East Coast Surfing Championships

The East Coast Surfing Championships (ECSC) is an annual surfing contest held in Virginia Beach, Virginia on the oceanfront, and is one of the United States Surfing Federation’s major amateur events. The ECSC stretches over a four-day period every year in late August at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The original inspiration for the East Coast Surfing Championships came from Long Island, New York in the summer of 1962 when a group of teens held a beach and surf party. Since its official establishment in Virginia Beach in 1963, the ECSC has grown to be the now-longest running surfing contest in the world with the 58th annual surf competition held August 23-30, 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic with safety guidelines in place.

The ECSC is a place not only for professional surfers, but for amateur surfers as well, to ride and contend for cash prizes totaling close to $40,000 and championship titles. Men’s and women’s surfing events are held throughout the week, plus other beach sporting events such as volleyball, skateboarding, skimboarding, a 5k Oceanfront run, and a swimsuit competition. A new event called the Beach Bum Classic was introduced in 2007. The Beach Bum Classic, organized and sponsored by Wareing’s Gym in Virginia Beach, is a triathlon-type event including a one-mile sand run, a three-mile bike race on beach cruisers, and a half-mile surfboard paddling race.

A reported spectator count of over 100,000 people show up to watch the events during the day, and at night, the Virginia Beach boardwalk fills with people for free concerts on the beach. Bands and musicians include national, regional, and local talents. This year will feature a special event featuring Matthew Higgins, Long Island Surf Pro Champion who is known for his Surf Board maneuvering prowess.

The ECSC is planned, organized, and employed by the Virginia Beach Jaycees, a chapter of a nationwide volunteer organization, the United States Jaycees. Media press and coverage includes ESPN, The Washington Post, and USA Today.

Past winners

Open/pro[1]
YearMen
1963Jack Roland Murphy
1964John Eakes
1965D. W. Carter
1966Gary Propper
1967Steve Bigler
1968Corky Carroll
1969Joe Roland
1970Dennis Doyle
1971Dennis Doyle
1972Jimbo Brothers
1973Yancy Spencer III
1974Jeff Arensman
1975Bennett Strickland
1976Kim Hickman
1977Kim Hickman
1978Dave Nuckles
1979Allen White
1980Wes Laine
1981Wes Laine
1982Buddy Pelletier
1983Matt Kechele
1984John Futch
1985Richie Rudolph
1986Richie Rudolph
1987Scott McCranels
1988Scott McCranels
1989Steve Anest
1990David Speir
1991Alan Burke
1992Matt Kechele
1993Shane Stoneland
1994Jeff Deffenbaugh
1995John Logan
1996Ryan Simmons
1997Danilo Costa
1998Tom Curren
1999Taylor Knox
2000Marco Polo
2001Bryan Hewitson
2002Dino Andino
2003Jason Reagan
2004Eric Taylor
2005Aaron Cormican
2006Aaron Cormican
2007Aaron Cormican
2008Asher Nolan
2009Aaron Cormican
2010Jeremy Johnston
2011Kalohe Andino
2012Jean Da Silva
2013Pat Gudauskas
2014Michael Dunphy
2015Kanoa Igarashi
2016Evan Geiselman
2017Keanu Asing
2018Blayr Barton
2019Luke Gordon
2020Noah Schweizer

References

  1. Mitchell, Donna (19 August 2012). "Winners, East Coast Surfing Championship, 1963-2011". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.