, showing us some great cutbacks and even a retentive barrel roll. This guy's going to be one to watch for sure. Andy Gates held his own in the Men's HP class, making the consolation finals both days, and taking some big drops all weekend. Alan Young, current junior National Champion, staged a major upset on sunday, beating many of the top contenders to make it all the way to the Men's HP final, where he placed a respectable 3rd.
Ross Fulcher dominated the IC finals both days, with back to back wins.

Sunday was Felipe's day, as he owned every heat and finished 1st overall in the Men's HP sunday event. He was followed closely by Gordon Rock, who made finals both days and finished 2nd on sunday in his new Murky Waters Reaction, way to go Gordon!

Speaking of Murky Waters, we were honored to have Ed and Mariola from Murky visiting us all weekend. They provided some demos for people to try, spoke to many excited competitors for hours about boat design and construction, and even passed out snacks to everyone! Thanks to them for coming all the way down to our event, I imagine they were very happy to see many Reactions (Russ Buskirk, Gordon, Paula, Devon, etc) do well in several of the finals all weekend long.

The results of both days of competition will be added together and calculated out to determine the 2007 US East Team. I've been swamped with work since I got back, but I'm working on figuring everything out, so please be patient.

Felipe

We were lucky at this event, and all season long, to have great consistent judging. There is no greater relief as a competitor than to know that you are being judged fairly, and seeing the judges giving their full attention to every heat was great. Thanks to all of our judges (I'll leave them anonymous because they prefer it that way....always thinking fairly!), and thank you to our head tabulator Jo, for doing an awesome job.

We also want to thank Doug Banjak of Kitty Hawk Kites for helping us with flags and permits, the Town of Kill Devil Hills and the local surfers for letting us compete there, Anthony, Andy, and everyone else who helped out.

Also, a personal thank you to everyone who showed their concern for me when I was under the weather this weekend, this group is like a big family and I appreciate the kindness......I don't know why I seem to always get sick at the big events.....must be allergic to surf kayaking or something.

Congrats to all of the competitors for a good contest. Looking forward to the new US East Team!

--Joey

Here are some photos, and the results from the first and second events, I hope to have some video up soon:

Click here for a slideshow of videostills from the Team Trials

Click here for individual video stills from Team Trials

Event 1:

Men HP
1 Charles Salters
2 Philip Aschliman
3 Den Latham
4 Gordon Rock
5 Russ Buskirk
6 Geoff Kegley
7 Andy Gates
8 Ross Fulcher
9 Alan Young
10 Eugene Link
11 Ben Moore

Men IC
1 Ross Fulcher
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Charles Salters

Women HP
1 Devon Barker
2 Kris Whitmore
3 Paula Rock

Women IC
1 Devon Barker
2 Paula Rock
3 Kris Whitmore

Junior HP
1 Alexander Stubbs
2 Alan Young

Junior IC
1 Alexander stubbs
2 Alan Young

Masters HP
1 Eric Miller
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Den Latham
4 Pete Titus
5 Ross Fulcher

Masters IC
1 Pete Titus
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Ross Fulcher

Event 2:

Men HP
1 Philip Aschliman
2 Gordon Rock
3 Alan Young
4 Russ Buskirk
5 Ross Fulcher
6 Charles Salters
7 Geoff Kegley
8 Andy Gates
9 Den Latham
DNF Ben Moore
DNF Eugene Link

Men IC
1 Ross Fulcher
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Charles Salters

Women HP
1 Kris Whitmore
2 Paula Rock
3 Devon Barker

Women IC
1 Devon Barker
2 Kris Whitmore
3 Paula Rock

Junior HP
1 Alexander Stubbs
2 Alan Young

Junior IC
1 Alan Young
2 Alexander Stubbs

Masters HP
1 Eric Miller
2 Ross Fulcher
3 Pete Titus
4 Russ Buskirk
DNF Den Latham

Masters IC
1 Russ Buskirk
2 Pete Titus
3 Ross Fulcher

Announcing, final standings and ESKA circuit champions!

2006-11-08T08:53:00.000-08:00

Well, it was a great year with several exciting contests. The circuit was highly contested. The veterans were in full force, and some new faces showed up to get into the action. Thanks to everyone who helped make the 2006 ESKA circuit a success. Big thank you to all the tabulators, judges, and runners.

The results were very close, with the Men's High Performance class decided by less than 5 points! (As it should be).

The top finisher in the Men's HP and the Men's IC classes prequalify for the US East Team.

So, without further ado, here are the 2006 ESKA Circuit Champions:

Master's International Champion: Russ Buskirk

Master's High Performance Champion: Ross Fulcher

Men's High Performance Champion: Anthony Bell (prequal US EAST TEAM)

Men's International Champion: Joey Hall (prequal US EAST TEAM)

Men's K-1 Champion: Joey Hall

Women's International Champion: Paula Rock

Women's High Performance Champion: Paula Rock

Junior High Performance Champion: Alan Young

And here are your final ESKA member rankings for 2006 (Only ESKA members are listed, each competitor's top 4 contests count):

Men's International
1 Joey Hall 230.74
2 Russ Buskirk 203.11
3 Anthony Bell 199.87
4 Ross Fulcher 140.19
5 Charles Salters 120.22
6 Spencer Cooke 117.00
7 Chris Gotshall 85.42
8 Carlos Marrone 82.63
9 Brent Fields 52.0
10 Gordon Rock 26.00
11 Pete Titus 16.22

Men's HP
1 Anthony Bell 257.27
2 Joey Hall 253.18
3 Russ Buskirk 221.92
4 Ross Fulcher 215.21
5 Gordon Rock 190.26
6 Charles Salters 147.36
7 Geoff Kegley 125.00
8 Spencer Cooke 114.12
9 Den Latham 105.00
10 Carlos Marrone 101.12
11 Andy Gates 88.36
12 Regan Norris 51.22
13 Alan Young 43.36
14 Chris Gotshall 43.34
15 Rick Dohaney 42.22
16 Ben Moore 36.12
17 John Ritter 36.12
18 Pete Titus 35.00
19 Tom May 35.00
20 Mike Scarborough 35.00
21 Brent Fields 21.68
22 Jason Gull 11.81

