2010 QUIKSILVER NEWPORT BEACH SURF CHAMPIONSHIPS at 54th STREET

The 22nd Annual Quiksilver Newport Beach Surf Championships, presented by Jack’s Surfboards, went back to Echo Beach, the birthplace of the Southern California surf movement in the early ’80’s. The florescent colors, crazy neon prints and famous ’80’s surfers that claimed this era inspired this weekend’s festivities. Visual highlights of the weekend, such as the Zinka war paint contests, 80’s trivia questions and “The Echo Beach Girls” --decked out in color-blinding Echo Beach one-pieces--took the crowd back to a different time.

Saturdays kick off continued its retro celebration into the evening at the Echo Beach After party. At Newport Peninsula’s infamous Blue Beet bar early arrivers were treated with food and drinks. The crowd reminisced while checking out historical Mike Moir photos dating back to the original Echo Beach era. The upstairs Quiksilver’s famous retro poka dot boardshort print created photo fun. Outrageous 80s clad cover band, CoverMeBadd got the crowd covered in neon on the dance floor. Then, LA’s She J’s “Trouble and Trifle” DJ’d pumped wild 80s mixes. Prizes were thrown about for 80s outfit tributes.

“It was great to return to Newport Beach as a sponsor of this year’s Championships, especially the ‘Echo Beach Challenge,’” says Bob McKnight, Quiksilver CEO. “We held this event nearly 30 years ago and it was really neat to bring back the original format; pairing up pros with young amateurs in a team. We are glad to have Quiksilver’s stake back in the sand in Newport and we are looking forward to making this an annual event, one of many that we do with the City of Newport Beach.”
 
This year’s contest focused on the community’s commitment to local surfing, hosting a wide range of competitors from eight-year-old groms to 45-year-old boarding veterans, and138 amateurs participating in seven different divisions.
 
“We’re really happy to have signed on as title sponsor for the Newport Beach Championships,” said Chad Wells, Quiksilver Surf Team Manager and event announcer. “Quiksilver has such a deep history in the area and bringing back the Echo Beach Challenge made sense because it was such an iconic event in Orange County and for the sport of surfing.”
 
With classically mild conditions and a slight swell increase throughout the weekend, highlights included local stalwart Erik Heirmsteadt taking the prestigious Men’s Division, Shelby Detmers winning the Women’s Division, and perhaps most notable of all, young ripper Tyler Gunter claiming both the Elementary School and Middle School divisions.
 
”Summer arrived late this year, but just in time for this annual event.” said Matt S. Dingwall, City of Newport Beach Recreation Supervisor. ”The weather and wave conditions were epic and a good time was had by all!“  
 
The invite-only ‘Echo Beach Challenge’ consisted of 8 teams, each pairing a professional surfer with a grom. Quiksilver’s two teams saw Skeeter Zimmerman with Tyler Newton and Craig Anderson with Billy Hopkins. Team RVCA had the father and son combo of Matt and Ford Archbold, while Analog brought in Nick Fowler and Josh Hoyer. Representing Reef was Dylan Goodale and Nick Rozsa, with Jack’s Surf Shop choosing Dave Post and Taylor Thorne to represent their cause. At the end of the weekend, it came down to Chase Wilson and Nick Skawinski of team Surfside, and Team Rip Curl’s Quinn McCrystal and Colin Moran. McCrystal and Moran ultimately claimed the Echo Beach Challenge winning $3,000 dollars and a retro Wave Tools surfboard. When asked about his new board, Colin Moran said, “It was weird to go from my normal board to basically learning how to ride a twin fin while in the water. It’s super different than anything I’ve ever ridden. I’m stoked to have it now and I’ll be riding it often.”
 
Commenting on the contest’s heritage, film director of the award-winning Echo Beach (www.echobeachfilm.com) Jeff Parker said, “The original contest was really inspirational because of the format. The top surfers in the world would come to Newport for this contest and Quiksilver sponsored them. It gave the up-and-comers a great opportunity to surf with the pros and learn from them. We’ve brought that back and we added a new twist with the retro Wave Tools.“
 
After a weekend full of brightly colored outfits, friendly competition, and lots of reminiscing, the final results for the Quiksilver Newport Beach Surf Championships were as follows:

Open Men:

1.   Erik Heirmsteadt

2.   Chase Wilson

3.   Joey Head

4.   Bobby Okvist

Open Women:

1.   Shelby Detmers

2.   Lee Rodelo

3.   Mia Collins

4.   Meisha Maghanoy

Echo Beach Challenge:

1.   Rip Curl (Quinn McCrystal and Colin Moran)