41.0°,
Fair Surf’s up this September
Upcoming Quiksilver Pro event is creating a buzz in Long Beach
Len Valenti, co-owner of Maritime Surf on Park Avenue, who has surfed in Long Beach since 1968, recalls plenty of surfing events on the beach over the years. But none, Valenti said, compare to the one coming to the barrier island in September.
Valenti was referring to the Quiksilver Pro New York event, which will take place in Long Beach Sept. 4-15. The event, announced by Quiksilver and the Association of Surfing Professionals on Jan. 26, has already created a buzz in the local surfing community.
The Quiksilver Pro New York will be the sixth stop on the ASP 2011 World Tour and the first-ever ASP World Title Race stop on the East Coast. What’s more, Quiksilver and the ASP also announced that the event would offer competitors an unprecedented $1 million prize purse.
Valenti said that the event would be huge for the surfing community in Long Beach. “It’s always been a good area to surf in as long as I’ve been surfing,” Valenti said. “This is a major event. A lot of people are excited about it. I think it’s a great thing for the surf community and for the businesses down here.”
Quiksilver designs and markets beach-related apparel and accessories. Its CEO, Bob McKnight, said in a statement that the company is “beyond excited to host the biggest pro surf event in the world this September in New York.”
McKnight added, “There has always been a huge contingent of dedicated surfers and surf enthusiasts on the East Coast, and they will now get a chance to watch the world’s best surfers in Long Beach.”
Brothers Cliff and Will Skudin, who own the Skudin Surf school in Long Beach and offer surf camps and lessons for children and adults, are well-known big-wave surfers who said they are looking forward to the event. “Some of these professional surfers we’ll only see in some of the heaviest places in the world,” Will said, “and you’d never think you’d see them in our backyard. It will be really cool for them to see our ocean and see where we come from.”
Skudin went on to explain that when he and his brother were growing up, there were few surfers in Long Beach. “Now it’s in the thousands, maybe even more,” he said, describing the sport as a “healthy addiction.”
