2009 KSUSA Titles in Santa Cruz and WSA Contest in Ventura

[GUERRER0]

Success to all the champions and all the other finalists of KSUSA CHAMPIONCHIPS. The Kneelo Club of Puerto Rico and my person congratulation them to which they collaborated for the success of this competition. I could not be has in person but through of the Web cam I could see part of the competitions. God knows that my mind and my body want to be has. Special congratulations for E.Q. I said that he was my favorite and win its category. I feel Scott. but I said to you that it won. We see ourselves in the next one.

[Scott]

Albert,

I produced a video of Friday and Saturday's heat highlights; basically, it was a rapid and rough edit to show to the contestants at the evening meetings for each night.

A DVD will be produced from these clips and available for a small amount (all profits to KSUSA).

I'll try to get a teaser ready for the web...

[hart]

I'll try to get a teaser ready for the web...

Can't wait, mate

Congratulations to ALL the winners and contestants, with many thanks to EACH and EVERY organiser of this event

KSUSA continues to generate the benchmark..even the results were ON SITE within something like and hour and a half of the result (Thx 2 Jack B)

..And there is VIDEO to come

Thx 2 all, again

hart

[barry]

Once Again This Event Was Incredible
A Great Big Thanks
to All the organizers and workers for all their time and efforts put in
Great planning and a smoothly run show
What an Awesome Event...I think its safe to say that EVERYONE Had a Great Time. I for one am extremely happy to have been there
Lots of good surfing going on

GO The GAV.... what a Great Surfer and Champion (World and KSUSA)
once again setting the bar high with his charging style and big smile.

Also must mention great the great surfing of all the local boys!
John Mel should win an Iron Man Award for all of his efforts in and out of the water!! He is a Class Act all the way and a Great Representative of our sport.
Jon Manss stylin all the way to the open qtr finals what a bitchin heat that was! (highlight of the week for me)
Scott Wessling continues to push himself and improve his surfing every time i see him. in my eyes he had the wave of the day on friday.
sweet tube ride and surfing all the way through the inside

I also have to give Big Props to Tom Backer he is a great surfer, always
pushing himself and others.

we also had Rob Salfen ripping his way into another open final
this guy goes off!!!!!!

so much good surfing going on!!!!!!
I LOVE what the KSUSA and this event has brought to kneeboard surfing

[joe]

There is a new section in the photo album for the
2009 KSUSA Titles

[frog]

I wanted to thanks all the organizers and workers for putting on a great contest. This was the first contest I ever enter. The weather was beauitful and the surf was small at first but great waves for the finals. I did make to Satuday heats but lost. Who cares I had a blast!!!

I won the Blast Board the first night in the raffle. So I was already a winner. To all my new found kneelo friends I met at the contest..KEEP IN TOUCH. Let all go surfing soon.

Freddy P. my man!!! ...Keep in touch. If anyone never come up to surf County Line let me know. Ill meet you there..

Am sure myself or Stretch "Caveman little Brother" ha ha... will be there. I agree John Mel is my hero....Iron Man. Put this old fart to shame!!!

Thanks Again!!!!!!

Ralph Villagomez aka "Frog"
rrvillagomez@aol.com
909-806-6476

[HALFMANRIPS/MIKE GARRETT]

THANK'S TO EVERYONE WHO KEEP'S KSUSA ROCKIN !
EVEN THOUGH I DO NOT GET IN THE WATER MUCH ANYMORE I STILL GET THE BURN TO BE THERE WITH ALL MY BROTHERS & SISTERS AND GIVE IT A GO. MY NEW YEAR'S RES. IS TO SURF MORE AND GET BACK INTO FIGHTING SHAPE

EVEN THOUGH TIMES ARE TOUGH YOU ALL MAKE LIFE GREAT !!!!

LUV YA ! MIKE & CATHY & MOLLYDOG

[joe]

Finding waves proves easier than catching them in KSUSA kneeboarding championships

By JULIE JAG - Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted: 01/18/2009 01:30:28 AM PST


Click photo to enlarge«12»SANTA CRUZ -- Everywhere Barry Baker looked Saturday morning, he saw big, clean, beautiful waves. As he camped out at Steamer Lane during the Open men's final of the Kneeboard Surfing USA Championships, they broke all around him.

Around him, but never under him.

"The waves were unpredictable. I get out there and all you see are waves somewhere else," said Baker of San Clemente, who spent most of the heat chasing waves. "I got out and my friend said, You were on the merry-go-round at the Lane.'"

Nature's amusement park, such as it was, delighted and thrilled most of the kneeboarders in the contest with clean rollers that crept into the double-overhead range. As with most carnival games, however, only a few came away as winners.

Gavin Colman of Australia, who in 2007 made an amazing comeback to win the world and U.S. titles at this break after taking a 10-year hiatus from the sport, tamed the Lane again for the Open men's win. But second-place finisher Tom Backer, the 2008 KSUSA champion from Huntington Beach, and Baker went home with the biggest prizes. As the top American finishers in the contest, they earned seeds into the Round of 16 at the Kneeboard Surfing World Championships on April 11-18 in New Zealand.

