Rhode Island throws Catch a Curl event

Catch a Curl Contest

New England Eastern Surfing Association
Misquamicuit State Beach, Westerly Rhode Island
22 September 2012

On The Edge - Catch A Curl Contest Goes Off

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 26 September, 2012 : - - For the first time in the history of the New England Eastern Surfing Association, a rated contest was held at the Misquamicuit State Beach, in Westerly, Rhode Island, this past Saturday. It was also the first time that a contest was held for youth events only. No one over 14 years old participated with full focus directed toward our up and coming young talent. The competition was directed by by Mistral Dobson, Program Director for the New England Science and Sailing Marine Sciences and Adventure Sports. It was largely because of Mistral, that the event was such a success.

It was a perfect day for a surfing contest, with sunny, cloudless skies, warm air temperatures, and a solid glassy 2-3 foot swell. There were no easy winners in this one. The Fiercest competition came in the Wahine Girls division. Held during dead high tide, the contestants had to contend with some close-out sets, but they still charged it, going for just about anything that looked like a wave. In the end, it was Reilly Walker who found the biggest and best peaks, topping Georgia Parsons for the title. Kelly Giffault was a close 3rd.

Sean Dungan blazed through his semi-finals, racking up the highest scores of the contest, but could not find the waves in the Menehune Boys Final. It was local hotshot, Harrison Gatah, who was on fire, working the inside sections and piling up the points for the win. Top ESA Boys competitor Matt Alofsin edged out Dungan by a mere ½ point in the final tally for the second spot.

The Big Kahuna division was filled with more ESA veterans and proved to be the closest final of the entire contest. The heat proved to be a showcase for Gavin Smith, who got some great backside lip-smacks on some of the best left sections that showed. Local ripper Baylor Wallace worked the rights for the second spot, while Ryan Wilkenson was solid in the 3rd position.
The biggest cheers from the beach came in the Ankle Biter division, where first time competitors under 10 year old showed their stuff.

Aidan Freidt showed some big potential as he charged into the top spot, taking just about every set wave. Local Cody Lamphere got some long rides to take 2nd, squeezing by Jonah Beasley with a tie breaking 3rd wave. The Open Bodyboard final was won by a drop-knee riding Ben Moy, taking out Jayden Smith with some hard cut-backs in the shore pound. Dylan Holtbakk grabbed the 3rd spot with a cover-up tube ride.

Special thanks went out to local sponsors, including the Windjammer in Westerly, Seven-Ply Surf Shop, Narragansett Surf and Skate, Garbo Grabbers of Bridgeport, Connecticut, which provided the trash bags and trash collectors, and Surfrider Foundation of Connecticut, which provided everything else. The next ESA event will be the Octoberfest SUP Paddle, on October 14, at Narrow River Kayak in Narragansett, R.I. The 4-mile race will start at 10 AM.  Signups are from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM.  Entry fee is $30.00.  Trophies and prizes will be awarded to all finalists.

The following weekend will feature the Annual ESA Northeast Surfing Championships, to be held at the Narragansett Town Beach.  This fully rated contest is on call for Friday night, October 19th after 6:00 PM.  The ESA Hotline phone number to call is 401-789-1954.  Entry fee is $20.00 and trophies and prizes will be awarded to all finalists. For further information, interested surfers and SUP-ers can either email the ESA at bicsurf@hotmail.com, or call 401-575-0003.

Final Results of the Catch A Curl ESA Youth Contest- Ankle Biters (10 and under)- 1.Aidan Freidt 2.Cody Lamphere 3.Jonah Beasley 4.Calin Koh   Menehune Boys (11-14)- 1.Harrison Gatah 2.Matt Alofsin 3.Sean Dungan 4.Mitchell Edwards 5.Dylan Holtbakk 6.Sam Casadei 7.Drew Cummings 8.Ben Waid   Wahine Girls (11-14)- 1.Reilly Walker 2.Georgia Parsons 3.Kelly Giffault 4.Leigh Giffault 5.Paige Giffault 6.Liz Longo 7.Autumn Keine 8.Riley Casadei 9.MAC   Big Kahunas (advanced)- 1.Gavin Smith 2.Baylor Wallace 3.Ryan Wilkenson 4.Nico Foster 5.Ben Oddo   Open Bodyboard- 1.Ben Moy 2.Jayden Smith 3.Dylan Holtbakk

Source: ESA

Author: Peter Pan

Tags: Rhode Island, ESA, New England Eastern Surfing Association

Events: Surfersvillage