SURFING T&T SICK SATURDAY A HUGE SUCCESS!

SANS SOUCI, TRINIDAD. On Saturday 9^th January 2010 the SURFINGT&T held their first official event of the year in Toco. The day began at noon with the Surfer of the Year National Team Trails #1 at Salibea Beach, near the Toco Lighthouse. With solid waves in the 4’-5’ range and favorable conditions for contest surfing, the 12 top surfers in the country entered the water to compete for valuable points and hopefully a place on the National Team.

Top local surfer, and 2009 Surfer of the Year, Christopher Dennis Managed to edge past local surfing legend Che Lovelace in the Final to take an early lead in the 2010 Surfer of the Year race. His victory will secure him 1000 points on the tally sheet.

Minutes after the horn was blown to end the Trials, all the competitors and event organizers packed up and headed for Sans Souci, where the SURFING T&T Annual General Meeting was held. The existing executive of the Association was un-contested and they secured their positions for another two (2) year term running the development of Surfing in T&T. The executive committee is: Keith Lewis – President, Sherrard Spiers – Vice President, Warren Rostant – Secretary, Lee Quesnel – Treasurer, Mark de Verteuil – Public Relations, and Johnathan Torry – Head Judge.

The 2009 SURFING T&T Surfer of the Year, Christopher Dennis, was then awarded with his very special SANS SOUCI MEMORIAL TROPHY that was build locally and dedicated to the lives of all the Trinidad and Tobago surfers that have been lost over the years. Finally, the members of SURFING T&T were treated to an experience of a lifetime. With the help of Power Up Rental Equipment Ltd, the Bay of SANS SOUCI was illuminated with two massive industrial lighting towers and the surfers all paddled out at 8pm to surf the waves in the night, under the lights.

This was a first for everyone present and the energy and good vibe was overwhelming. The night surfing under lights was an experiment by the Association in preparation for an actual contest under lights, featuring International Teams, as part of the SURFING T&T INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2010, scheduled for May 1^st and 2^nd, 2010.

For more information about these events, please contact SURFINGTANDT@GMAIL.COM

RESULTS:

Round 1

H1

Chris Dennis 1

Shane Hennaman 2

Kevin See Tai 4

Simon Cabral 3

H2

Che Lovelace 1

Brian Ramcharan 2

Shawn Rostant 3

Stephan Lue Chin 4

H3

Keith Lewis 3

Kendall Francis 1

Dario Jordan 2

Kiwan Landreth-Smith 4

Semi-Finals

H4

Che Lovelace 1

Shane Hennaman 2

Kendall Francis 3

H5

Chris Dennis 1

Brian Ramcharan 2

Dario Jordan 3

Final

H6

Chris Dennis 1

Che Lovelace 2

Brian Ramcharan 3

Shane Hennaman 4

Current		Trials #1	Salibea
RANK	Surfer	Place	Points
1	Chris Dennis	1	1000
2	Che Lovelace	2	860
3	Bryan Ramcharan	3	730
4	Shane Hennaman	4	670
5	Kendall Francis	5	610
5	Dario Jordan	5	610
7	Keith Lewis	7	555
7	Shawn Rostant	7	555
7	Kevin Setai	7	555
10	Simon Cabral	10	488
10	Stephan Lue Chin	10	488
10	Kiwan Landreth-Smith	10	488

Tobago Surfers Rule at CW Cocrico Pro Tobago!

CARIBBEAN WATERMAN – COCRICO PRO TOBAGO

DEC 29 2009 – JAN 1 2010

MT.IRVINE, TOBAGO – From December 29th 2009 – January 1st 2010, Caribbean Waterman (caribbeanwaterman.com) and the local surfing community in Tobago successfully ran a surfing event in Tobago that highlighted the quality of the surfers and their performances in the high quality waves of the Sister Island, with support from SURFINGT&T (surfingtt.org).

This spectacular event, which coincided with huge waves (2.5 – 3.5 Meters)formed by a North Atlantic Low Pressure System, was blessed with surfing conditions that dreams are made of, at least for the surfers. Many of Tobago’s beaches were too rough for swimming and this encouraged many spectators to gather on Mt.Irvine Beach to witness the first Surf Contest in Tobago in over 20 years.

