29th Annual NKF Rich Salick Pro/Am Surf Festival Recap

29th Annual NKF Rich Salick Pro/Am Surf Festival Recap

Cocoa Beach Pier

There was laughter, water being sprayed, people throwing buckets, judges making their ink run wild, and an awesome crowd of people. This year we had a huge turnout for the 29th Annual NKF up in Cocoa Beach. It started Saturday, 8/30/14. The judges ran odd heats on the North side of the pier and even heats on the South side. The contest was full of colorful boards, crazy surfers, beach babes, and people wanting to have a good time! The only down side to the event was that Mother Nature didn’t produce the waves we were hoping for. Still had a little bump though! As they say in show business, the show must go on!

I made it to semi's in Jr. Women AM, but didn't produce my best in that final heat of mine. My friend Maddie Maliza moved on though, I was stoked for her! Even though I did not advance, I still hung out with my friends and had a great time. I don't get to head up to Cocoa often, so it was a great experience for me. I started off my weekend by cruising up there on Friday night to stay in a hotel at the beach with my friend Katy, who was also in the contest and finished fifth in women’s long board and fourth in womens short board..

It reminded me of when I used to play soccer and we used to stay in hotels for tournaments. We woke up Saturday morning before the sun rose and headed down to the pier before the contest started to get a last minute practice in. The waves were small and the weather wasn’t too good at first. Those 2 foot waves managed to get a little wind on them and soon we had some wind chop action. I was amazed to see the sun come out towards the end of the day when my semi heats approached.

There were also so many girl surfers, I’ve never seen so many in one place! I got to see some of my JR Pro friends who are always traveling too! It was just so much fun! The photographers were all very nice, each had their own characteristics and were super cool. I just wish there were some better waves for the contest.

The finals were tough, but everyone did great! My friend Luke Marks won the JR Men’s Pro and his sister Caroline won the Women’s Pro. I hope everyone had a good time because I sure know that I did! NKF sure did a great job, it was so cool to see everyone come together for a great cause. Congrats to Corey Howell for getting the NKF scholarship too! You ripped it out there. Every year so many girls and boys of all ages come out. It is a great family event too, varying from super young ages to grandmasters. Again congrats to all the winners and I hope everyone had a good time because I know I did! I can’t wait till next year and to see how the contest goes. Maybe this time we will actually get some real waves.

Much love xoxo,
Christa McAneney 29th Annual NKF Rich Salick Pro/Am Surf Festival Recap
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