Men K-1
1 Joey Hall 247.00
2 Andy Gates 123.51
3 Alan Young 95.34
4 Mike Scarborough 54.17
5 Charles Salters 52
6 Kirk G 32.51
7 Jason Gull 26.00
8 John Ritter 21.68
9 Ben Moore 13

Master's IC
1 Russ Burskirk 211.25
2 Ross Fulcher 151.68
3 Chris Gotshall 130.00
4 Pete Titus 86.67
5 Brent Fields 59.59
6 John Ritter 43.34

Master's HP
1 Ross Fulcher 243.75
2 Russ Buskirk 205.85
3 Chris Gotshall 97.50
4 Den Latham 75.85
5 Pete Titus 65.02
6 Rick Dohaney 54.17
7 Tom May 21.68
7 Brent Fields 16.25
7 John Ritter 16.25

Women IC
1 Paula Rock 97.50
2 Devon Barker 65.00
3 Bridget Dohaney 48.75
4 Kris Whitmore 43.33
5 Deb Mitchum 37.91

Women HP
1 Paula Rock 86.68
2 Devon Barker 65.00
2 Deb Mitchum 65.00
4 Bridget Dohaney 54.17
5 Kris Whitmore 43.33

Junior HP
1 Alan Young
2 Andy Gates
3 Kirk Gilliam

US East Team Trials registration up

2006-11-06T14:53:00.000-08:00

http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1380619

Fee is 50 dollars for the first class, 5 dollars for each additional. (As with the nationals registration this will be reflected as a "discount" of 45 dollar off each additional entry) If you think you've qualified, but I haven't contacted you yet, you need to contact me ASAP. Even if you think you didn't qualify, please write me and make sure. I cannot find Brent Field's email address. He is qualifyed for both masters categories, does anyone know how to reach Brent? Joey Hall ESKA

Folly Beach contest 2006

2006-11-05T16:38:00.000-08:00

On October 21st, Charleston County Parks and Rec held the 15th annual Folly Beach Surf Kayak Competition. This event is one of the most storied on the ESKA circuit, and we're always glad to head to Charleston for some fun in the sun.

The weather was beautiful for this years event, a little chilly in the morning, warming up nicely for the afternoon. The surf was small but consistent, and the heats featured a good mix of seasoned veterans and new competitors. A big thanks to Wendy Wicke, Josh Hall, and the rest of the CCPRC staff for putting on the contest.

The competition in the men's HP was fierce, as the results will surely impact the close circuit standings. Finals featured Geoff Kegley, Joey Hall, folly local Russ Buskirk, and Anthony Bell.
Anthony showed why he is the most winningest competitor in ESKA history by surfing to a solid win. He also came up big in the IC class, winning top honors there as well.

The Women's HP class was the biggest its been all season long, with 6 women battling for the title. In the end, current IC world champ Devon Barker, fresh from a long plane ride, won against some fine surfing by Allison Latham, Deb Mitchum, and Bridget Dohaney.
Devon followed Anthony's example and won the Women's IC class as well, and also won the Women's K-1, making it a clean sweep.
Congrats to new competitor Aimee Meyer for finishing 2nd in Women's K-1.

The Men's K-1 class, always a main attraction at Folly required contestants to get a little creative due to the small conditions. The final featured 3 whitewater boaters from Columbia, and a new competitor from Florida. Rick McGilvary was surfing well in his Riot Air. Andy Gates, who turned 18 on the day of the contest, threw down to finish 3rd. Mike Scarborough threw the biggest blunt of the competition to finish 2nd.

There were lots of new competitors in the intermediate classes, and we hope to see them at future contests.

Congrats to everyone and thanks to CCPRC

Here are some results and photos (Photos by C Hall):

Clean sweeper Devon Barker

Saluda Boyz?

Wendy Wicke presents Ross Fulcher a blue ribbon

Big winner Antnee Bell

Men IC:
1 Anthony Bell
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Joey Hall
4 Ross Fulcher

Men HP:
1 Antnee Bell
2 Geoff Kegley
3 Russ Buskirk
4 Joey Hall

Men K-1:
1 Joey Hall
2 Mike Scarborough
3 Andy Gates
4 R McGilvary

Women IC:
1 Devon Barker
2 Bridget Dohaney
3 Paula Rock
4 Deb Mitchum

Women HP:
1 Devon Barker
2 Bridget Dohaney
3 Deb Mitchum
4 Allison Latham

Women K-1
1 Devon Barker
2 Aimee Meyer
3 Deb Mitchum

Masters IC
1 Ross Fulcher
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Pete Titus

Masters HP
1 Ross Fulcher
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Pete Titus
4 Rick Dohaney

Int K-1
1 R McGilvary
2 M West
3 S Chase
4 M Elliot

Open Beg/Int
1 Gordon Rock
2 T Jackson
3 T Bridges

Important US East team trials info

2006-10-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
We're going to give the weekend of Nov 11-12 a shot.
We've got the judges, working on the permit, only thing we'll need is waves.

Location will be Kill Devil Hills, OBX.

We'll run a full contest on Sat, with consolation bracket. Then we'll do the same on sunday.

I've not gotten the full results from the Folly contest in, so I dont know the final standings. When I do I'll send out invites.

If you think you've qualifyed and you want to check, please contact me at deadmanprd AT gmail.com

Registration for Team Trials will be via Active.com

Lates

Joey

Get your entries in for the Folly competition!

2006-10-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

Its time again for the Folly Beach competition. We are glad to see this event back on the circuit after taking a year off. The folks at Charleston County Parks and Rec have planned another great contest, taking place on October 21st. This will be a one day event.

Get your entries in by October 18th for the contest to get a better entry fee.

Here is the entry form
http://ccprc.com/documents/Special%20Events/Surfrodeo2006.pdf

VBSK Paddle for a Cause

2006-10-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

Dave with the Virginia Beach Surf Kayakers is holding Paddle for a Cause this weekend, here is some info on this worthwhile charity event.

