JAX I: First contest of the 06 circuit was a big success!!

We held the first contest of the 06 Spring ESKA circuit this past weekend in Jacksonville Florida. After a week of dismal surf reports from the area, plus some nasty thunderstorms, everyone was worried that we'd wake up on Saturday morning and the ocean would be flat. I'm happy to report that this was not the case, and we had good waves for the entire day of competition! The waves remained chest to head high for most of the day, and though the wind and tide made for some heart pounding drop-ins perilously close to the sand, everyone had a good time.

Huge thanks to Carlos, Paula, and everyone else who helped out. And thanks as well to Mickey, Mike, and Josh, our judging crew who did an excellent job. This was these guys first time judging a kayak contest, and they said they really enjoyed it. We look forward to continuing to work with them on future contests in the Florida area.

There were some big rides, including a very nice aerial barrel roll by Spencer Cooke that had everyone on their feet. Carlos Marrone was throwing huge tail slashes in the International class (as usual), Antnee was getting big rides in both HP and IC, Chris Gotshall managed to sweep both Masters classes with some solid rides, and Brent Fields showed up (after a long hiatus) with some great rides in his cyclone. I also wanted to point out that this was Regan Norris's first surf kayak competition, and we hope he'll be back for more contests this spring.
We finished up the day with our first ever Big Trick competition, and somehow I managed to win AND break my boat, with a big Barn Burner ;)

Here are some results:
Masters HP:
1 Chris Gotshall
2 Ross Fulcher
3 Russ Buskirk
4 Brent Fields

Masters IC
1 Chris Gotshall
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Ross Fulcher
4 Brent Fields

Waveski/Open
1 Anthony Bell
2 Gordon Rock

Mens HP
1 Anthony Bell
2 Spencer Cooke
3 Carlos Marrone
4 Gordon Rock

Mens IC
1 Anthony Bell
2 Russ Buskirk
3 Spencer Cooke
4 Carlos Marrone

Big Trick
1 Joey Hall
2 Spencer Cooke
3 Anthony Bell

Here are some photos.
Here's what you could win if you come to an event

We had waves!

The esteemed judges

The Masters have gone crazy after having paddled in 20 out of 30 heats....

The HP boys

Group shot

Thanks to all who attended, and we look forward to the next event at Sunset Beach near the end of the month...more info posted here soon.

--Joey Hall