Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge 2007

shop talk

With Jason Motes, squad leader of Sunrise, the 2006 Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge National Champions

The weather was pretty wild in Florida last year during the Southeast Qualifier. Between hurricanes, blazing heat, and rainsqualls, how did Sunrise see its way through?

We got really lucky. Every single one of our guys managed to pick off a good set wave. The waves were pretty horrible, but we somehow managed to find every weird little waste-to-chest high bump that came in. But it was so close. Our Regional Qualifier was even closer than the national championship. I mean, I think it came down to three-tenths of a point between Quiet Flight and us, so we were really stoked to win.

Speaking of Quiet Flight, who are you guys worried about this year?

Well, we’ve got a bunch of teams gunning for us now, and Quiet Flight’s definitely one of them. They were undefeated before we beat them last year, and Brian Hewitson—every time I see that guys surf it blows me away that he’s not on the ’CT anymore. So, we definitely have to keep an eye on them. Nekton, the Lopez’s shop, is another one to watch for. They’ve got Shea, and we all know what that guy can do. And the Goods, the Hobgood’s shop, that’s going to be another really solid team. So is Ocean Magic. Ryan Helm is anchoring their squad, and he’s been surfing really, really well lately. So we’ve got our work cut out for us. But the neat thing about this format is that it’s not just about a single guy. You need to have all four guys do their thing to win. And I’m feeling solid about our ability to do that. We’ve got Garrett Carmichael, who’s one of the best unsung surfers in Florida right now, Ryan Briggs, who’s always doing his thing, and Adam McGill, who just came back from Hawaii and is surfing really well. Plus, there’ve been waves for the past two weeks here in Florida, so we’ve all been surfing a lot. We’re fit, ripping, and ready to go.

Coming from such a hotbed, did you feel like the competition of the Southeast division played to your advantage last year during the National Championships?

Absolutely. Plus, we were so fired up to be out in California, to be surfing Oceanside in waves that were—for us, coming from Florida—smoking, we didn’t even feel like we were in a competition. We were just having so much fun.

So how do you feel about your chances? Is this the beginning of the Sunrise Surf Shop Challenge Dynasty?

Well, like I said, we’ve got a long way to go, but I think we’ve got an even better shot at it this year than we did in 2006. I sure hope it’s the beginning of something, and I’m confident in our ability to make that happen.