Don't forget about VBSK's Paddle For A Cause!

The event is this Saturday, October 7, 2006. The contest begins at 7:30am and lasts until we've all surfed! We will meet at the Market in Sandbridge at the end of Sandbridge Rd. The public parking lot will be open (that's what I've been told). The lot is just past the Market (or between Sandfiddler and Sandpiper Rd south of the Market). This is a charity event to benefit the March of Dimes. In the past two years paddle surfers have donated over half of the money raised! This gives us paddle surfers (and/or paddlers) a great name and we've created a better rapport with the stand-up surf culture. I'd like to invite all that have paddle surf craft (or and surf craft) to participate in this fun event. Even if you or your boat is out of commission it'll be a great opportunity to meet new paddlers like yourself and enjoy a really awesome day on the beach! Forms can be downloaded on the website, but please try and submit them to me by Friday at lunch time. For all you procrastinaters or on-the-fence decision makers you may still be able to sign-up at the beach...we'll see!

Entry forms can be found here: http://www.virginiabeachsurfkayakers.com/Paddle%20For%20A%20Cause/PFAC%202006%20Entry.doc

(If you are prompted for a username and password please hit Cancel and it should let you see the form)

Please fill out the form and mail to me at: dave@virginiabeachsurfkayakers.com

(Please do this by Friday, October, 2006 by 12pm.)

Wrightsville Beach Rally 2006

2006-10-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

Waves were small, but clean and ridable, with a waist high-er showing its face (ha ha) occasionally, but mostly knee to thigh. There was some top notch paddling going on, making the most of what was available. Scoring was close, some heats being decided by 1 point or less. The 1st ski heat went to 7 waves, and a men's hp semi heat went to 5 waves to find a winner! Weather was nothing but the best we could possibly ask for, sunny, warm but not hot, water temp: mid 70's. A good turnout, 26, without our usual k1 crew. Roy came up from Cocoa beach despite knowing the mediocre surf forecast, cool beans! His ski however paid the price of one crumpled nose during warmups, nothing a little duct tape can't fix though. I met a lot of cool people, and possibly recruited a couple more paddlesurfers! Good vibes all around more than made up for the lack of epic surf. Everyone who stuck around for the awards was treated to a pick-your-prize raffle, some seemed to have a hard time making a decision, but everyone present walked away with something, whether $250 towards a Murky waters kayak or just a burrito with a side of beans. My apologies to Russ, who's name somehow got left out of the hat, I'll make it up to'ya Fantum!
It takes a lot of people to make an event happen, so I thank everyone who showed for all of their support and encouragement, Joey for showing me the ropes on how to run an event, and my wife Paula for tabulating scores. Hold the phone; I was eliminated in the 1st round. HMMM....
--Gordon

Big ups to Gordon for the great contest, he did a great job and we hope he'll do it again. And big thanks to the sponsors, Salt Marsh Kayak Co., judges and Paula, our expert tabulator! -- Joey

Heres a few photos and some results

Congrats to Paula

Gordon presents an award to Geoff Kegley
(Congrats to Geoff and his wife Robin who just had a baby boy!)

IC Champ Spencer Cooke won a sweet skate deck

Masters HP
1 Ross Fulcher
2 Den Latham
3 Russ Buskirk

Women HP
1 Paula Rock
2 Kris Whitmore
3 Deb

Waveski
1 Michael
2 Anthony Bell
3 Geoff Kegley
4 Charles Salters

Master IC
1 Pete Titus
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Ross Fulcher

Men IC
1 Spencer Cooke
2 Anthony Bell
3 Joey Hall
4 Russ Buskirk

Men HP
1 Joey Hall
2 Anthony Bell
3 Spencer Cooke
4 Den Latham

Full report and results from the 2006 US Surf Kayak Nationals/World Cup Event 4, in OBX North Carolina

2006-09-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

Click here for the highlight video from Effort.tv and Spencer Cooke (quicktime)

As an event organizer, one often finds oneself expecting the worst to happen...no surf, no competitors, bad weather, permit problems, huge controversies etc.....so when an event turns out directly opposite of this worst case scenario, its a great feeling.

Such is the case with the ESKA US National Surf Kayaking Championships and World Cup Event #4, which turned out to be a great event with a variety of good surf conditions, excellent judging and tabulating, NO controversy, an incredible level of talent, and most importantly people having a good time surfing together.

After months of wondering whether this historically good Outer Banks weekend would give up the goods, it seemed that hurricane Flo was setting up to possibly provide excellent conditions. As I said before, an event organizer always expects the worst, so I watched the increasingly positive surf report with a skeptical eye. I arrived at the Hatteras National Seashore on Wednesday, and already the competitors were pouring into the area. There was already some fun thigh to chest high waves at the lighthouse site, and everyone started getting practice in. It was great to see so many surf kayakers, particularly many of my old friends whom I haven't seen in a while, plus there were lots of new folks, and some West Coasters, which I was really stoked to see. Everyone was having a great time, but I was still worried about the weekend. The National Parks Service needed me to tell them by friday which site we'd like to use.....the often epic, but often chopped-out lighthouse area, or the cleaner, but possibly smaller Frisco break. If the hurricane swell arrived on time, it looked like the lighthouse would be nearly unusable.....but if it didn't arrive until Sunday, we might be looking at flat conditions at Frisco....what to do what to do......

A mad dash began to visit surf shops, talk to locals, and find some Internet access to try to divine what the swell was going to do. After much deliberation and fretting, Ross came up with a solution.....use the Lighthouse on Saturday when the swell was not likely to be as big, and then switch to Frisco when the wind picked up on Sunday.....brilliant...gack....why had I not thought of such a plan before? But would the National Parks Service go for it? I called up my ever patient contact, Ranger Steve Thompson, whom I'd been terrorizing for weeks with stupid questions, and asked him if it would be ok, after a short time he told us we were good to go. The NPS at Hatteras are kind and hard working folks, and very easy to get along with.