The goal of this event was to have minimal negative impact on the surf break at Mt.Irvine and the great beach culture that already exists. Instead, the organizers wanted the event to have a great positive impact on the performance quality of surfing in Tobago. Surfers and watermen who would not normally compete in traditional surf contests were encouraged to take part in this event due to its new and innovative format.

Traditionally surf contest are purely judged by non-competing judges, in a rigid schedule of 20 minute heats, whereas a large portion of the CW COCRICO PRO TOBAGO was judged based on the observations and opinions of the competing surfers themselves through a voting process. This meant that credit was given where credit was due, and the athletes that were awarded prizes knew that they had truly gained the respect of their peers.

Additionally, a large focus of this event is was the youth factor. SURFINGT&T has made it clear that our country needs a lot of attention focused on youth development. Tobago has shown potential in this area far beyond its size and population, and they did not disappoint at the event with 4 of the top 5 U18 surfers coming from Tobago.

The positive feedback from the Tobago Community in the wake of this event has been overwhelming and many have volunteered their support for growing the event into an annual gathering with significant additional resources and infrastructure. Tobago surfing legend and winner of Best Big-wave Surfing Exhibit and Best Overall Waterman Performance, Barry St.George had this to say:

“This event has come as a true blessing to surfing in Tobago and has brought recognition where it is long overdue. All critics who downplayed the potential of this event are humbled by its great success!”

RESULTS

Voted

(CATEGORY – WINNERS NAME – PRIZES RECEIVED)

Monster Drop / Biggest Wave – DUANE KENNY – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Best / Biggest Barrel Ride – ALAN DAVIS – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Worst Wipeout – SCOTT TUCKER – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Best High-Performance Surfing Exhibit – ANDRE STEWART – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Best Big-wave Surfing Exhibit – BARRY ST.GEORGE – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, and DVD.

Best Overall Waterman Performance – BARRY ST.GEORGE – Medal, Free Weekend at 4Bdrm Villa.

Most Improved Performer (OPEN) – ANDRE STEWART – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Most Improved Junior (U18) – MATHEW MILNE – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Best Master Performance (35+) – CHE LOVELACE – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

SPIRIT OF SURFING AWARD – EAMON HEALY-SINGH – Medal, Traction Pad, Leash, DVD.

Best Still Photo of a surfing performance. – TO BE DETERMINED (MEDIA BEING COLLECTED)

Best Video Clip of a Surfing performance. – TO BE DETERMINED (MEDIA BEING COLLECTED)

Please submit media for the best Still and/or Best Video Clip to the e-mail address below, or call me to arrange pick up of media. We sincerely appreciate any media you can submit!

Judged

Super-Session 1st (OPEN) – ALAN DAVIS – Ticket to THE SHADE NEW YEARS PARTY (TTD$500)

Super-Session 2nd (OPEN) – JASON APPARICIO

U18 juniors 1st (Male) – ADRIAN DE SILVA – Ticket to Trinidad to Compete in SURFINGT&T EVENT.

U18 juniors 2nd (Male) – MATHEW MILNE

U18 juniors 3rd (Male) – DARIO JORDAN

U18 juniors 4th (Male) – CAELUM BLANDFORD

U18 juniors 5th (Male) – IAN ROSS-SCHWEDEN

THANKS

This event was made possible by the generous contributions of CARIBBEAN WATERMAN, SOULJAHS INTERNATIONAL, THE SHADE, SURFINGT&T, TIM LAVESQUE at NETWORK SURF AUSTRALIA, RAIN SCHNIDER REAL ESTATE, and THE TOBAGO SURFING COMMUNITY.

You can contact Caribbean Waterman via Keith Lewis 775-1001 or onamission420@yahoo.com

Alan Davis driving through a Barrel on his way to winning Best Barrel and 1st Place in the Super Session Open Division!

SURFINGTNT NEWSLETTER IS HERE!

We invite you to get familiar with the current event of SURFINGTNT...

Check out SESSIONS here...

Also, check out cool new merchandise from Trini Spirit at SURF T&T

An Extra Special Day!

