The highest level of junior surfing competition in the nation is back in Atlantic City, Oct. 19-20. Finalists from 2018 show off their hardware in front of Ocean Casino Resort.
Atlantic City, New Jersey (October 7, 2019) – The 2019/2020 East Coast Toyota USA Surfing Prime Series kicks off in Atlantic City October 19 and 20, drawing the best junior surfers from New York to Florida to compete for East Coast titles and qualify to surf the Toyota USA Surfing Championships at Lower Trestles in California. The Toyota USA Surfing Prime Series is the highest level of junior surfing in the nation, featuring the best under 18 surfers from up and down the East Coast who have proven themselves in local and regional competitions. USA Surfing CEO Greg Cruse said he’s stoked to be back in Atlantic City in October. “Fall on the East Coast delivers some great surfing conditions and we’re really excited to have Ocean Casino Resort as our host hotel. The Ocean’s great accommodations, dining and atmosphere combined with Atlantic City’s boardwalk provide the athletes and families with an awesome experience,” Cruse said. Cruse and contest organizers will draw upon local knowledge and work with Surfline forecasters to identify the best break at competition time near host Ocean Casino Resort. Atlantic City’s piers, jetty’s and tall casinos that shelter winds can set up for some excellent contest conditions. Surfline forecasters are keeping an eye on tropical activity, which produced some nice September swells that surfers hope continue into October. The elite junior contest series makes stops along both East and West coasts and culminates in the USA Surfing Championships which brings 250 of the nation’s best to face off at one of the nation’s best surf breaks – Lower Trestles. The competition was created to bridge the gap young surfers experience when trying to make the leap from pro junior competition to next-level competition opportunities, including a position on the USA Surfing national teams, the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series and potentially the Olympics and WSL Championship Tour. The Prime Series champion and podium roster is a who’s who in American surfing. Surfers competing in the Prime Series experience an event with judging, announcing and organization consistent with WSL pro events, including four-person heats with priority, computer scoring, professional WSL/ISA judges and announcers. Several current WSL pro surfers honed their competitive skills through USA Surfing’s Prime Series. East Coast native Caroline Marks – ranked 5th in the world – qualified for the WSL Championship Tour while still competing in the Prime Series at age 15. Others include 2nd-ranked Lakey Peterson, 4th-ranked Kolohe Andino, 2018 US Open champions Courtney Conlogue and Kanoa Igarashi, 17th-ranked Conner Coffin and fan favorite Griffin Colapinto. Local Absecon Island surf legend Ben Gravy (Graeff) was on USA Surfing’s national team that competed in ISA World Championships in Australia in 2005. Wildwood Crest’s Maddie Peterson was on USA Surfing’s 2014 ISA World Junior Championship team. In 2012, New Jersey’s Dean Randazzo represented Team USA at the International Surfing Association Masters Championships in El Salvador, where the team won a gold medal. This year’s Atlantic City Prime competitors and surf fans will be treated to samples from Rise Brewing Co. – offering cold nitro-brewed coffee from an east coast brewery, and Blue Diamond almonds and GoGo Blastz – healthy, tasty surf snacks. Competitors can use Alex Corson’s Faces 4 Autism Blue Wonderland Surf Wax before their heats. Event winners and finalists will receive beautiful trophies with a local flair made by Ocean City Peace of Wood artists Kristina and Marshal Young. Finalists will also receive super rad Leus/Toyota towels. New York and New Jersey Toyota Dealers will bring their Olympic Toyota Rav4 to the beach and host a beach clean up with prizes for the most trash collected. Media contact: Becky (at) usasurfing (dot) org USA Surfing is the National Governing Body for surfing in the United States, recognized by the International Surfing Association (ISA) and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). USA Surfing’s mission is to promote and grow the sport of surfing and support United States athletes of all backgrounds to achieve sustained competitive excellence in Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American competition. USA Surfing will oversee and support America’s Olympic team as surfing makes its debut in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and surfing and stand-up paddleboarding athletes compete in the 2019 Pan American Games. Comments are closed.
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