In other divisions, Roger Hughes and Lloyd Mahoney of Santa Cruz took the top two spots, respectively, in the men's AA final. Ed Quinn of El Segundo won the AAA division, while Sebastian Perez of Laguna Niguel won the Juniors title and Kiya Kelly of Canada won the Women's contest, with Laura Rodriguez of Buena Park taking the U.S. title over her sister, Marlowe Espalin.

"We welcome anyone into our U.S. Championships," said organizer Don Harris. "It underscores what trying to accomplish, we don't want to put any boundaries on this."

Baker said Colman deserved the win. While he was out chasing waves, they seemed to be flocking to Colman.

"Gavin was on the spot consistently," Baker said. "Wherever he was, there were waves."

Robb Salfen, the fourth-place finisher in the men's Open final, agreed. He said the waves varied greatly from heat to heat depending on the tide, so if a set was breaking in the slot during one heat, by the next heat it might have moved to Middle Peak. Always, Colman seemed to move with them.

"We all had plans, but every heat changed," Salfen said. "The plan was to change, be fluid and get in a rhythm with the waves. ...

"Gavin was just plugged in."

The waves didn't just vary throughout the day, they varied wildly throughout the contest. When the event began Thursday morning, announcers could be heard heralding the few sets of 3- to 4- foot waves that rolled through. By Saturday, however, most of the waves were about three times that size and coming in quick sets.

"Technically, we went through all conditions, from 1-foot to 14-foot faces," Salfen said. "It was a good test for a contest."

There was even talk of the waves getting too big for the kneeboarders, especially after organizers bumped up the Open men's final from 2 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. But Harris said the finals had been reworked to allow finalists more time in the big surf, not because of concern over wave size.

"Today was big day, but quite honestly I was expecting it to be twice as big," Harris said, "and I was OK with that."

"That wasn't a problem," agreed competitor Bill Lerner of Oceanside, who got knocked out in the repecharge session Saturday. "We could have gone bigger."

Several of the contest's 60-plus competitors said these were the best conditions they've seen for the KUSA Championships, which have been held in Santa Cruz County every year except the last [when it was moved to Oceanside], since the contest began in 2003. That group included Lerner and Baker, two men who ended up watching more perfect waves come through than they could catch.

"Overall," Lerner said, "it was just a great contest."


KSUSA Championship results
Saturday at Steamer Lane
Open Division
1. Gavin Colman, Australia
2. Tom Backer, Huntington Beach
3. Barry Baker, Capistrano Beach
4. Robb Salfen, Los Osos
AAA
1. Ed Quinn, El Segundo
2. Jeff Martinez, San Francisco
3. Akio Matsumo, Oceanside
4. Paul Crowley, unknown
AA
1. Roger Hughes, Santa Cruz
2. Lloyd Mahoney, Santa Cruz
3. Don Harris, Sausalito
4. Mark Recordon, Santa Barbara
Junior
1. Sebastian Perez, Laguna Niguel
2. Sam Coyne, San Diego
3. Chris Linn, Laguna Niguel
4. Nick Kouatli, Laguna Niguel
Women
1. Kiya Kelly, Canada
2. Laura Rodriguez, Buena Park
3. Marlowe Espalin, Buena Park


http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/sports/ci_11483095

[Don]

I'd like to say "Thanks" to ALL the people behind and in front of this event. It takes quite a bit of planning to pull this off and like I said on Saturday night, "Certain things we can control and we did a pretty good job. The things we couldn't control, were handled beyond our expectations." I started surfing The Lane 32 years ago and it's just such a great arena to display great surfing when it's on. Finally we got to see it in its glory with a classy field of talent that truly represents our sport (in and out of the water) and why they are a league above.

Sponsors - YOU make this possible
Organizers - awesome job
WSA - another stellar event
Local Heros - your hearts supersede all else
Competitors - amazing display of talent
Competitors Wives & SO's - Thanks for setting aside the time for this event
Mother Ocean - WOW!

It will take some time for this event to really soak in for me. I am stoked for ALL!

Let's focus on the World Titles now and take this energy forward.

As for next year, I just don't know what to do to make this event better... but we have some time to think about that



Thanks for the warm glow inside

Don

[albumimg]18549[/albumimg]

[alfredo zavala]

Just a big Mahalo to all the people that made this weekend happen!
Congrats to all the champs!
Meeting new people and seeing old friends is really one of the best things in this life. . .
Big Fred . . . Brah, you got a BIG Heart.
The kneelo cove crew are pretty Awesome!
Heck, you ALL rock!
Its GOOD to be in the brotherhood of Kneelo.
Thanks for inviting us in KSUSA.
Peace

[Scott]

I LOVE what the KSUSA and this event has brought to kneeboard surfing.