By Friday night, most competitors had arrived, and after the Friday night practice, we all got together for the obligatory competitors meeting. Everyone seemed to be really excited, and I knew that if the waves were good, we were going to have an excellent Saturday of competition.

I dread the night before a contest, because I never get good sleep. As a competitor, I'm always worried about how I'm going to do in my heats. As an organizer, I'm always worried that the contest is going to suck and everyone's going to blame me. When I eventually fall asleep, I usually have nightmares that the judges don't show up, and the competitors chase me with torches and pitchforks like some sort of scene out of Frankenstein. But for some reason, even with as big as this event was, and how much was riding on it, I fell asleep early, and got some good rest. It helped that pre-registration allowed me to seed the heats out early and make the schedule up quickly. Also, the judges we use in the Outer Banks area are awesome, so I never have to worry about them. They arrived early, got settled in, and I knew they'd be on time the next morning.

However, the next morning came far too early anyway. I'm not a morning person, I'm more of a noon type of guy, so it takes me a while to get rolling. I arrived at the Lighthouse with the competition gear smelling up my car. As I suspected, the judges had already been in the water for a few hours, surfing and kite boarding to get a feel for what the waves were going to be like during the heats. Did I mention that these judges are pretty much awesome? These guys are all talented surfers with ESA contest experience, they always act professionally, somehow stay focused all day, and they seem to LOVE to watch surf kayaking....I can't figure it out, I don't even like watching surf kayaking as much as these guys do. These judges have scored many contests, including our circuit dates, team trials, and one even at the World Championships last year. As a bonus, they brought their own tabulator, the ever talented Jo, who also was a lead tabulator at the last world championships. I don't know what we would of done without her there.

Whew, I'm sorry this is so long....and I've not even gotten into the actual competition yet! Actually I'm not sorry.....you can stop reading at any time....so there.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that the wind swell at the lighthouse that we'd been surfing in practice, was still there on sat morning. The waves were in the chest high range, with some nice head high set waves rolling through from time to time. It was a bit choppy, but a patient eye could find several waves holding up long enough to get a nice long ride out of. Best of all, the weather was nice and warm and sunny, a beautiful day at the beach. I overheard a few surfers in the parking lot grumbling about these kooks who were overtaking their break, but they quickly loaded up and headed for other lands. We were basically alone on the beach.

We got the site setup, with help from Charles Salters and others, and the judges got settled in on the jetty at the north end of the competition zone, setting them up for a perfect view of the area.

As is usually the case at our contests, we started the day with some Masters heats, this time Master's IC. I'm not sure why the masters always go first, but as Philip explained 'They always get up for the Early Bird Special at Denny's anyway, so they're usually ready to compete first'.

Heat one got things started right with Dave Johnston (who has won countless World and National titles), Ross Fulcher (Multiple Grand-Master World Champ in 2005), Great lakes surfer John Tarbell, and John Ritter, a talented surfer out of Florida. Masters IC heat two featured Folly Beach's own (and current ESKA #1) Russ Buskirk, US East team members Chris Gotshall and Pete Titus, and talented California ripper and all around nice guy Buck Johnson.

The masters did not disappoint in these first two heats, with Dave Johnston tail slashing his way to a win in heat one, and Pete Titus staging an upset to win heat two.

Next up were the Men's K-1 prelims. The ESKA K-1 system is a moves based class, and always a crowd favorite as they watch to see who can link up the most ridiculous move combos. The waves were perfect for K-1 moves in these two heats, just steep enough to bounce well, and just mushy enough to allow for multiple moves on the wave face. High scoring rides abounded, as competitors were hitting airblunts, green-face cartwheels, loops, helixes, and McNasty's. 15 year old Alan Young, and myself, edged out a hand-paddling, big blunting Ben Moore and a smooth DC surfer Jason Gull in heat 1, while previous K-1 national champion Spencer Cooke and 17 year old Andy Gates narrowly beat talented Welsh surfer (and oft-crowd favorite) Snowy Robertson and fellow brit Paul Scrutton.

The Junior IC class Final was interesting, because only one of the competitors had ever been in an IC boat before (and only once at that). However, these guys all surfed really well, and looked like they were having fun in the big boats. Alan Young pulled out the win, to become National Champ, while New England's Alexander Stubbs finished a respectable second and Columbia's Andy Gates third.Alan Young, Junior IC Champ

Alexander and Andy

Alexander, Junior IC Final

Next up was the Master's High Performance Class, always one of the most highly contested classes. First time competitor Tom May was the talk of the competition with his smooth rides in his new Reaction surf kayak. You can really tell this guy knows how to read waves. Another new competitor, Erik Miller of Idaho, scored an upset victory, winning his heat with some impressive rides on the best waves of the heat. Two time US East team member Den Latham surfed well in his heat, and Buck Johnson, although he narrowly did not advance, was looking good in his Slingshot, as was Chris Gotshall. John Ritter had some good rides in his heat, but it wasn't enough to beat Dave Johnston, who was ripping it up as usual. Ross Fulcher demonstrated why he won two titles at the last Worlds, by advancing out of his tough heat.

Buck Johnson

The Women's IC Final unfortunately only featured two women, but it was a good heat nonetheless. Paula Rock got the crowd to their feet as she recovered from a beating on the inside, inspiring cheers from everyone on the beach. Congrats to Tree Rogerson for becoming the 2006 US National Champion in the class.

The Men's IC prelims were up next. With only minor interruptions, the waves were remaining fairly constant, chest high sets with the occasional head high wave thrown in. The IC boats were a lot of fun to paddle on these waves, and several competitors were getting some good floaters and tail slashes throughout the prelims. Spencer Cooke got the crowd going in his heat, with some really nice karate chops off the lip. Delawareian and East Coast legend (read jackass) Drew Haynes killed it in his heat, with nice lines, big tail slashes, and some good floaters, beating out Dave Johnston's ever impressive moves in his trusty Cyclone. John Tarbell represented for the Great Lakes, with some nice rides in his heat. Big ups to Will Rich, first time competitor from New England, who surfed well in his first competiton heat. Charles Salters dominated his heat, selecting the best waves, and always seeming to be in the right place at the right time. Heat three was a tight one, featuring an extended tie between Anthony Bell (probably the most decorated surf kayaker on the east coast) and Ross Fulcher, with Buck Johnson close behind. The tie breaker went down to the 5th wave, and Ross edged out the win.

