Outer Banks ESA District

ESA
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
17 July 2010

Contest goes off at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 25 July, 2010 : - - Contest #3 of the Outer Banks ESA District season went down on Saturday July 17th at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  The National Park Service stoked out district surfers and directors by granting them a permit to use the old lighthouse site for the contest venue. 

The surf for the day was about waist high with occasionally bigger sets but the wind was the major problem.  It blew side shore for most of the day at about 15-20 knots giving the competitors some challenging conditions and shifty peaks for most of the day. To make matters even a bit more tricky, the directors and contestants decided to "double beach" in order to get through the extensive number of heats for the day. 

Even though it added some stress, the contest still ran smooth and fun was had by all.  To help smooth things out for the day was the support from Hatteras Island Christian Fellowship.   All the members volunteered their time to help with administration under the tent and they even fired up the barbie for hot dogs and hamburgers for all the competitors. 

In the youth divisions, Morgan Taylor Leavel, ESA All Star, was the standout surfer as he dominated the Jr. Mens and Jr. Longboard divisions.  It was a battle for second place as Leavel was the most consistent surfer in those divisions.  Michael Foard also had a strong day finishing 2nd to Leavel in both divisions.  Leavel and Foard surfed well enough to make the Open Division final were they placed 4th and 5th respectively. 

Daniel Brake was another grom that put down some great results for the day as he held off a charging Quentin Turko in the Boys division.  Both of these young rippers also made the Open division final with Brake finishing in 6th place and Turko finishing 3rd. In the adult divisions, Pat McManus had another strong day winning the Open division for the third time in a row. 

It was another battle for second place as McManus consistently threw down good scores in the tricky surf leaving the other finalists struggling to get waves.  McManus was also able to hold off Nate Gillen and Jason Breiholz in the Sr. Mens divisions.  Joe Gillen was also a double winner as he collected 2 gold medals for the day in the Grandmasters shortboard and Masters Longboard divisions. 

Another standout surfer in the adult women's division was Jamie Baittinger.  She claimed another win over local shred-sister Leanne Foster Robinson in the Women's division as well as making the Open division final for the second time in as many contests.  She couldn't do much to contend with the McManus assault, but was able to finish a strong second place in a division that is dominated by male surfers.

Contest #3 will see some big changes in point standings for many of the divisions. The district rankings up through contest #3 will be released on the website soon.  Many divisions have super tight point races going on for district crowns and qualification for the Regional Championships next spring.

www.esasurf.org

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Julie Leavel

Contests - Surfersvillage