Residents ‘confident’ Quiksilver will return

“It was cool just being out there with Kelly [Slater] and Mick [Fanning], and all those guys,” said Quiksilver Pro New York competitor Balaram Stack, just hours after pro surfer Owen Wright won the coveted $300,000 prize.

For Stack — who, in the opening rounds, was eliminated after he faced the two most formidable competitors on the tour, Slater and Fanning — competing in the ASP tour’s first ever stop on the East Coast was like a dream come true, he said during an autograph signing at the grand opening of the new Quiksilver surf shop in Oceanside.

The store is owned by Unsound surf shop’s Mike Nelson and Dave Juan, who sponsored the Quiksilver Pro N.Y. trials. As the local wildcard, Stack, 20, quickly became the face of the competition as its hometown hero, and said that he was pleased at the chance to compete in his first major contest.

“It was definitely an experience,” Stack said, adding that he was confident the tour would return next year. “I think they’re planning on having the [contest here the] next two years — they already have it planned out, so hopefully it goes as well as this one.”

Jodi Wilmott, a spokeswoman for Quiksilver, said that she did not know for sure if the company had plans to bring the tour back next year, but said, “If the question were ‘is this one of the greatest places and communities in which to stage an international surfing event of this nature,’ there could be no question about it — absolutely, yes.”

The event is already being described as one of the most memorable competitions in the history of the ASP, with an unprecedented $1 million prize purse. It proved, fans and Quiksilver officials said, that Long Beach has world-class waves and that the city could accommodate such a monumental surfing competition.

And despite the cancellation of the music and action sports festival, the event attracted about 100,000 spectators to Long Beach to watch pros like Slater perform on local waves, during a week that delivered solid swells brought in by hurricanes Katia and Irene. It also showcased East Coast surfing talent to the world, especially Stack, who, as a member of the Quiksilver team, competed in his first major ASP tour.

“If you didn’t know about Bal before this even, I don’t think there is anyone who doesn’t know about him now,” said Unsound’s Mike Nelson. “Even though he didn’t win, it was fantastic for him to see that level of surfing up close. I think he was a little nervous … still, if you could lose to anybody, it may as well be the number one and number two guys in the world.”

Competition salvaged

The competition itself was nearly cancelled following the impact of Hurricane Irene, a decision that Unsound had quickly urged city officials to reconsider. After all, Unsound played a huge role in attracting the contest to Long Beach, said City Councilman John McLaughlin, whom Quiksilver reached out to when it expressed interest in coming to New York.

Luckily, Nelson said, although the music, BMX and skate could not be salvaged, city officials and Quiksilver managed to move ahead with the contest.

“I think a week and a half ago, everything was in jeopardy and a lot of people were bummed that the music was canceled,” Nelson said. “But in hindsight, seeing what happened during the competition and how excited everyone was … after all, it was the reason why [Quiksilver] were coming here.”

“Everyone on the beach was a part of history,” Nelson added. “First, [Quiksilver] came and threw the biggest surfing event in history, and second, they did it in a location where 90 percent of the world didn’t think there would have been waves.”

Local lifeguard and surfer Ray Ellmer, a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, noted the contest’s “epic” greatness, and said that everything came together “with great surf and world class conditions.”

“I was disappointed in the festival being canceled — I truly believe that the city had in place the proper planning to fully handle the festival,” Ellmer said. “In reality, the music festival had nothing to do with the ASP — that event still had to go on. And the competition was really something special.”

McLaughlin also expressed disappointment with the festival’s cancellation, but took issue with rumors that the city had looked to pull the plug on the event weeks before the hurricane hit.

“I would have liked to have some of the entertainment, but I’m pretty confident that Quiksilver wants to return, and we want them to come back,” McLaughlin said. “The rumor mill will always be churning — being that it was the first year, I don’t think people realize that we had a first-of-its-kind ASP tour coming to the East Coast, so there was a learning curve there.”

McLaughlin said that he believes both Quiksilver and the city will do more to inform the public about the event if it returns. “I do think that we will probably have an open forum ...” he said. “I’ve already brought that up to [Quiksilver] and they were receptive.”

Mike Matey, Quiksilver’s marketing vice president, said that Quiksilver was “definitely” prepared to move forward with the festival and competition after the hurricane, and said that it was an “unfortunate” casualty of Irene.

“As part of any event of this magnitude for Quiksilver, we always have contingency plans and backup locations,” Matey said. “But our goal was to make it work in Long Beach. Working with the city officials had some hiccups and challenges, but we pulled together in the end and a held a successful surf competition.”

And the participation of pro surfers in several 9/11 memorial services — as well as a surf competition between pros like Slater and members of the NYPD and FDNY on Saturday — resonated with residents, McLaughlin said.

“I think the wrap-up on 9/11 was even better — it was more of a celebration of the lives lost, but you also mark their passing, and the way they did it was really nice,” he said.

Quiksilver’s presence is palpable in Long Beach

Nicky Bruckner, 28, a surfer from Morristown, NJ, was one of the thousands who flocked to the city to watch the competition’s final rounds last Friday.

“As soon as I heard they were bringing the pro tour out, I was just thrilled to come … all the way out from Jersey,” he said. “You have to roll the dice and hope that it brings waves and it did — all of the pros looked good bringing it in.”

Barbara and Patrick Flynn, of Long Beach, brought their beach chairs on Friday, and said that their three children, who all surf, were excited about the competition.

“To come back from a hurricane and look at the resilience of how people worked around the clock to be able to put this event together is just a tremendous testament to Long Beach,” Barbara Flynn said, adding that her daughter managed to get Kelly Slater’s autograph. “The Quiksilver Pro New York — it could have been in Rockaway, but it’s here because we have such a great surfing community.”

Rockville Centre resident and local surfer Martin Brull was among the many who brought their kids to the event on Friday.

“It’s been such a great experience to hang out with all of our heroes and surf with them everyday,” he said. “They’re all very nice, they really like the welcome that we’ve given them, and they ask us for pointers on the surf.”

Boyd Street resident Alex Michelman, who used to work for Quiksilver, said that it was perhaps the best competition he’s ever seen. “The crowds were really supportive of the event,” he said. “I spoke to [CEO] Bob McKnight personally, he’s very stoked about having the event here in Long Beach, and I feel confident they’re going to come back next season, even with what happened in terms of the scaled back event.”

At East School, where his children attend, a huge poster of Stack hangs in its cafeteria, which serves as an inspiring message for kids, Michelman said.

“I didn’t pull [my children] out of school today, which I kind of regret that I didn’t,” he said. “But it’s an inspirational message about pursuing your dreams, and even if somebody tells you, ‘Hey, you’re from New York and you can’t be a pro surfer,’ to just keep at it.”

Roger Gengo contributed to this story. Comments about it? Arifilato@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.