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Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge Presented by SURFER Magazine
Southeast Regional Championships
By Kevin Welsh
As a potent late season cold front trekked across the country toward the East Coast temperatures in Central Florida dipped into the upper 40’s. This seems minor for the surfers up north that just finished the NE division of the QSSC in New Jersey a couple days earlier where the water was a chilling 30-degree winter-like conditions. But for us thin blooded Floridians it was downright cold. Strong offshore winds with gusts clocking in at gale force stirred up the bouys to as high as 17 feet but with the swell direction heading away from our coast.
 “The night before our event we checked the surf and it was nearly flat”, commented Quiksilver’s East Coast Promotions head Matt Kechele. Luckily by early next morning a mirage like image of swell lines bending in from the north peeled along the sandbar at Sebastian Beach Inn. The contest was on and a total of eleven teams dug their toes in the sand to decipher who would be the surf shop to represent the Southeast in California this summer.
This year the teams came from as far as Texas, with Wind ‘n Waves Surf Shop from Corpus Christi as the sole representation from the Gulf Coast. Without a doubt the most amped up team was last year’s National Champions, Sunrise Surf Shop, from Jacksonville, Florida. I can honestly say that up until this day I’ve never seen anyone gargle with Red Bull first thing in the morning but that was the case with Sunrise’s team captain Jason Motes as he expelled a rant that would raise grandma ten feet out of her grave.
Ron Jon’s Mike DeTemple executed the first “double whammy” claim as he successfully wiggled his retro fish into the fat high tide shorebreak. By the end of the 55-minute heat it was Island Water Sports of Deerfield Beach securing the top overall score, which gave them just enough (.75 points) to advance them into Round Two.
In the Surf Shop Challenge, time management is crucial for your team to succeed; one team that suffered in that department was former SE division champions Quiet Flight Surf Shop. As their double whammy surfer Bryan Hewitson exhaustedly crawled his way up the beach like an out of breath loggerhead turtle he left only two minutes for the teams fourth and final surfer to register his two waves. Instead of nabbing a couple quick waves in the shorebreak the surfer paddled to the outside as the horn signaled the heats end. The penalty was severe to the former 2004 and 2005 SE champions as they suffered a 5-point deduction for not having all their surfers in on time. Sunrise came out on top this heat, winning by nearly 10 points, advancing them directly to the final round with the second highest score of the day. Lead by their double whammy artist Ryan Briggs, who was last year’s ultimate standout at the final event at Oceanside, Sunrise was in top form, hinting at a repeat of last year’s win.
 The third and final heat in Round One was won by Surf Central with newly signed team member Ryan Helm literally at the helm of their charging ship with his quick snaps, long floaters and crowd pleasing reverse 360. This sent them straight to the Final Round with Sunrise Surf Shop.
RED DOG and The GOODS were the two shops to advance out of Round 2 and into the sixty minute Final. The Goods Adam Wickwire, fresh from his victory at the Easter Surf Festival in Cocoa Beach, was the first to claim his double whammy with an initial score of 7.23. Next to claim was Surf Centrals Ryan Helm who doubled his 6.77. Ryan’s fellow teammates had no problems tallying up respectable scores and finished their run with over 15 minutes left on the clock. Next to clock out was TEAM SUNRISE followed by THE GOODS and TEAM RED DOG.
The surfers all gathered up on the deck of the Sebastian Beach Inn to hear the results. In the end it was THE GOODS taking the title with all four members yielding consistent scores including those by their two shop employees Tommy Milbourne and Kelsey Strickland. Strickland was later recognized as the DC Shoes Wave Pillager for earning the highest employee score of the event and pocketed a $250 check for his efforts.
DC Wave Pillager Kelsey Strickland
FINAL SCORES
1st Place: THE GOODS - 46.46
Team: Adam Wickwire, Oliver Kurtz, Kelsey Strickland, Tommy Milbourne
2nd Place: SUNRISE SURF SHOP - 44.5
Team:
Jason Motes, Ryan Briggs, Garrett Carmichael, Adam McGill
3rd Place: SURF CENTRAL - 44.23
Team:Ryan Helm, Teague Taylor, Boyce Hundley, Jeff Bordon
4th Place: RED DOG SURF SHOP - 35.13
Team:Nils Schwitzer, Steve Anest, Reese Lewis
DC Wave Pillager / Highest Scoring Shop Employee and $250 check awarded to:
Kelsey Strickland from THE GOODS |
