KSUSA 2012 Kneeboard Surfing Titles and Kneeboard Festival

stonefish · Post by **stonefish** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:06 am

Stonefish Skegs would like to thank all the people involved in putting this great event on. the members ,the staff at Sandys ,the judges, the sponsors, the spectators, the competitors. I had a super time and cant wait for next year! I hope the recipients of the Stonefish Skegs from the raffle enjoy the out of the finbox thinking these glass ons provide. everyone that was involved has my compliments. .......and yea i grab my rails with pride!

evans · Post by **evans** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 2:33 pm

Is there any video out there of the open semi-finals? I was in the water and heard that it was one of the craziest heats to watch, but I didn't get to watch it. Just wondering.

eqKneelo · Post by **eqKneelo** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:10 pm

I'd much rather watch the Semi's than the final.

southpeakbrad · Post by **southpeakbrad** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 6:02 pm

Congratulations to you Chris! You had a awesome contest and are a great Champ.

Thanks Jack for a great summary and to the rest of the Team for the hard work and laughs. Great to see it all come off successfully and to share in everyone's stoke.

Thanks to the volunteers who helped out in the evening. It was great having Shane and Evan helping part of the crew. Your efforts are greatly appreciated

Thanks to our new friends from Venezuela for making the trip. It was great to share waves on Thursday and in heats.

Hope to see everyone soon!

Jack Beresford · Post by **Jack Beresford** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 6:26 pm

Here's Laylan Connelly's wrap-up story on the contest, which should also appear in Wednesday's OC Register:

http://beach.orangecounty.com/2012/01/3 ... ity/54304/

Joe Taylor · Post by **Joe Taylor** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 5:13 am

Wow! What a great time that was.
Couldn't believe the finals in all categories... all were amazing. Congrats to Chris and Tommy for showing the doctors wrong.
I hope everybody had a great time.
The raffle and auction, weren't they? The sponsors really rocked us out, again.

Hope to see you all and those who could not make it next year.

JT

Thanks Big Tony and Amanda for all the hard work you guys did...
couldn't have happened without you guys.

Jack Beresford · Post by **Jack Beresford** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:10 am

Here's our wrap-up news release which should be going out today or tomorrow - once we get a few good photos to go with it. Let me know if I got anything wrong!

Chris Beresford Wins U.S. Kneeboard Championships at Huntington Beach Pier

“Broken Neck Boys” finish one-two just months after serious injuries

Huntington Beach, CA (Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012) – Chris Beresford of San Diego dominated the Open Divison final today at the Kneeboard Surfing USA Championships at Huntington Beach. Beresford attacked the head-high waves on the south side of the pier with an impressive display of stylish full-rail surfing and big moves.

Local favorite and 2008 champion Tom Backer surfed flawlessly throughout the event and finished second.

Beresford’s and Backer’s one-two finish was heavy with irony and redemption: both suffered broken necks while surfing last spring. The accidents, which occurred weeks apart, shocked the U.S. kneeboard community. Amazingly, both recovered and were in top form this weekend.

Rounding out the Open Division was third-place finisher Ed Quinn of El Segundo and Pat Evans of Huntington Beach who finished fourth. Both long-time competitors, it was Quinn’s and Evan’s best finishes to date in Kneeboard Surfing USA championships, which drew 80 competitors and an international field.

Evan Odom of Vista won a hard-fought title in the Junior Division. Shayne Dimick of Orange and Chris Linn of Laguna Niguel both showed flashes of brilliance – finishing second and third respectively - but it wasn’t enough to top the much-improved Odom, who earned his first U.S. title.

Kathy Yturralde of Huntington Beach also won her first U.S. title in the Women’s Division. Yturralde edged out defending champ Cynthia Wornham of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara’s Jan Fadden in a highly entertaining final which saw some great down-the-line surfing by the ladies.

Huntington Beach kneeboarders Paul Devoy and Mike Fernandez earned some of the loudest cheers on their way to winning the AA and AAA divisions.

The event concluded with the Sandy’s Cup Challenge – a one-hour heat pitting teams of four in a tag-team format. Jose Maldonado of Puerto Rico, Ed Quinn of the U.S., and Alberto Colucci and Giovani Benitez of Venezuela powered the “International Team” to a win and bragging rights. Team “Kneelo Cove” from Huntington Beach finished second and will have to wait until next year to recapture the perpetual trophy – which is displayed at Sandy’s Beach Grill.

