Easter Surf Fest in Cocoa Beach
- April 11, 2012
- 0 Comments
- By Surf Guru
Over the Easter holiday weekend, April 6-8, Ron Jon Surf Shop hosted the 48th Annual Easter Surf Fest in Cocoa Beach. The event was actually held at two different locations: Shepard Park for the Pro divisions and the Cocoa Beach Pier for the amateur divisions.
As usual, the spectator turnout for the event was outstanding, with surfing enthusiasts covering every square foot of beach at both sites. Easter weekend is a popular time to vacation in Cocoa Beach, so the Surf Fest is a huge draw not only for the locals, but also for tourists visiting from every corner of the globe (and thus, a great place for people-watching).
Over the span of three days, competitors and spectators enjoyed fantastic Spring weather and a festive atmosphere. The surf conditions, however, varied greatly each day of the event, with small, glassy waves on Friday; big, stormy, messy conditions on Saturday; and fun, sizeable waves on Sunday. As event judge Brandon
Russell stated, the competitors who made it to the finals by the end of the weekend truly deserved to be there because they proved they could surf well in any condition.
I spent most of my time at the Pier, which played host to the amateur divisions--Men’s Shortboard, Menehune Shortboard, and Boys’ Shortboard—but also a $2500 Junior Men’s Shortboard event, a $1000 Stand Up Paddle Surfing event, the Easter Bunny Skim Bash, and the Future 6 Vertical Skateboard Challenge. My good friend Jimmy South was on location to represent local business Endless Summer Tattoo and compete in the Men’s Shortboard division. It was fun to share in his stoke for being a part of the event. Congrats Jimmy on advancing to the semi-finals; as a newcomer to competitive surfing, this is an awesome achievement!
I also loved watching the groms RIP in the Boys’ division, throwing huge turns with tons of style. Similarly, the level of surfing was outstanding across the board in all divisions at the Pier. My only hope for next year is that enough women register to support an Amateur Women’s event!
Down the beach at Shepard Park, spectators were treated to an even higher level of surfing in the Pro events for all three days of varying conditions. This site featured the $5000 Ron Jon Pro Longboard, the $5000 Steven G. Casanova Pro Men’s Shortboard, the $2500 Roxy Pro Women’s Longboard and Shortboards, the $1000 Paddleboard House SUP, and the Solarx Rubber Duck (12 & under). Amazingly, Saturday’s victory-at-sea conditions hindered only a few of the competitors; some of the longboarders had difficult showcasing their full abilities in the large, choppy waves. Otherwise, the surfers did an amazing job tearing it up in tough conditions.
The standout surfer of the event was Justin Quintal, who absolutely dominated all of his heats to win the $5000 Pro Men’s Longboard division. Congratulations to Justin on the win, which is a repeat victory from 2011.
In the Pro Men Shortboard event, the Powell brothers Michael and Ben ruled supreme, taking 1st and 3rd place, respectively. In the finals, Michael Powell scored the best wave of the entire Easter Surf Fest, earning 9.5 on an amazing 100-yard left.
Chelsea Tuach from Barbados was the standout surfer for the women, with an impressive display of ripping to take the Roxy Pro Women’s shortboard event and $2500. Congratulations to Chelsea, and all of the competitors for the weekend. Without you, the Easter Surf Fest would not be such a spectacular event here in Brevard, year after year.
48th Annual Ron Jon Easter Surfing Festival Results
Ron Jon Pro Longboard $5,000
1 Justin Quintal
2 Steven Newton
3 Tony Silvagni
4 Patrick Nichols
Steven G. Casanova Pro Men $5,000
1 Michael Powell
2 Chris Tucker
3 Ben Powell
4 Kyle Garson
Roxy Pro Women $2,500
1 Chelsea Tuach
2 Amy Nichol
3 Nicki Viessens
4 Kayla Durden
Roxy Pro Women Longboard $2,500
1 Amanda Giberson
2 Erica Peek
3 Jazmine
4 Mimi Munro
Paddleboard House SUP $1,000
1 George Alfiler
2 Ian McFarlin
3 Fisher Grant
4 Steven McLean
Solarx Rubber Duck (12 & under)
1 Avery Aydelotte
2 Rachel Presti
3 Dakota Bounds
4 Sophie Falzone