Barry, you said it best with these 13 words. Thanks!

[randiego]

Words really can't describe what a great four days I had in Santa Cruz!

~The gathering of the tribe, seeing friends and meeting new friends...
~The raucous cheering and laughs during the awards ceremony and raffle-mania...
~EQ cracking me up with his hilarious stream-of-consciousness commentary from the judges tower. Believe me, it's much harder than it looks!
~The SURF! The surfing!
~Making it to the final day of the contest, and taking a DOH+ set on the melon during my heat!
~Talking to super-cool SC locals way outside during my free surf - after the contest - and grabbing a couple bombs out the back...
~Learning a hell of a lot about contest surfing from the head WSA judge...


To Don, Mark, Tom Linn, Jack, Brad, EQ; and guys like Joe Coyne, Bob Schiff, Scott Wessling and Ed Dimick who toiled behind the scenes; but especially, John and Kim Mel,

Thanks.

[mutiny]

What a fun week up in Santa Cruz
So stoked to hang out and see friends and make new ones

watching the Juniors heat was one of the highlights for me
reminds me of all of us when we were groms..paddeling out and goin for it ALL THE TIME! Those kids are The Future of American Kneeboarding

Thanks to everyone who makes this event happen every year
Im so greatful to be part of our community of kneeboarders

Thanks to the people who bought our kneelo cove shirts its going to help us pay towards our NZ worlds trip, I know moneys tight right now and we really appreciate the contribution

tom

[SFKneelo]

The clan had a great time!

The smallest said his favorite was watching Dad surf (well behaved, that one.)

Our oldest son said his favorite was 'picking EQ four times!' as one of the ticket-pickers in the raffle...

I heard Lauren scored more at the last raffle...

We all had a great stay down there!

Many thanks to the Mels, particularly Kim for keeping the kids entertained and giving them an experience they're still talking about!

Classic commentation both on the scafolding and at the events!

The speech from the Head Judge is worthy a thread of it's own...

Awesome event! Congratulations to the KSUSA committee!

Great to see everyone!

SFK & Co.

[Jack Beresford]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jack Beresford, Kneeboard Surfing USA
Tel: (619) 341-1091 jack@ksusa.org

Don Harris, Kneeboard Surfing USA
Tel: 415-250-6400, dharris@ksusa.org


Steamer Lane Delivers for Kneeboard Surfing Competitors

Weekend Swell Arrives Just in Time for U.S. Kneeboard Championships

Santa Cruz, CA (Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009) – Australian Gavin Colman dominated a field of top U.S. competitors this weekend to win the Kneeboard Surfing USA Titles at Steamer Lane.

Colman and other competitors were greeted with double-overhead sets for the finals Saturday morning. Colman’s win punctuated an impressive three-day run and backed up his win in the 2007 World Kneeboard Championships – also held at Steamer Lane.

Huntington Beach’s Tom Backer surfed flawlessly and finished second in the “Open” division. Barry Baker of Capistrano Beach and Rob Salfen of Los Osos finished third and fourth in the Open.

Kiya Kelley of Sooke, Canada, won the women’s division besting Laura Rodriguez and Marlowe Espalin both of Buena Park.

One of the most entertaining finals featured four junior (under 20) competitors going for broke in the solid winter surf. In the end, Sebastian “Seabass” Perez of Laguna Niguel took home first place honors. Sam Coyne of San Diego finished second and Chris Linn of and Nick Kouatli – both from Laguna Niguel – finished third and fourth.

Colman, who lives in Sydney, was the lone Australian among the 60 Kneeboarders who competed. By finishing as the top-two U.S. competitors, Backer and Baker will receive top seeds at the upcoming Kneeboard Surfing World Championships to be held in Opunake, New Zealand this April.

Sponsors of the Kneeboard Surfing U.S. Championships include: Blast, Brand I.D., Flashpoint, Freeline, Gordon Biersch, Hurley, LuxurySurf.com., Maxim Capital Advisors Inc., Parkes, Tide Has Turned.

Established in 2003, Kneeboard Surfing USA is dedicated to promoting the sport of Kneeboard Surfing through competitions, kneelo gatherings and other activities. KSUSA has hosted five U.S. Championships and the 2007 World Kneeboard Championships.

Final Results:

Open Division: 1. Gavin Colman, 2. Tom Backer, 3. Barry Baker, 4. Rob Salfen
AAA: 1. Ed Quinn, 2. Jeff Martinez, 3. Akio Matsumo, 4. Paul Crowley
AA: 1. Roger Hughes, 2. Lloyd Mahoney, 3. Don Harris, 4. Mark Recordan
Junior: 1. Sebastian Perez, 2. Sam Coyne, 3. Chris Linn, 4. Nick Kouatli
Women: 1. Kiya Kelly, 2. Laura Rodriguez, 3. Marlowe Espalin

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(Photos and video of top competitors available upon request)