Northeast Championships Photo | Video

The fifth and final qualifying event of the 2005 Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge Presented by Surfer was held on August 21st in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. A total of nine surf shops gathered on the northern end of the Outer Banks to compete for the one prestigious slot left that would take them out West to Trestles for the final competition between the five regions.

The proposed starting time kept being pushed back due to a near non-existent swell that was further hidden by the high tide. As the tide dropped the decision was made for a 12:30 p.m. start.

Due to an unfortunate accident the day before, WRV veteran Wes Laine was unable to compete due to an injured knee that he smacked on a tuna tower while fishing. Filling in for Wes was 13-year-old Balaram Stack of Pt. Lookout, Long Island, who hitched a ride from New York with fellow WRV teamrider Will Skudin. Will offered to take the grom on his first trip to the Outer Banks just a day earlier, and before he knew it the young tyke was in the water battling for position with some of the East Coast's best surfers.

The first real turn performed was by WRV's Brendan Petticrew, who found enough speed on his backhand to smack the snot out of a small green-and-glassy wall. The highest score in Round One, though, was given to Whalebone's Pat McManus , who managed to hang onto his board during a freak backwash that sent him into the air. Pat, who was on last year's winning Northeast team, was quick to throw up both hands for a claim that gave his team the top total score of the first round.

A total of five teams made the final round, including Whalebone, WRV Kitty Hawk, Sweetwaters, and 17th Street's KDH and Virginia Beach Shops. The only real suspense of the Final was seeing all five Double-Whammy surfers in the water at the same time. Knowing how crucial a double score could be to bolster the team's total, each Whammy guy took his time in chasing down one of their three allotted waves. First down was 17th Street's Jason Borte, who was unable to do much with a midget-sized right that zipped along the shoreline.

With less than five minutes remaining, local OBX surfer and hometown favorite Noah Snyder connected with another winding right. After floating over a couple of sections Noah was able to throw the hardest turn of the entire event, scoring him a 7.5, which he instantly doubled. With seconds left on the clock Wrightsville Beach's Matt Gilligan connected with another right but failed to pull off a reverse on his final maneuver, leaving Sweetwater to a respected 2nd Place showing behind the local WRV Kitty Hawk team.

The final five teams gathered for the awards presentations at Shuck U's Raw Bar where the placings were announced. When asked what it took to win the Final, Noah commented, “Lots of patience and not letting my nerves get to me.”

The winning NE team that'll be heading to Trestles for the final bout during the Boost Mobile will be Noah Snyder, Wes Laine, Brendan Petticrew, Steve Owens, and if he's lucky enough, a little tyke from Long Island named Balaram who may go as an alternate.

Final Results:
1) WRV Kitty Hawk
2) SWEETWATER
3) 17th STREET KDH
4) 17th STREET Va. Bch.
5) WHALEBONE

Words & Photos by Kevin Welsh