| Alec Parker and Liza Coban win the Jupiter Fall Classic 2008 |
| Wednesday, 19 November 2008 09:29 |
|
Summer met winter during last weekend's eighth annual Jupiter Fall Classic surfing contest. During Saturday's preliminary rounds at Carlin Park, the temperature was in the high 80s. On Sunday, the mercury plummeted to the mid 60s. Fortunately, the waves were good both days, said Classic president Jim McDow. "(Saturday) were had 2 to 3 foot waves, clean and glassy," McDow said. "You couldn't ask for a better day, unless the waves were bigger. "Winter arrived (Sunday night) but the waves were still good." It was a great two days. "It was fabulous," said McDow. "Any year we can have this is great. We had a great turnout. It was almost a record breaker." The contest drew 164 pro surfers, another 30 to the Eastern Surfing Association competition for boys and girls and about 50 more to the youth surfing clinics. The Classic drew pro surfers from all over Florida and the East Coast, said competition director Mike Bloom. "We also had pros from Puerto Rico and the Jamaican Surf team," Bloom said. The junior pro division title went Evan Thompson, 16, a home-schooler from Jacksonville Beach. "I heard about the contest from some friends and since they were having junior pro and pro divisions, I figured I'd have a better chance of winning some money," he said. Thompson finished tied for fifth in the men's pro division and earned $1,825 for the weekend. He passed up going to The King of Peak contest in Sebastian, which was also last weekend. His older brother Cody won that contest. Jupiter was a better place to be, Thompson said "It was a good weekend," added Jupiter's Ryan Helm, who finished third in the men's pro division. "The waves were challenging but I went out there and tried to put on a good show. "We didn't have an air show this year. They just ran out of time. I would have liked to have gone after that but it's always a good event here." Because of darkness, they had to cancel the annual air show but all the other events finished by sunset. Despite fewer sponsors, the payouts for the pros was pretty close to last year, thanks to a $10,000 from the Brandolini Foundation, which has been a major sponsor the past three years, McDow said. "No doubt, we'll be back next year," he said. "As long as they want to have us, we'll be here." Division winners were: Junior pro — 1. Evan Thompson, 2. Hector Santamaria and 3. Stephen Andrews. Long board pro — 1. Mickey DeTemple, 2. Michael Wood and 3. Asher King. Senior long board pro — 1. Brian Bowen, 2. Rory Kam and 3. Ted Burnhart. Women's long board pro — 1. Mallory Turner, 2. Lauren Kenney and 3. Kayla Beckman. Women's pro — 1. Liza Coban, 2. Kayla Beckman and 3. Connie Arias. Men's pro — 1. Alec Parker, 2. Rob Kelly and 3. Ryan Helm.
|
