Regional Champions for Surfing T&T International Surf Festival 2010!

This weekend (May 1^st & 2^nd), Trinidad and Tobago will host the greatest pool of surfing talent to ever grace our shores. In its inaugural year, the Surfing T&T International Surf Festival has attracted serious attention from professional surfers of this region, securing entries from a long list of champions that will battle for the unprecedented US$3000 individual first prize, and share a total prize purse of US$10,000.

From the Unites States, eight (8) surfers have confirmed entry including Aaron “Gorkin” Cormican, multiple east coast (US) event champion and ESPN X-Games gold medalist in 2003 (MVP) and 2004. Cormican is know in the surfing world for the “Gorkin Flip”, a backside double grab inverted 360 air, the first legit flip ever landed in surfing which he also completed in competition. Joining Cormican will be fellow Americans Evan Geiselman, a Redbull Team Rider and winner of both the Pro Jr. and Open Mens divisions of the Landshark Pro (event #1 of the Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series), Nils Schwiezer, Overall winner of the Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series 2009, and Jeremy Johnston, a Billabong team rider and past USA National Junior representative for ISA World Junior Surfing Games.

Hailing from Barbados is last years Caribbean Surf Network (CSN) overall tour Champion, and CSN Sans Souci Pro 2009 Champion, Lewis St.John. Young Lewis will be looking to stamp his authority on this event for a solid start in the Caribbean Surf Network for 2010. Christopher Clarke, Jonathan Reece, and Junior Female Phenomenon, Chelsea Tuach, who is also Barbados National women’s Champion and CSN tour 2009 women’s Champion, join him to represent the Blue and Yellow of Barbados.

The Jamaican Surfing Association has once again stepped up their support for regional surfing competition and will be coming to Sans Souci, Toco with their A-game. With a total of eight (8) competing surfers, they will be lead by Icah Wilmot, Current and 5-time Jamaican National Surfing Champion and CSN Tour 2009 Open Men’s Runner-Up. Also carded will be Akeam Phillips and Enson Lightbourn, CSN Tour 2009 2^nd and 3^rd ranked Pro Junior Surfers, among others.

Josie Graves, winner of the Barbados Reef Classic 2007, will be representing Puerto Rico at the event and will be one surfer to keep an eye on with his consistent and powerful approach to surfing. Also competing will be four (4) Venezuelan and one (1) Australian competitor, who will add a lot of diversity to the field. Finally, there will be a solid roster of Trinidad and Tobago locals looking to defend their home turf and keep the prize money in the island.

Local pro Christopher Dennis of Balandra, the 2-time Surfing T&T National Champion who is currently competing internationally in ASP events, will be leading the pack. Jason Apparicio and Che Lovelace, both 5-time Surfing T&T National Champions and Jr. Champions, will also be flying the Red, Black and White flag for T&T. Current Surfing T&T National Champion and Executive President Keith Lewis, will also be representing T&T alongside top local surfboard shaper, Alan Davis, who was Surfing T&T’s Surfer of the Year 2007 and CSN Tour overall champion in 2007.

Registration for the event closes at 7pm Friday 30^th April. There will be no late entries or beach entries. Anyone at risk of missing the registration is encouraged to contact the contest director via the information provided below to make alternative arrangements.

Sponsors for the event include Épicé Sunscreen, the Tourism Development Company (TDC), Josef’s Sports Bar, the Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series, Carolina Swimwear, Beach Break Surf Shop, Caribbean Waterman, Mystic Hemp, and Tropical Power Limited.

All surfers, team managers, officials and press can contact SURFING T&T by calling Lee Quesnel at 1-868-301-5051, or e-mail surfingtandt@gmail.com .

US$10,000 Purse for Surfing T&T International Surf Festival 2010 – Largest ever in Trinidad and Tobago!

The Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series (WAPSS, www.westernatlanticsurf.com), the only pro surfing tour that exists on the east coast of the United States, is run by Michael Bloom who is an Association of Surfing (ASP) certified judge and a professional photographer. For the first time in the tour’s existence it will venture beyond its native shores of the US and run an event in Trinidad and Tobago in partnership with Surfing T&T. In order to make the event attractive to international pro surfers, Bloom teamed up with Épicé Sunscreen of the US to secure the largest Prize Purse ever for an International Surf Contest in Trinidad and Tobago.

Épicé Sunscreen’s (www.epicemd.com) developer and owner, Michael S. Spicer MD, FAAD, was born in Trinidad and is returning to his roots to bring much needed support to a developing sport in a developing island. He is also bringing a superior sun protection product than what is currently available in Trinidad’s market. After testing many sun protection products, Dr. Spicer finally found one that dries like a powder, doesn't burn the eyes and, most importantly, keeps the sun's harmful rays at bay. After all, no one wants to hold a surfboard or a fishing rod with sticky or slippery hands just because of sun protection.

The stage is now set for an epic surf contest in Sans Souci, Toco; at a beach the locals affectionately call “Beach Break”. The small, half moon shaped bay will provide a coliseum style ambiance for spectators to watch the best pro surfers from the region battle for an unprecedented prize purse and the open men’s winner will walk away with US$3,000! With so much money on the line, Surfing T&T and WAPSS have employed the services of top International Surf Judges from Jamaica, Barbados, Puerto Rico, and the Unites States, to compliment the a solid team of local judges who will all be managed by Surfing T&T’s head judge John Torry.

Two of these judges are certified by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) and the rest are certified by the International Surfing Association (ISA). Additionally, for the first time ever in Trinidad and Tobago, the Beach Byte computerized score tabulating system will be used to provide real-time tabulation of judge’s scores and place positions of surfers in the heat. This computer system allows for greater spectator engagement as everyone is aware of what the surfers in the water need to accomplish in order to win their heat and advance to the next round.

The main categories are Open Men’s, Open Woman’s, and Pro Junior (Under 21). There will also be a Night Surfing Expression Session Event, where top surfers will be surfing under stadium lighting and will be looking to perform radical maneuvers to win a separate cash prize.

In addition to being internationally recognized as the second event of the 2010 Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series, Surfers will also be awarded points based on their performances that will contribute to their overall standing in the Caribbean Waterman Challenge 2010 competition (www.caribbeanwaterman.com).

International competitors will benefit from subsidized accommodation and meals packages organized by Surfing T&T, and can choose one of two packages at USD$30/day and USD$50/day, all meals and accommodation included. Transportation to and from the contest site at Sans Souci will also be organized via shuttle services. Entry fees for the competitors are USD$50 for Open Men’s, and USD$25 for all other Categories. There will be prize money for the top 24 Open Men competitors beginning at USD$3,000 for First Place.

To complement Surfing action, there will also be Audio Visual Entertainment provide by the RedBull Pinzi Vehicle, a Rally Car Demonstration by the Trinidad and Tobago Rally Club, and a “Reef Brazil” Style Bikini Contest hosted by Carolina Swimwear. Sponsors for the event include Épicé Sunscreen, the Tourism Development Company (TDC), Josef’s Sports Bar, the Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series, Carolina Swimwear, Beach Break Surf Shop, Caribbean Waterman, and Tropical Power Limited.

All surfers, team managers, officials and press can contact SURFING T&T by calling Lee Quesnel at 1-868-301-5051, or e-mail surfingtandt@gmail.com .

PAYOUT
OPEN MEN	USD		PRO JR (U21)	USD		WOMEN	USD
1st	3000		1st	500		1st	250
2nd	1100		2nd	250		2nd	125
3rd	800		3rd	150		3rd	100
4th	500		4th	100		4th	25
5th	350
7th	250		NIGHT SURF	USD
9th	200		EXPRESSION
13th	150		SESSION	500	Winner takes all.