Elite Junior Surfing Prime Series Comes to Nags Head, NC Nov. 17-18

Nags Head, North Carolina (November 15, 2018) – More than 80 of the best under 18 surfers from Florida to New York are invited to compete in USA Surfing’s elite Prime Series in Nags Head, North Carolina this weekend. The full list of East Coast qualifying surfers in each age division is listed here. Heat draws will be posted Friday. These top surfers will compete at Jennette’s Pier, where fall typically brings some of the area’s best surfing conditions (Watch: Surfline live cam at Jennette’s Pier). 
 
The Nags Head Prime event is the second stop in the East Coast USA Surfing Prime series. USA Surfing’s Prime Series is a nine-stop, cross-country tour created to bridge the gap young surfers experience when working 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. 
 
East Coast surfers invited to compete in this weekend’s Prime Series will experience an event similar to WSL pro events with professional WSL/ISA judges and announcers, four-person heats using priority, and computer scoring. 
 
Several current WSL pro surfers honed their competitive skills through USA Surfing’s Prime Series. Former East Coaster 16-year-old Caroline Marks, currently ranked No. 6 in the WSL, qualified for the Championship Tour while still competing in the Prime Series. Other greats include 2018 US Open champions Courtney Conlogue and Kanoa Igarashi, 2nd-ranked Lakey Peterson, 10th-ranked Conner Coffin, 11th-ranked Kolohe Andino, and 20th-ranked Griffin Colapinto.
 
The USA Surfing Prime Series sponsored by Got Milk? takes on extra excitement as surfing prepares to make its 2020 Olympic debut. USA Surfing is the National Governing Body for the sport of surfing in the Olympics.
 
“The Prime Series celebrates its 10th anniversary this year,” USA Surfing CEO and Prime Series co-founder Greg Cruse said. “It has been such a privilege to watch these athletes grow and progress. This strong pipeline of U.S. talent will be exciting to watch as surfing makes its 2020 Olympic debut.”
 
The first stop in the East Coast Prime Series was in Atlantic City last month. The Got Milk Prime Series continues in venues across the country including: 

• December 8 – 9, 2018 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event, Salt Creek, Dana Point, Calif.
• January 13 – 14, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, Calif.
• January 26 – 27, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – Satellite Beach, Fla. 
• February 9 – 10, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – Huntington Beach Pier, Calif.
• March 2 – 3, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event and East Coast Junior Team Training – New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
• May 4 – 5, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – West Coast location TBD

 
The series culminates with USA Surfing Championships in June – the pinnacle competition with 250 of the nation’s top surfers competing for national titles and spots on the USA Surfing team at one of the nation's best surf breaks – Lower Trestles.  
 
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 Committee (USOC). 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.