D-Street goes off

D-Street, Encinitas- Encinitas is a great place to hold the season opener of the Blowfish Surf Series. The beach of Encinitas lit up Saturday, July 23, 2006 with over 250 competitors showing up from Oregon, Australia, Florida, Hawaii, Brazil and all over California to compete in 3-4-foot fun, summertime surf. Fortunately for the long days, we were able to get 200 competitors in, but even the contestants who didn’t get in hung around and enjoyed some free lunch from Red Bull and a chance to win some free goods on the beach.
The Girl’s division saw the most entries in any VQS event ever in California. The final was a close heat between all the girls. In the end, it was Darelene Connelly who solidified her win with some solid scores early on. She walked away with a pair of Emu boots, a Sector 9 skate deck, and a backpack full of gear. Finishing in a solid second was Amy Chivers, and rounding out the final was Cassidy Wensener, Kristi Rife, Jenny Quam and Sarah Hoffert.
In the Grom division there was some super young kids who showed up to blow up. Seven-year-old Kalani David and Ara Suhadolnick put on a good show, but came up short in the final. In the end, it came down to JD MacFaden, Andrew Hines and Dominic Dipietro fighting it out for the win. Young Andrew Hines raised the roof with his smooth, quick turns and earned himself the win, a Santa Cruz skate deck, and a grip load of other prizes. JD MacFadden, Dominic Dipietro, Sam Orozco, Sterling Weatherly and Tilor White rounded out the final.
The Junior’s final was a stacked lineup of fired up young men. The overgrown powerful surfing of Jensen Hassett won him the victory, along with a Vestal Watch, Spy Shades and a whole bunch of other loot. Finishing a respectable second was Ryan Burch, with Gabe Garcia, Nic Lamb, Brandon Navdin and Josh Hromin rounding out the final.
In the Pro-am final it was an all out, 20-minute battle on the water for the prize. When it was all over, Josh Fuller barely edged out Nick Kovak for the win, $500 cash and bag full of gear. Rounding out the final was Josh Buran, Sean Marceron, Peter Labrador, and Justin Quirk.
Thanks to our sponsors: Spy, Vestal, Globe, Sector 9, Santa Cruz, Hotline, Emu, Da Kine, Red Bull, Don Carlos Taco Shop, Future Fins, Famous Wax, Himaya Sunscreen, Surfer, Surfing, Transworld and Happy Magazine. Special thanks to everyone that helped out!