The Master's HP semis featured more close scores. Tom May impressed everyone again with solid rides, winning his heat and earning a ticket to finals along with second place Russ Buskirk. Dave Johnston took the other top spot, followed by Ross Fulcher.

Tom May and Buck

The K-1 final featured three members of the Columbia Junior Freestyle team, Alan Young, Andy Gates, and myself (their coach), along with Asheville's Spencer Cooke. It was an exciting heat, as the competitors threw down more linked combos. Spencer hit several McNastys, combined with blunts, cartwheels and other moves. Andy got solid blunts both ways, spins, and cartwheels. I got a huge airblunt on my first ride, comboing it with cartwheels and another blunt. And Alan mixed it up well, with blunts both ways, backstabs both ways, loops, and helixes. In the end, Alan finished first, followed by Spencer, with Andy narrowly beating me for 3rd place. Although I wanted to do better than 4th, I was pretty stoked to see my kids beat me, it was a stangely exhilirating feeling, they worked hard all season to beat me and never could do it, until now.

Myself, blunt in the K-1 Final

After a break, we headed into the Men's HP/World Cup event, which featured 26 competitors across 8 prelim heats. Dave Johnston got things started right once again, with great rides and lots of off the lip moves. Philip Aschliman solidly won his heat with nice lip moves in a borrowed Shredder, advancing with Gordon Rock. Young Alexander Stubbs pulled off an upset when he finished 2nd behind Russ Buskirk to advance out of heat 7 just ahead of Buck Johnson who had some great rides in his heat. Alexander is a talented waveskier, and put that experience to good use in his heat. Snowy Robertson and Spencer Cooke had a dogfight in heat 4, finishing in a tie that saw Snowy narrowly take the #1 slot in the heat. Charles Salters got a huge floater in heat 5, finishing second behind Ross Fulcher, and edging out Paul Scrutton. Antnee Bell surfed his way to first place in his heat, working the waves strongly. Den Latham edged out Jason Gull for the second spot in that heat. Ben Moore was representing Team WAV and handpaddlers in his HP heat. And Eugene Link had some nice rides in heat 4.

Russ Buskirk

It was great to see many new faces in the Men's HP class. Tom May and Erik Miller once again advanced out of their heats. Alan Young and Andy Gates surfed well. Erik Nordstrom from Daytona, and Will Rich both had nice rides in practice and in the comp, but unfortunately did not advance in their heats.

The last heat of the day was really exciting. Drew Haynes had several solid rides, Tree Rogerson held her own with the boys finishing 3rd, but it was Fletcher Burton from CA who really killed it, getting the crowd to their feet with many impressive rides, including one where he got three nice lip moves.

Felipe says "Fletcher Burton is my HERO!"

It was great to have day one come to a close, everyone seemed really happy, and we had a great day of competition at a beautiful location. If you've never been to the Hatteras Lighthouse area, it is a really special place.

Saturday night everyone went out for seafood dinners, discussing the great heats seen earlier in the day, sharing stories from back home, and talking about past and future events. This is whats great about events like Nationals, getting together with friends you haven't seen in a long time, and meeting new folks to surf with.

We didn't know what sunday was going to bring. Would the swell get there in time for a good Frisco event? Would it be too windy? These were questions on all of our minds.

Saturday night my bad luck caught up with me again, as I got some sort of weird fever. It came out of nowhere, and for the rest of the night I was slipping in and out of conciousness as I battled chills, heat, and ridiculous fever hallucinations. I kept dreaming of doing tabulations of every score in the contest, came up with ridiculous solutions to even more ridiculous contest problems, and even thought that the best thing we could do on sunday would be to send the judges home! I was completely out of it.

FINALS

Sunday morning came too early, and I was still feeling feverish, and very weak from the rough night. I still had heats to organize, so I got up and got them all done and printed out, and headed to the contest site in Frisco.

We had the last US East team trials at Frisco, and it was some of the best contest surf we've ever had. I was hoping that the hurricane swell would be there in time for a good contest on sunday....and I was even more so hoping that my fever would go away.

I arrived at the contest site and many folks were already looking at the conditions. Well.....the size was definitely there, as we watched, it built up to eventually head high. The only problem was....that head high surf was breaking right on the beach. Thick lips were crashing right on the sand....classic OBX nightmare shore break! There was nervousness amongst the competitors, everyone staring blankly at the surf, hoping that they wouldn't have to brave it, but knowing they probably would. We didn't even know if anyone would be able to get out past the break....

After some deliberation we decided we'd chance it and get started soon. Guess who we decided should go first as the guinea pigs.......thats right, the ever trustworthy Master's!

As the contest site was prepared for the start of the day, I lay in the sand still battling my fever....praying that it would go away before the sun started baking me and making me feel even worse. I was even considering dropping out of the comp, but I decided I'd rest in the sand and watch and see how I felt when my heat came around.

We watched the Master's IC Final head out into the shore break.....with only a little effort they all made it past the nastiness and headed out to catch some waves. Everyone wondered what anyone would be able to do on these head high bruisers.....as the closeouts were frequent and violent.

Soon, our questions were answered, as Dave Johnston threw down his gauntlet with usual style, hitting a huge karate chop in his Cyclone, off the crashing lip perilously position right over the empty sand below. He pulled the move off, and gracefully rode the pillow down and right up onto the sand.....no broken boat.....no broken Dave. The crowd went wild. Ross, Russ, and Pete soon followed suit, surfing large waves and miraculously avoiding being crushed. But it was no match for Dave the Wave, who surfed to victory as the Master's IC National Champion, followed by Pete, Russ and Ross respectively.

