Reef/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest Final Day!

The final day of the Reef/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest has come and gone, but with a new champion, Asher Nolan, who surfed his way to $7,500 prize.  The 3rd and final day provided a contestable wave and the pros took full advantage of the conditions to showcase their talent on Wrightsville Beach.

The pro division final was one of the most amazing finals to ever happen on the East Coast or the world for that matter.  It was packed with three former World Championship Tour surfers Rob Machado, Tim Curran, and Ben Bourgeois and a very experienced World Qualifying Series surfer Asher Nolan.  The final was so packed full of great surfing that only 2.13 points separated first place from fourth place.  In the end Asher’s surfing agility and speed put him on the winner’s podium.

On the guy’s amateur side of the event, there were many finalists that were not strangers to standing in the winner’s circle.  In the Guys 15-over division, Michael Powell took top honors with his fluid style and insane backside attacks.  In second place was Shawn Clark, third was Balaram Stack, and fourth was Chris Todd.  In Guys 14-under division, Nick Rupp out surfed the other finalists in his division as well as doing an amazing job placing equal 25th in the Pro Division.  Behind him in second place was local surfer Evan Barton, Kyle Heidt in third, and Daniel Glenn in fourth.  In the Open Longboard Division, Tony Silvagni held off some serious competition to take the top prize.  Behind him was Reese Patterson in second, Drake Courie in third, and Ty Roach in fourth.

The girls divisions are growing each year and packed full of amazing talent.  In the Girls 18-over division a young and flashy surfer named Jassett Umbel came into town and won top honors, with Leilani Pickett in second, Haley Watson in third, and Kayleigh Winslow in fourth.  In the Girls 17-under division, Amy Nicholl was a last minute entry and ended up winning first place by performing the best maneuvers and catching the best waves with Haley Watson in second, Jassett Umbel in third, and Leilani Pickett in fourth place. Girls Open longboard results were Leilani Pickett taking the title, Jo Pickett in second, Kayleigh Winslow in third, and Kate Easton in fourth due to leaving for Australia on Sunday.

This year’s Reef Sweetwater Pro-Am was hands down the most competitive contest that Wrightsville Beach has ever seen! From current ASP pros to future ASP pros in the Guppy division, everyone seemed to have a great time.  I would like to thank my contest co-director, Brad Beach, my wife Jenn, the staff, volunteers, friends that helped, the Town of Wrightsville Beach, WB Ocean Rescue, the spectators, the local media, and finally all the sponsors that helped make this event a spectacular success.  Please support the sponsors listed below for their continued support of surfing in Wrightsville Beach.  See you guys again next year…even bigger and better!

This event was made possible because of the following companies:  Reef, Sweetwater Surf Shop, Wblivesurf.com, Hummer of Wilmington, Red Bull, Eastern Surf and Skate Supply, Spy Optics, Da Kine, JS Surfboards, Red Bull, Tower 7, King Neptune, Café Del Mar, Wilmington Power Sports, Stuart Franck Realty, Sunbelt Rentals, Sage Island, Board Retailers Association, Red Dogs, AvAlive, Futures Fins, and Nixon Watches.

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Day 2- Reef Sweetwater Pro Am Surf Fest

The second day looked smaller than yesterday at first glance this morning, but somewhere under that high tide was a small wave that started to show with the outgoing tide.   All in all, the surf today was action-packed with the best surfers showing that they wanted the title.   We had a short wait after a thunderstorm came from the South but only shut the contest down for about 15 minutes.

On the pro side, the Round of 64 was packed full of talent with some of the local boys still holding their own.   Rob Cordero had a great high scoring heat with some solid turns and consistent surfing.   Asher Nolan posted the highest heat score of the event today with 15.23 while other East Coasters like Jimmy Blumenfield and Noah Snyder posted a 14.53 and 13.93 respectfully.   The round of 32 will start bright and early tomorrow morning and run all day until we crown the 2007 Reef Sweetwater Pro Champion.

On the Amateur side in the 15-over division standouts were guys like Owen Moffit, Eric Schub, Jason Motes, Balaram Stack, Nick Bland, Jonathan Mincher, Chris Todd, and Michael Powell to name a few.   In the 14-under division we had local boys and Sweetwater Team riders Mason Barnes and Evan Barton ripping their way to the 3 round.   Other young talent consisted of Nick Rupp, Weston Williams, Josh Torres, and Dillon Mincher made the cut to Round 3.

In the Open Longboard division, there was some serious nose-riding and cross stepping from last years second place surfer Tony Silvagni.   Other standouts were Ty Roach, Reese Patterson, Drake Courie, David Taylor, Weston Willams, Brent Gore, Julian Payne, and Daniel Glenn.

