Local Surfers Earn Invites To Compete In Easterns

BERLIN - The top competitive surfers from Maryland,
Delaware and Virginia competed in the 2007 Mid-Atlantic Region Surfing
Championships in Nags Head, N.C. last week and earned 28 invitations to the
2007 East Coast Surfing Championships (The Easterns).

Thirty-seven Eastern Surfing Association Delmarva District
competitors were faced with every possible wave condition during the three-day
event. Adult competitors on Friday had waist to shoulder-high waves and near
gale force onshore winds, creating almost unmanageable conditions for the
surfers to stay within the competition area. The wind kept increasing
throughout the day and forced the organizers to postpone Friday afternoon's
heats until Saturday morning. Saturday brought overhead surf for the youth
divisions with offshore winds (a perfect combination), except the 300-yard
paddle out once again made it an exhausting effort for surfers to compete. Most
of the final heats were run on Sunday in small knee to waist-high, clean
conditions.

Three Delmarva competitors managed to surf through
multiple heats and make it into two finals each. They were Caleb Buchler of
Fenwick Island, Del., Rachel Harrell of Ocean View, Del. and Kate Bassett of
Berlin. ESA All-Star Vince Boulanger of Ocean City also did well in the highly
contested Jr. Mens division.

Other Delmarva finalists were Jake Buchler of Fenwick
Island, Del.; Logan Helmuth of Ocean Pines; Jenna Landon of Berlin; Kaitlyn
Curran of Berlin; Danielle Ariano of Lewes, Del.: Art Baltrotsky of Berlin;
Bill Helmuth of Ocean Pines; Jon Ashton of Berlin; and Matt Landon of Berlin.

In order to qualify for the Mid-Atlantic Region Surfing
Championships, Delmarva surfers had to accumulate enough points in local
competitions throughout their year-long competition season. Only the top competitors
with the most points from each age division receive an invitation to compete in
the regional event. With 450 competitors, the Mid-Atlantic Region Surfing
Championships is the largest of three regional events on the east coast. The
Mid-Atlantic region spans from Delaware to Georgia and also includes Puerto
Rico. Top surfers from all three regional events qualify to compete in the
annual ESA Eastern Surfing Championships (The Easterns) held in the Outer Banks
of North Carolina and the United States Surfing Championships in Huntington
Beach, California.

The next competition for the ESA Delmarva District is the
Quiet Storm Delaware State Surfing Championships at North Side Indian River
Inlet or the Tower Road State Park in Dewey Beach, June 2-3.