Dave the Wave, going insane in the shorebreak

The first heat of the Waveski prelims were up next, and we watched them battle their way out into the surf zone. Glen Thompson and James Sheil represented well for Virginia Beach, getting some rides in the challenging conditions. Gordon Rock surfed solidly, advancing to finals. And Fletcher Burton destroyed as was expected, pulling huge tricks off the lips with no fear.

Next up was the Men's IC Semi finals. Before I go on, let me just say, many people poo poo the International class, looking down upon it with disdain as being “low performance” I wish all those people could of witnessed this event, because everyone in the IC classes were going big. Theres nothing like a big tail slash or karate chop in a 9 foot boat off a head high closeout......and the crowed was treated to quite a show. I think the video provides a good representation of how things went.

I was set to be in the first heat, and I slowly dragged myself out of the sand, pulled my wet gear on, and reluctantly headed to the waters edge. I was not looking forward to competing in my weak state, and the paddle out through the break made me extremely nervous, I will not lie. I felt as if I didn't even have the energy to roll if needbe, and I dreaded what the next 20 minutes would bring. After getting worked a bit getting out, and getting my clock cleaned once, something happened. I looked around and some of my best surfing buddies were out on the water with me, Spencer, Drew, and Antnee. Conditions were big and dumpy, as I tend to like them, and I quickly realized that we were going to have a good time. My fever seemed to of broken as the horn sounded for the heat to begin, and I got some reserve of energy from somewhere. Drew caught the first wave of the heat, a huge honker, and went to town on it. Then we all started catching waves. On one of my early rides I surfed in, caught the reform, and it set me up for a big lip move. I looked up at the thick lip about to crush me, looked down at the dry sand below, put the peddle down, hit the lip, leaned on the paddle, and closed my eyes....bam! A karate chop right off the lip. Amazingly, the landing was soft, and I rode the pillow down just as I'd seen Dave earlier. The heat was a blast, I watched as Spencer pulled move after move, tail slash after tail slash, chop after chop. We all had fun rides. Towards the end of the heat Spencer and Drew caught one of the biggest waves of the 20 minutes, and Spencer hit yet another huge move. “Thats it, he's won” I thought to myself. But it was a much closer heat than I expected. Spencer and I tied for first, and somehow I won the tie breaker. Drew and Anthony were close behind. This was the most fun heat of the competition for me, and it was great to surf it with my friends.

Myself, See where the sand is????!!!!

Drew Hayes

Heat 2 of the Men's IC Semi's was highly contested as well. Charles Salters had some impressive rides, as did Russ Buskirk. But it was Dave J and Ross who came out on top. Dave pulling off more of the same big move's he showed everyone in the earlier heat, and Ross choosing great waves and working them to the beach. In a very close finish, Ross got first, with Dave second.

Next up was heat 2 of the Waveski semis. The surf was still big and dumping just as hard if not harder. Paul Scrutton surfed well, as did Philip on his brand new Island ski (which he broke at some point during the comp). Young Alexander Stubbs ripped it up, after showing his stuff in decked boats, he looked very comfortable when back on his trusty ski. He took many gutsy drops and, as the video shows, went for some big moves in some of the scariest closeouts. He won the heat, followed by Philip.

Alexander Stubbs going for it

At this point in the day, the surf began to get a little more erratic, and getting pounded on the inside was much more probable.

The Master's HP final was one of the most contested heats of the day, with Russ and Ross commiting to big drops, and Dave Johnston tearing it up in his Twist. But in the end Tom May, in his first competition EVER won the crown of National Champion with solid rides, great floaters, and smooth lines.

Tom May, HP Masters National Champ

After a 20 minute break, it was time for the Men's IC finals. As I said earlier, some of the biggest moves of the comp were thrown in the IC class, and the finals were no exception. Ross was taking big drops as usual. I was hitting barrel rolls and slashes, but coulden't quite put the rides together as I wanted to. Dave Johnston was throwing the Cyclone around again with the usual flair, going huge on karate chops and tail slashes. And Spencer got some of the biggest rides of the competition, working long lines and going huge off the lip right above the sand below. It was a close heat, but in the end Spencer became the National Champion, followed by Dave, myself, and Ross.

Spencer Cooke, IC National Champ

By the time of the Junior HP final, the waves were even more erratic and thumpy, but it didn't phase these young rippers. They battled through the shore pound to get some respectable rides. Alexander surfed well in the Shredder, taking late drops and going for it. Andy Gates had impressive rides in his Spray, pushing himself and really working hard. But it was Alan Young who pulled off his 3rd title of the event, surfing the Riot Boogie to victory.

The Men's HP quarter finals featured many hard fought battles, as the top competitors dealt with the ever changing wave conditions. Fletcher and Dave managed to advance out of a tough heat 1, while myself and Gordon Rock made it out of heat 2. Heat three was very tough, with close scores between all the competitors. In the end Anthony Bell and Charles Salters edged out a strong surfing Philip and Spencer. Heat four was also close, with Drew Haynes taking the top spot followed by Tom May.

Drew, about to be crushed

Drew, getting crushed

In the next to last final of the day, the Waveski class final took to the waves next. It was a great heat with excellent rides all around. Alexander fought hard, taking more big drops as he'd been doing all day, but it wasn't enough to beat 2nd place finisher Philip, who seemed to be figuring out his new ski very quickly. Fletcher Burton stunned the crowd again with more ridiculous tricks, including standing up on his ski, surfing a long line AND hitting a floater all while still standing. This trick not only won him the title of National Champion, but also earned him the Big Trick trophy. Before the event Fletcher asked me if the winner of this event would be the true Waveski National Champion, and in my mind Fletcher definitely is.

Fletcher Burton, Waveski National Champ

During the Men's HP Semis the surf conditions were pretty brutal. Increasing a bit in size, with very large outside sets rolling in, the inside was a cauldron, and many people got a nice workout while stuck on the inside. Fletcher and Gordon managed to edge out Drew and Charles, earning a spot in finals. I spent most of heat two just trying to survive, while taking wave after wave on the head on the inside. I'm sure it was pretty entertaining from the beach. Tom May had similar problems, and so we were both eliminated by Anthony and Dave J, both surfing solidly in spite of the conditions.