The Surfing Association of Trinidad and Tobago(SATT) and the Caribbean Kids and Families Therapy Organisation(CKFTO), both non-profit organizations, provided a Surf Experience for Special Needs Kids and their siblings on the 5th of September at Las Cuevas Beach. The aim of this therapeutic experience is to empower the special needs children in a safe, fun and challenging activity while nurturing their relationship with their siblings and parents.

CKFTO’s mission is to provide professional and empathetic therapeutic services to all Caribbean children ages birth to twenty-one with special needs; to provide support and empowerment to families of children with special needs and to educate and involve the community ofTrinidad and Tobago in creating an open and caring society for all persons with special needs.

The Surfing Association is proud to have been involved in this experience and all of our certified instructors and several surfing and non-surfing members assisted in making this a truly 'special' day for all concerned.

We feel proud to be a part of something that is greater than the association, it's intitiatives, and the sum of it's parts. This event will surely become annual event, and perhaps a more frequent event. Everyone who made it possible, sponsors, volunteers, family, friends, and surfers alike do not need a pat on the back because they can be comforted by the overwhelming joy expressed on the faces of every child present on this special day.

"Gone are the days of surfing's negative stereotypes, today surfing ambassadores have only positives to pass on to our communities. We are here to share the joy of wave riding and beach culture. We are here to share the joy and love of all the ocean has to offer." Keith Lewis

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE NON-MEMBERS WHO VOLUNTEERED AND THE SPONSORS WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE SMILES.....REPUBLIC BANK, BLUE WATERS, SOLO, BRYDENS, BUDGET MARINE, SCOTIABANK, FLAVORITE, HOLIDAY FOODS, BRYDEN PI, TRIDIUM, CANTREX AND A COUPLE PRIVATE CONTRIBUTORS.

"THANKS TO ALL THE SURFERS AND HELPERS WHO GAVE OF THEMSELVES TO MAKE THIS A TRULY SPECIAL DAY FOR THESE KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS......MANY OF THESE FAMILIES ENDURE HARDSHIPS WE CANT IMAGINE AND THE BLISS I WITNESSED ON THEIR FACES AND IN THE SHOUTS AND SCREAMS OF PURE JOY WILL REMAIN WITH ME FOREVER.....WE COULDNT GET THE KIDS OUT OF THE WATER ONCE WE STARTED AND ONE CHILD DIDNT TOUCH WATER FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS BEFORE YESTERDAY...IT TOOK HIM AN HOUR TO REACH THEWATERS EDGE AND AFTER THAT HE WAS SPLASHING AND ROLLING IN THE SURF......" Warren Rostant

Check out all of Nic Marsans great photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicpic2009/sets/72157622144430861/

As expected, RedBull was well represented with their Pinzi Vehicle making its way up and down the beach. The surfer voluntere's got to have a little fun of their own. Check out the video by Ravin Ramkissoon..

ADDRESS TO MEMBERSHIP & REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK.

To all members, I have issued an address to the membership. It can be found at the following url:

http://caribbeanwaterman.com/surfingtnt/SATT%20UPDATE.htm

Please take time to read and understand the current state of your sport in your country. We also invite you to offer feedback to the executive of the association by filling out the form at:

http://souljahs.org/surfingtnt/feedback.php

We look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,
Keith.

TEAM USA WINS THE BILLABONG ISA WORLD SURFING GAMES

Pictured: The USA Team that made history today at Playa Hermosa. Pic: Watts/ISA

FINAL Team Results:
GOLD - United States – 14910 points
SILVER - France – 13280 points
BRONZE - Australia - 10996 points
COPPER - Hawaii – 10856 points

INDIVIDUAL FINAL RESULTS
Open Men
Gold: Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Silver: Cory Lopez (USA)
Bronze: Gabriel VIllarán (PER)
Copper: Ben Bourgeois (USA)

Open Women
Gold: Courtney Conlogue (USA)
Silver: Rosanne Hodge (RSA)
Copper: Sage Erickson (USA)
Bronze: Pauline Ado (FRA)

Longboard
Gold: Antoine Delpero (FRA)
Silver: Harley Ingleby (AUS)
Copper: Ben Skinner (GBR)
Bronze: Tony Silvagni (USA)