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The International Surfing Contest has clearly established itself as a must for Caribbean surfers.
The Barbadian contingent alone can number over 50 between surfers and spectators. They come for
both the strong competition and number of categories they can enter. From Juniors (18 and Under),
Open, Masters (35 and Over), Women, to Body Boarding, its all for fun, which the competitors love,
but the competition is stiff in the Open which has been won by Mark Holder in 2002 and 2003.
The Contest Director shall be Terry Johnson who has been involved in judging and organizing surfing
contests in Trinidad and Tobago since the 1980s. Elvis Carter (AKA Judge Dread) from Barbados shall
once again be the Head Judge.
Registration for the surfing can be done at Beach Break Surf Shop or online by contacting
Courtenay Rooks.
Registration by October 29th is US$5 or TT$30. Registration at the competition site is US$10 or TT$60.
From its name Beach Break is a beach break with fast lefts and longer rights. Depending
on the swell it can be smoking with long rides or closing out regularly in everything from
18 inches to seriously big. However, it was chosen because it is a very consistent wave with
rideable waves throughout the year. The weekend on the 30th and 31st was chosen because full
moon is a couple days before so tides will be rising in the afternoon, giving the best waves for
the final and the highest probability of good waves for the competition.
Individual surfers will battle it out in several categories in heats of 3 to 5 competitors that
last between 15 and 30 minutes and will be judged on their best 2 or 3 rides accordingly. The best
2 or 3 surfers in each heat will advance to the successive round. The best rides will be ones where
the surfer has done the most difficult and powerful manures.
The top surfers use this competition as a warm up for the Soup Bowl Classic in Barbados the weekend after.
This means that while the surfing competition is fun it is very hot.
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