Drew, nice line

During the break before the Men's HP finals, the surf continued to build and continued to get even more brutal on the inside. The finalists did their best to catch their breath after the challenging semis. After the break Gordon, Anthony, Dave, and Fletcher paddled to the outside and waited for the horn. Soon the heat started.....the finals of the most contested class at the event. Anthony chose to sit farther out and wait for one of the big sets to roll through. Fletcher caught some wave early and went for it on the lip, as he'd been doing all contest long. Gordon Rock surfed smoothly, working the waves he caught. Dave was able to get some of the best waves of the heat, carving them up in his usual style. Everyone really went for it, pushing themselves in the challenging conditions. At the end of the 20 minutes, the competitors seemed to be relieved that it was over, as the inside was working everyone in the heat hard. Dave Johnston came out the victor, winning yet another National title, and his second in a row on East coast turf. Fletcher, who apparently hadn't been in a surf kayak in a long time, but didnt look like it, claimed second, with Gordon third and Anthony fourth.

Dave the Wave, HP National Champ

After packing up the contest site, we headed to the Falcon Hotel, temporary home of many of the competitiors, and the host of our awards ceremony. Philip, up to his usual antics, arranged the ceremony around the hotel pool, requiring the competitors walk all the way around the pool, receive their trophy from him, and have their photo made by the “No Lifeguard on Duty Sign” while I announced. As you can imagine, this set the scene for many people getting pushed in the pool, and Dave Johnston and Fletcher both went in a few times. The trophies speak for themselves, befitting of such a prestigious event, check out the photos.

Trophies, look closely

Oneself

Men's K-1

Tree, Women's HP National Champion
Trophies
Juniors
Waveski
Masters IC
Second Place
After winning the Big Trick Title, Felipe helped Fletcher do a big trick into the pool!

Men's HP/World Cup, notice the "No Life" sign in the background...
Dave went in the pool after his win!
National Champions!
Felipe went in the pool too

The 2006 US Surf Kayaking Nationals was a big success. Everyone seemed to have a great time, which was my main goal for the event. The ESKA was proud to host this event, and we look forward to the next Nationals. We had surf all weekend, much of it great, and everyone brought their A game. The judges were EXCELLENT all weekend, we are lucky to have these guys judging our events. They somehow remain focused for the entire event, no matter how long the day is, they are very progressive, and we couldn't hope for better judging. Plus they do it for the measly amount we're able to pay them. It was really nice to meet several new people, and touch base again with lots of old friends as well.

A big thank you to everyone who helped out, especially Jo and Paula, who tabulated, Charles, Ant, Spencer, Drew, Ross, everyone who helped set up the contest site on sunday when I was in the dregs of my fever, Doug Banjak and Kitty Hawk Kites for the help and the site flags, Den for getting me my jersey that time, the judges for being so cool and easy to deal with, Andy for providing Gatorade both days, and everyone else involved.

Thanks to Steve Thompson and the Hatteras National Seashore for being so easy to work with and allowing us to host the event in such a great location. Thanks to the Falcon Motel and staff for letting us have the awards ceremony there. Thank you to Spencer Cooke and Effort Inc for filming and providing other assistance. Thanks to Buck, Dave, Fletcher, and Tree for being great competitors and bringing us some west coast stoke. Thanks to all the competitors for the great sportsmanship. And thank you to the sponsors, H2O Audio, Shred Ready, and Fortress for supporting the event and providing excellent prizes.

Make sure to enjoy the video by Effort.tv, and the photos, by Effort, Bruce from the Falcon, and others.

Joey Hall - ESKA President

Click here for the highlight video from Effort.tv and Spencer Cooke (quicktime)

Full results:

Fortress Men HP/World Cup
National Champion – Dave Johnston (Automatic World Cup Final Bid)
2 – Fletcher Burton (Automatic World Cup Final Bid)
3 – Gordon Rock
4 – Anthony Bell

5 – Drew Hayes
5 – Tom May
7 – Joey Hall
7 – Charles Salters
9 – Russ Buskirk
9 – Spencer Cooke
9 – Eric Miller
9 – Ross Fulcher
13 – Philip Aschliman
13 – Den Latham
13 – Alexander Stubbs
13 – Mark “Snowy” Robertson
17 – Erik Nordstrom
17 – Ben Moore
17 – Jason Gull
17 – Eugene Link
17 – Paul Scrutton
17 - Andy Gates
17 – Buck Johnson
17 – Tree Rogerson
25 – Will Rich
25 – Alan Young

H2O Audio Men's IC

National Champion – Spencer Cooke
2 – Dave Johnston
3 – Joey Hall

4 – Ross Fulcher

5 – Drew Hayes
5 – Russ Buskirk
7 – Anthony Bell
7 – Charles Salters
9- Alexander Stubbs
9- Buck Johnson
9 – Will Rich
9 – John Tarbell

Fortress Women HP/World Cup

National Champion – Teresa “Tree” Rogerson

H2O Audio Women International

National Champion – Teresa “Tree” Rogerson
2 – Paula Rock

Shred Ready Men K-1

National Champion – Alan Young
2 – Spencer Cooke
3 – Andy Gates
4 – Joey Hall

5 – Ben Moore
5 – Snowy Robertson
7 – Jason Gull
7 – Paul Scrutton

H2O Audio Master International

National Champion – Dave Johnston
2 – Pete Titus
3 – Russ Buskirk
4 – Ross Fulcher

5 – John Tarbell
5 – Chris Gotshall
7 – John Ritter
7 – Buck Johnson

Shred Ready Waveski

National Champion – Fletcher Burton
2 – Philip Aschliman
3 – Alexander Stubbs
4 – Gordon Rock

5 – Paul Scrutton
5 – James Sheil
7 – Glen Thompson
7 – Don Anderson

Fortress Master HP

National Champion – Tom May
2 – Dave Johnston
3 – Ross Fulcher
4 – Russ Buskirk

5 – Den Latham
5 – Erik Miller
7 – Buck Johnson
7 – John Ritter
7 – Chris Gotshall
10 – Pete Titus

Fortress Junior HP/World Cup

National Champion – Alan Young
2 – Andy Gates
3 - Alexander Stubbs

H2O Audio Junior International

National Champion – Alan Young
2 – Alexander Stubbs
3 – Andy Gates

Quick Nationals Results

2006-09-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry to of not posted this sooner, but I've been without internet until now.

