Oakley Surf Shop Challenge eyes West Coast champ

Oakley Surf Shop Challenge

Event series hits Hawaii, California, Florida and wraps up in Bali

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 30 May, 2012 : - - The 2012 Oakley Surf Shop Challenge presented by Surfer Magazine makes stop No. 4 at Newport Beach’s 54th/56th Streets on June 1st for the West Regional Qualifier. Almost 300 surfers from 70 shops around the United States will compete at seven regional qualifying events vying for an all-expense paid trip to the eighth and final event, the National Championship in Bali, Indonesia, in October.  The all-new Oakley High School Surf Team Challenge will run on June 2nd and crown the top high school team in the region.
 
The event series pits four-man teams—two surf shop pros and two shop employees—against each other for a chance to win $10,000, an advertising spread in Surfer Magazine, and the title of best surf shop in the country. An exciting addition for 2012, Oakley has generously offered up an all-expense-paid trip to Bali, Indonesia, to compete at the National Championship event to the winning team of each region.

A notoriously competitive region, the West has been around since 2010when it was divided from the Southwest region.  The West region includes all of Orange and Los Angeles Counties while the Southwest covers all of San Diego County.
 
Last year’s West Regional Qualifier saw two Los Angeles County shops (Val Surf and Spyder) contend with two Orange County shops (Katin and Jack’s) in the final.  Spyder, ultimately took the title, a big win for them considering they had been competing in the event for six years and never shown a good result.  Katin earned second with 2005 Southwest Regional Champs and 2010 defending West Regional Champs Jack’s in third and Val Surf in fourth.  But with the upped ante of an all-expense-paid trip to Bali for the National Championship, it promises to be a contentious battle again this year.  Also watch for 2006 Southwest Regional Champs Huntington Surf & Sport. 2011 West Qualifier Video Highlights
 
2012 brings the addition of the Oakley High School Surf Team Challenge to the Southwest and West Regional Qualifiers, allowing the top 10 high school teams from each region to compete for the honor of a regional championship title, a $5,000 grand prize and Oakley prize pack and $1,500 from Muscle Milk.  Oakley will also award $1,000 to the “most spirited” high school team.  Torrey Pines High School secured theSouthwest win.  For the West, the event will run on Saturday, June 2nd. 
 
The list of 2012 invited West teams:
•       Jack's Surfboards
•       Huntington Surf & Sport
•       Surfside Sports
•       T. Patterson Surfboards
•       Katin Surf Shop
•       Spyder Surf
•       Laguna Surf & Sport
•       Frog House
•       Val Surf
•       Killer Dana
•       Becker
•       ET Surf

Kicking off April 6th with Event No. 1 at Seaside Reef in Cardiff, California, former National Champions (2008) SurfRide earned their ticket to Bali by winning the Southwest Regional Qualifier. In late April, Wave Riding Vehicles claimed event No. 2 at Jenette’s Pier in Nags Head, NC earning the Mid-Atlantic title and Heritage Ocean City defended their Northeast Regional title with another win at Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, NJ.  The remaining 2012 Oakley Surf Shop Challenge calendar includes:
 
•       June 1-2 – West – 54th/56th Street – Newport Beach, Calif.
•       July 6 – Hawaii – Ala Moana Bowl, South Shore, Haw.
•       Aug. 14-15 – Southeast – New Smyrna Beach Inlet, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
•       Aug. 31 – Northwest – Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, Calif.
•       Oct. 6-10 – National Championship – Keramas/Canggu, Bali, Indo.
 
For all of the latest information including photos, video footage, results and more, check out surfshopchallenge.com. Special thanks to Oakley and otherevent partners, Muscle Milk, Rusty, Bubble Gum, New Era, Future Fins, Waterman’s Applied Science and Mizu for their support, without which the Surf Shop Challenge series would not be possible.

www.surfshopchallenge.com

Source: Grind Media

Author: Dawn Hamilton

Tags: Oakley Surf Shop Challenge, Newport Beach, Surfer Magazine,

Events: Surfersvillage