ESA SNE Summer Series Round #2
Summer Swells Come Through!
By Peter Pan
Those New England summer south swells always favor the sand bars at Second Beach, in Middletown, and this past weekend was no different, as clean waist to shoulder high surf made for perfect contest conditions. The greatwave action made for some high-performance surfing, as competitors went all out for the trophies and prizes that will be given out at the end of the four-contest series. “We have some big trophies and gift certificates for the top three finishers in the competitive divisions,” said Competition Director Mario Frade. “We saw some excellent riding today, in ideal summer contest surf. Judges even tossed out a few 9 and 10-point wave scores (10 being a perfect ride), which showed how good the surfing was.”
The main event featured some great surfing, as the Open Shortboard finalists hit the water as the winds switched to straight onshore. This made for choppy faces and more strategy, as sections began to close out down the line. While most of the riders paddled out for the big sets, Wakefield’s Page Hedde played it close to the inside, and it paid off. She picked off two nice backside rights that allowed her several snap backs, working the inside sections for big points. Second place Jayden Parry of Narragansett sat outside, finding two long rights to seal up that spot. Nantasket ace, Jaime Kelly grabbed the 3rdposition with one long left slide.
The youth events offered some heavy shredding, especially from newcomers. Liam Fitzgerald was outstanding in his debut in the Boy Under 12 Years Division, finding the best formed rights, and making the best of them. Ethan Foley tore up the Boys Under 16 Years Division, as he pulled off some heavy lip smacks, hard cutbacks, and power drives, to dominate a tough final heat.
Men’s winner, Jaime Kelly finished up with the “Outstanding Wave” award for the event. He actually had the two best rides of the contest. His first ride came in the Men’s Shortboard final, when he picked off a hollow left wall that reeled off across the entire contest area. He pulled off 5 lip smacks and drove through 3 sections for the highest point total of the contest. His second-place ride was during the Men’s Longboard heat, as he found another wave equally as good, and trimmed out across the entire surf zone on the nose.
Westerly’s Sophia Martino continues to win, as she pumped her way through some right slides to win the Girls Under 16 Years final. Another set of newcomers in the female ranks ripped it up, as LouAnna Kelly and Annalise Kane took their respective titles in the Girls Under 12 Years and the Girls Under 14 Years finals.
Hot and heavy competition continues again this Saturday at Second Beach, as surfers hit the waves for Summer Series Round #3 of South New England ESA competition. Final results were:
BOYS UNDER 12 YEARS-1.Liam Fitzgerald 2.Tiago Freitas GIRLS UNDER 12 YEARS-1.LouAnna Kelly BOYS UNDER 14 YEARS-1.Henri Boneu GIRLS UNDER 14 YEARS-1.Annalise Kane 2.Phoebe Hedde BOYS UNDER 16 YEARS-1.Ethan Foley 2.Ian Lupoli 3.Jack Grzebien 4.Mason Soboleski 5.Holden Soboleski 6.Tristan Robbins GIRLS UNDER 16 YEARS-1.Sophia Martino 2.Ella Fontenot 3.Page Hedde JUNIOR MEN-1.Jayden Parry MEN-1.Jaime Kelly MASTERS-1.Andre Freitas 2.Nick Carter GRAND LEGENDS-1.Peter Pan 2.Kitty Pechet MENEHUNE LONGBOARD-1.Phoebe Hedde 2.Liam Fitzgerald 3.LouAnna Kelly 4.Tiago Freitas JUNIOR LONGBOARD-1.Mason Soboleski 2.Ian Lupoli 3.Tristan Robbins 4.Jayden Parry 5.Holden Soboleski 6.Jack Grzebien 7.Henri Boneu MEN LONGBOARD-1.Jaime Kelly MASTER LONGBOARD-1.Andre Freitas 2.Rob Marland 3.Nick Carter LEGENDS LONGBOARD-1.Joe Hedde GRAND LEGENDS LONGBOARD-1.Peter Pan 2.Kitty Pechet WOMEN LONGBOARD-1.Page Hedde 2.Sophia Martino 3.Ella Fontenot OPEN BODYBOARD-1.Liam Fitzgerald 2.Tiago Freitas 3.Henri Boneu 4.Jack Grzebien OPEN SHORTBOARD-1.Page Hedde 2.Jayden Parry 3.Jaime Kelly 4.Ethan Foley 5.Sophia Martino 6.Henri Boneu 7.Liam Fitzgerald 8.Mson Soboleski 9.Jack Grzebien 10.Phoebe Hedde 11.Holden Soboleski 12.Ella Fontenot 13.Andre Freitas 14.Tiago Freitas
Below are pictures from the contest taken by Lisa Haase.