In the Girl's Longboard division, the local girls came out in full force.   Kayleigh Winslow, Airlie Pickett, Kate Easton, Cayce Patterson, Caitlyn Lawson, Kristen Kornegay, Jo Pickett, and Leilani Pickett are all in the Semi Finals.   In the Girls 17-under the semi finals are shaping up with Haley Watson, Kate Easton, Amy Nichols, Chandler Von Cannon, Allison Parks, Jasset Umbel, Leilani Picket, and Airlie Pickett.   In the Girls 18-over we have a packed crew like Leilani Pickett, Cayce Patterson, Allison Croute, Haley Watson, Kristen Kornegay, Jasset Umbel, Liza Dean, and Kayleigh Winslow.

Along with all the major divisions one of the highlights of the event is always the Guppy division where kids that are too young to compete or need parental assistance.   Each contestant received a free Reef Sweetwater Pro Am rashguard and medal and their smiles showed their excitement and appreciation for their gift.   All the guppies are winners!

Stay tuned to the live web cast tomorrow for some of the most spectacular surfing ever on Wrightsville Beach.   I want to send a huge thanks out to all the event sponsors, staff, volunteers, local media, contestants, and spectators for making this event one of the largest and most respected contests on the East Coast.   A special shout out goes to the Town of Wrightsville Beach and Ocean Rescue for all of their support and help pulling this event off.

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Pat McManus

1 st day

Well, the first day of the 3 rd Annual Reef/Sweetwater Pro Am went down pretty well with some small ridable surf.    Anyone knows that July is hit or miss and after the last two years it's hard to top we have had in the past.   We averaged the day with some thigh high surf with a few bigger waist high sets.   Even though it was small it was totally contestable and had moments of great surfer by some major professional and amateur talent.  

Standouts in the pro were guys like Florida pro Mason Sapp that overcame a busted tooth to advance to the round of of 96 and he will be surfing tomorrow morning with the completion of the Round of 96 with surfers like Emerald Isle local Eric Schub, Outer Banks legend Pat McManus, Florida boy Rodrigo Miranda, Wrightsville locals Rob Brown, Jonathan Mincher, Evan Barton, and Tanner Kehl.

The round of 64 will start tomorrow with names like Rob Machado, Ben Bourgeois, Tim Curran, Dean Randazzo, Aaron Cormican, and Asher Nolan.   Already advanced surfers that will be going up against the seeds are Nick Rupp, Nick Bland, Nigel Haynes, Mark Yonkers, Chriss Curry, Rob Cordero, Michael Powell, Cody Leutgens, Jeff Myers, and more.   We should complete the entire round of 64 tomorrow.   Don't miss any of the action down here.   Check out the results page for heat listings and advancements.

The amateur side didn't lack any excitement with tons of talent and strong surfing.   Some of the best pros are fighting their way to the finals to win some great prize packages and a brand new JS surfboard to each division champion.   With a chance of the surf picking up slightly Saturday and Sunday being the best chance of surf which will be perfect for the finals.   Keep checking back and thanks for checking us out on the beach or on the live website.

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Pre-Event

The 3rd Annual Reef/Sweetwater Pro Am Surf Fest will be back in Wrightsville Beach, NC. The event will be held on July 13-15 at Oceanic Street in Wrightsville Beach. This year?s event is even bigger and better with a $30,000 pro purse, live web cast of the entire event and computerized live scoring! This surfing event is currently the second largest on the East Coast attracting surfers from around the world.

Pro surfers like past event champion Rob Machado and defending champion Aaron Cormican will be returning in hopes of claiming the title once again. Other notable pros that will be in attendance include Ben Bourgeois, Tim Curran, Pat OConnell, Brett Simpson, Asher Nolan, Jeremy Sherwin, Kyle Garson, Dean Randazzo, Yadin Nichols, Brendan Petticrew, Noah Snyder, Jessie Hines, and many others.

Amateur divisions include Guys 15-up, Guys 14-under, Guys Open Longboard, Women 18-up, Girls17-under, Women?s Open Longboard, and the crowd favorite Guppy division. Winners of each amateur division will win a brand new JS surfboard, as well as tons of other prizes. All finalists will walk away with great prize packages!

The entire pro event can be watched live on Wblivesurf.com! As mentioned above, this year?s pro division will have live scoring and heat advancements that can also be viewed on the live web cast. This event is all made possible due to the following companies: Reef, Sweetwater Surf Shop, Wblivesurf.com, Hummer of Wilmington, Red Bull, Eastern Surf and Skate Supply, Spy Optics, Da Kine, JS Surfboards, Red Bull, Tower 7, King Neptune, Café Del Mar, Wilmington Power Sports, Stuart Franck Realty, Sunbelt Rentals, Sage Island, Board Retailers Association, Red Dogs, Futures Fins, and Nixon Watches.

For more information about this event please visit www.wblivesurf.com or contact Tony Butler at tony@wblivesurf.com or (910) 256-3821. Or contact Brad Beach at 757-437-4321 or beach520@beachent.hrcoxmail.com .