Southwest Championships Video | Photo
Micha Pitts |
Summer is upon us, the water’s warming up, Southern California’s beaches are filling up, and once again the Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge is in season. On June 10th at Newport Beach’s 54th Street, unfortunately in very unsummer-like drizzle and south winds, some of the most esteemed surf shops from Orange and San Diego Counties amassed. Twenty shops would begin, only one would advance into the grand finale and a chance at the $10,000 Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge winner-take-all prize slated to take place later this summer.
When the first heat of Round One took the water at 7:30 a combination of foul onshore winds and a drained-out low tide had all the trappings of a long, rather unpleasant day at the beach, but come mid-morning the skies broke and the tide slowly ebbed back in, and by early afternoon the winds sat down completely, revealing a bump up in northwest wind swell, as well as a slight increase in southwest ground swell, providing a classic 54th St. backdrop for the high action final.
05 QSSC Southwest Champs - Jacks Surfboard |
Defending Southwest Champs Laguna Surf and Sport, no strangers to the shifty beachbreak, made the most of the early round slop, advancing into the Semis. Main Street H.B. neighbors Jack’s and Huntington Surf and Sport, both boasting rosters studded with local stars, looked sharp, and more than hungry to knock their brothers from the south out of their Number One slot. Barely squeaking through Round One, Frog House, fronted by lifelong Newport stalwart Richie Collins, stumbled in their Semifinal heat, failing to advance. Making the drive up the 405, Surfride, Emerald City and K-5 Boardshop all waved the San Diego flag with fervor and pride. The tag-team format ensured ample trash talking in the team’s dugouts, with claims, off-the-cuff comments, and even small wagers taking place.
As the Semis came to a close and the scores were tallied the top five teams moved on into the Final. Jack’s and HSS continued to butt heads. BC Surf Shop, Killer Dana and Surfride rounded out the other three spots. The teams, composed of four surfers, each selects one surfer to be their “double whammy” guy, which means when he gets what he and the team feels is the best possible score he raises his hands, claims the wave, and doubles whatever the score turns out to be. This bonus has the potential to make or break a team, in the case of the Final, BC’s Branden Ragenovich was the only one to capitalize, garnering a 7.8 on his double whammy wave. Jack’s Shawn Ward and HSS’s Brett Simpson nullified one another’s double whammy wave by both scoring mid-5s. But in the end, it was Jack’s Jesse Evans that proved to be the pivotal player, racking up close to 15 points on his two scoring waves. This would be the difference, and as the afternoon’s sun beat down on the contest site, Jack’s Surfboards hoisted the winner’s trophy and moved one step closer to the chance at a cool 10 grand and the chance to be America’s Number One surf shop.
Southwest Division Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge Final Results:
1. Jack’s Surfboards
Shawn Ward
Jesse Evans
Randy Hollowell
Chris Chavon
2. BC Surf Shop
Branden Ragenovich
Eric Owens
Jason McLlwee
Matt Howe
3. Huntington Surf and Sport
Micah Byrne
Brett Simpson
Logan Strook
Justin Hugron
4. Surfride
Scott Cole
Tyler Moyer
Chris Abad
Sean Mattison
5. Killer Dana
Brandt Bacha
Trevor Trout
Dave Pinto
Micah Pitts
Stay tuned for the Northwest Division Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge Final coming July 15th to California Street in Ventura.
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