I promise to post a more detailed report soon, but for now I will just say we had waves all weekend, beautiful weather, great competition, and I think everyone had a great time.

There were so many impressive rides and some huge tricks, truly national level competitors, hopefully Spencer will post some video.

Thanks to the National Parks Service, H2O Audio, Fortress, and Shred Ready.
Huge thanks to the great judges and tabulators.

And a special thanks to everyone else who helped out, Charles, Drew, Spencer, Philip, Ross, Paula, and others, (especially on Sunday morning when I was sick with a fever!)

Glad to see Dave the Wave, Fletcher, Buck, and Tree from the West coast, you are all gracious competitors.

And it was nice to see lots of new faces, Will, Erik, Erik, Alexander, the VB crew, and Tom May.....I can't believe this was his first contest.

Heres some results, and be patient, full report and more photos soon. If anyone has photos I can share with our sponsors or on our website, please send them to me.

Joey Hall
ESKA President

Results:

Fortress Mens HP/World Cup
National Champion - Dave Johnston
2nd - Fletcher Burton
3rd - Gordon Rock
4th - Anthony Bell

H2O Audio International
National Champion - Spencer Cooke
2nd - Dave J
3rd - Joey Hall
4th - Ross Fulcher

Shred Ready K-1
National Champion - Alan Young
2nd - Spencer Cooke
3rd - Andy Gates
4th - Joey Hall

Shred Ready Waveski
National Champion - Fletcher Burton
2nd - Philip Aschliman
3rd - Alexander Stubbs
4th - Gordon Rock

Fortress Women's HP/World Cup
National Champion - Tree Rogerson

H2O Audio Women's Internationa
National Champion - Tree R
2nd - Paula Rock

Fortress Masters HP
National Champion - Tom May
2nd - Dave Johnston
3rd - Ross Fulcher
4th - Russ Buskirk

H2O Audio Masters IC
National Champion - Dave Johnston
2nd - Pete Titus
3rd - Russ Buskirk
4th - Ross Fulcher

Fortress Junior HP/World Cup
National Champion - Alan Young
2nd - Andy Gates
3rd - Alexander Stubbs

H2O Audio Junior International
National Champion - Alan Young
2nd - Alexander Stubbs
3rd - Andy Gates

Big Trick Champion - Fletcher Burton

Nationals

2006-09-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

Well, today I head to OBX to get ready for this weekend's National Championships and World Cup Event #4

I'm happy to say that we have our permits, insurance, 4 qualifyed judges, a few volunteers....and perhaps even some SURF (I'm still not convinced by the reports yet, but I'm hope hope hoping....keep ur fingers crossed!)

If sunday looks to be much better than Saturday, we will run more heats on Sunday than on Sat....be prepared for that.
As it stands, it looks like we have about 9.5 hours of heats to run through over the 2 days, plus some big trick heats if possible, so its not too daunting of a task to move more heats to sunday.

If you are competing, please call my cell phone on thursday and friday to get more details as to where to meet, what time, etc. My number is 8O3.Two3eight.Zero432
If I dont answer, I will be leaving messages on my voicemail that will provide instructions.
We will have an informal meeting on thurs afternoon or friday morning before practice, and a more formal competitors meeting at a TBA location on friday evening.
Competition will begin Sat morning at either Frisco pier, frisco public access, or the old lighthouse site. First heat may start as early as 8am, or we may push the start time later depending on what the surf looks like its going to do.
Please bear with us, we want to surf the best conditions possible, so we're going to have to play it by ear and be ready to change things around if needbe. If you can't get ahold of me, I will be staying at the Falcon Hotel, you can find me there.

I just wrapped up all the sponsors for the event, and confirmed the prizes we will be awarding in addition to Trophies for 1st-4th place. Looks to be over $2000 dollars worth of quality prizes.

So, without further ado, here's what you could win!

Fortress Men's HP
1st Place - Fortress Watch of Choice ($125 Value) + Shred Ready Phly Helmet ($90 Value)
2nd Place - Shred Ready Composite Helmet ($125 Value)
3rd Place - Shred Ready Phly Helmet ($90 Value)
4th Place - Shred Ready Phly Helmet ($90 Value)

H20 Audio Men's IC
1st Place - H2O Audio Gift Certificate (Over $100 value)

H2O Audio Master's IC
1st Place - H2O Audio Gift Certificate (Over $100 value)

Fortress Master's HP
1st Place - Fortress Watch of Choice ($125 Value)

Shred Ready K-1
1st Place - Shred Ready Composite Helmet ($125 Value)

Shred Ready Jr K-1
1st Place - Shred Ready Phly Helmet ($90 Value)

H2O Audio Jr IC
1st Place - H2O Audio Gift Certificate (OVer $100 Value)

Fortress Jr HP
1st Place - Fortress Watch of choice ($125 Value)

Shred Ready Big Trick
1st Place - Shred Ready Composite Helmet ($125 Value)

Shred Ready Waveski - Shred Ready Composite Helmet ($125 Value)

I look forward to seeing everyone at the event, we've got Easties from SC, FL, VA, NJ, GA, and NC, some West coast rippers, and even a Brit for good measure....all competing for the crown of National Champion, and invites to the World Cup Finals.

I hope most of all that we have a fun weekend with good surf and good vibes.

Stay tuned for updates, thanks for everyone who's been sending well wishes.

Joey Hall
ESKA President

Get your Nationals Entries in!

2006-08-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
remember there will be no on-site registration for nationals, so get those entries in. On the 25th the price will go up slightly, and the deadline to enter is by sept 1st.

http://www.eskasurf.com/nationals.htm