Established in 2003, Kneeboard Surfing USA is dedicated to promoting the sport of Kneeboard Surfing through competitions, kneelo gatherings and other activities. For more information visit www.ksusa.org.

RESULTS

Open: 1- Chris Beresford, 2- Tom Backer, 3- Ed Quinn, 4- Pat Evans
AAA: 1- Mike Fernandez, 2- Randy Reed, 3- Brad Colwell, 4- Alberto Colucci
AA: 1- Paul Devoy, 2- Giovanni Benitez , 3- Don Harris, 4- Scott Kinyoun
Juniors: 1- Evan Odom, 2- Shayne Dimick, 3- Chris Linn
Women: 1- Cathy Yturralde, 2- Cynthia Wornham, 3- Jan Fadden
Team: 1- International, 2- Kneelo Cove, 3- NorCal, 4- Blacks, 5- OC, 6- Juniors, 7- Mojado

Sponsors of the Kneeboard Surfing U.S. Championships include: Aleeda Wetsuits, Aqua Tech Waterjet, Balestar Designs, Blast Surf Designs, Block Surf, Bolsa Clothing, Brand Id, ClearWater Glassing, Dean Cleary, Cove Deck Padz, Dafin, DaKine, Electric, Eric Shoelkopf, FCS, Flashpoint Surfing, Freeline Design, The Froghouse Surf Shop, Futures Fins, Joel Mayer Photography, Kneelo Nation, Legless TV, Marko Foam Blanks, McConnell Surfboards, Parkes Australia, Primo Beer, Pure Glass, Romanowsky Kneeboards, Riviera Longboards, Scott Winer Photography, Sector 9, Surfline, Skullcandy, SS Metal Fabricators, Sandy’s Beach Grill, Stone Fish Skegs, Tavarua Island Resort, Trunq, Vartanian Surfboards, Viper Surfing Fins, Volcom, Watermans Applied Science Sun Care and Xcel Wetsuits.

Mike Fernandez · Post by **Mike Fernandez** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:16 am

Well written Jack, and extra congratulations to Chris Beresford! I was told he only injured his neck.

tahiti_nui · Post by **tahiti_nui** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:21 am

day one highlight video will be up soon @

http://youtu.be/_1dyy7R8UVo

Mike Fernandez · Post by **Mike Fernandez** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 1:53 pm

Backers 10 ride is at 13:41

JohnS · Post by **JohnS** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 2:47 pm

That was fun to watch. Thanks for posting the video

tahiti_nui · Post by **tahiti_nui** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 7:26 am

saturday mornings semis and womans final are up @

http://youtu.be/9yHKMb1wSCM

tahiti_nui · Post by **tahiti_nui** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:16 pm

Video highlights of the A AA AAA Finals and Team Event will be up soon @

http://youtu.be/fuW6W2cknJE

This finishes up the multi-media I’ve have for this year’s event.
A quick thank you to everyone who came out to the beach to participate or watch, like so many of you, kneeboarding and this community is a fun part of my life, and getting the chance to see/meet many of you often is great.

Those of you who have access to attending any gatherings throughout the year, please take the time and attend, or if you’re in far-flung corners of the surf world, reach out an connect with other kneelos and set up your own hang-outs. The web and ksusa’s portal make it easy and are a great source of knowledge in a wide list of subjects.

If you get an opportunity & interest from younger surfers, share a board for a few waves, offer up some encouragement to 'give it a go'. Think about what originally drew you to the sport and see if you spark that same feeling in a few of the grom’s at your local break.

When it’s time to upgrade your equipment, support the true kneeboard shapers who have supported us over the years, if we don’t, they have to innovate elsewhere.

Those of you in the SoCal area, watch for an announcement regarding a special evening reception for the Piapo/Kneeboard exhibit at the Intl. Surf Museum in Huntington Beach later this month.

Hope to see you out in the water…. rm

Jon Manss · Post by **Jon Manss** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 3:22 pm

Sounds like another great event. I miss all the fun of these contests. Although I couldn,t make it I joined in here online guys. EQ you were so close! Auurgh!

eqKneelo · Post by **eqKneelo** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 7:11 pm

Thanks Manss. It was a great event... Wind and tide were the death of me in Final.
Never been a KSUSA Contest were I didn't spend at least one heat floating laround waiting for a wave.

Anyone have vid of the Semi's? I had a pretty good hit... U can hear it, but not see it on the videos I've seen.
EQ

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KSUSA 2012 Kneeboard Surfing Titles and Kneeboard Festival

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official news release