The New York Surf Film Festival is proud to announce the official 2009 Screening Panel. Comprised of international and local surfers with a wide range of credentials, the panel of editors, filmmakers, artists, shapers and shop owners will judge the NYSFF 2009 Official Selections in the categories of Best Feature Length Film and Best Short Length Film. The “Viewer’s Choice Award” will be voted by the audience during the weekend of the festival.

Alex Karinsky is the creator of “NYC Wipeout” - the first NY surfing TV show, and founder of Gotham Surf Club.

Mike Becker is the founder of Nature Shapes Surfboards, the second largest surfboard company in NY.

Todd DiCiurcio is an artist and surfer living in Brooklyn, NY. Acclaimed for his portrait work, he has created a dialogue between art and music with his live
drawings.

Alex Dick-Read is the Founding Editor of “The Surfer's Path” magazine, which he started 12 years ago in the UK.

Lewis Samuels is the author of “Power Rankings” and has recently gone rogue with PostSurf.com. In the course of analyzing the greatest surfers on earth, Lewis has become perhaps the most hated man in surfing.

Thad Ziolkowski is the author of “On a Wave” (Grove/Atlantic 2002), a memoir about growing up surfing in Melbourne Beach, Florida during the 1970's.

Jeremy Dean is a FL/NY Surfer who spent six years making the independent feature length documentary “Dare Not Walk Alone” about civil rights and social
justice, appearing in theaters across the country in 2008.

Richard Phillips is an artist living and working in New York City. His paintings have been the subject of recent solo exhibitions at the Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles and White Cube Gallery in London.

John M. Schultz was born and raised in New York. He is an archivist who maintains a sizable quiver of vintage and contemporary surfboards and is the recipient of two Emmy Awards for his documentary work.

Charlie Bunger, Jr. manages Bunger Surf Shop in Babylon, NY. Bunger Surf Shop is one of the oldest family-owned and operated surf shops in the USA. Charlie lives and surfs on Long Island.

Andrew Kessler has been living and skateboarding in New York City longer than you.

Dave Denis is the main man/stuff maker; a product of the Long Beach, New York surf scene circa 1986.

Tom Parrish is a 70's North Shore shaping God who continues to make magic boards on Maui, where he also practices law when not surfing.

The Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships returned to Playas de la FAE today for the second day of competition. Girls Under 18 made their grand debut, running all 24 heats of round one at the secondary contest site – a right and left beach break south end of the beach. Contest organizers also held the remaining heats of round one and all of round two for Under 18 Boys at the main contest site at the point. The surf was two to three feet in the morning but steadily rose throughout the day to a solid four five feet by the afternoon. Long rides from the outside point to the beach were commonplace.

Tyler Wright opened up the Australian girls’ campaign with an impressive heat win and total combined wave score of 17.16, so far the highest for the Girls Under 18 and the second highest of the entire contest. Australian teammates all followed suit with Laura Enever, Paige Haggerston and Tyler´s sister Kirby Wright taking the first place spot in their respective heats.

“I felt really great out there in my heat today,” said Wright youngest WCT pro event winner in history having won the Layne Beachley classic last year at 14. “I’m having a great time in Ecuador and am enjoying these waves.”

The Japanese Girls Under 18 team came out strong on their first day of competition with three of the team’s four surfers advancing on to the next round. In heat four, Japan’s Nao Omura won over Brazilian Isabela Lima and Venezuelan Rosanny Alvarez. Later in the day, in heat 21, Japan’s Minami Takechi overtook Brazilian Barbara Muller and Ametza Nichols of Barbados for the win.

South African Bianca Buitendag posted a high 15.17 for the win in heat 15, leaving second place Liza Caban of Puerto Rico needing nearly a perfect 10 point ride to take the lead.

Gabi Rowe and Karma Worthington kept the Great Britain team in the main rounds, taking second place in their heats. Many of the team’s Boys Under 18 surfers made it through round one but were unable to advance through round two and must now battle it out in the grueling repercharge rounds.

In the Boys Under 18 division, Chilean team member Guillermo Satt won his heat with Costa Rican Danny Bishko coming in a close second over Tahiti’s Jocelyn Poulou and USA’s Evan Thompson in third and fourth. Thompson was the first USA team member to go down to the repercharge rounds. Yesterday and today, the USA team had the strongest start of all the teams with every single surfer in all three divisions taking first place in their first round.