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BASSETT WINS USA SURFING TITLE
Kate Bassett of Berlin, Maryland was named the 2007 USA Womens Longboard Surfing Champion, while Art Baltrotsky also of Berlin, Maryland took second place in the Senior Longboard division during the Surfing America USA Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach, California, October 23-27, 2007. As representatives of East Coast surfers, Bassett and Baltrotsky out-surfed competitors from the West Coast, Gulf Coast and Hawaii in some of the best contestable surf ever seen at the Huntington Beach Pier. The strong offshore Santa Ana winds that fueled the devastating California wildfires also perfectly groomed one of the best swells that California had all year.
Just prior to the Womens Longboard final, the wind switched to a more common onshore flow and combined with an outgoing tide to make some very challenging conditions. The competitors searched for rideable waves while they continually battled strong currents pulling them into the pier. Towards the end of the 25 minute final, Bassett was in third place as she was swept through the pier. Bassett then managed to paddle back out through the pier, battling large surf and strong current to return to the competition area. With less than 20 seconds remaining in the final, Bassett paddled into the largest set wave of the heat and immediately moved into first place, capturing the 2007 USA Womens Longboard Surfing title.
During the Senior Longboard final, Baltrotsky also found his highest scoring wave at the very end of the heat. Baltrotsky caught one of the best waves of the final and shot the pier (riding through the pier) for second place in the Senior Longboard division. Finalists in the Senior Longboard division were split equally from all for regions of the country; East Coast, West Coast, Gulf coast and Hawaii.
In order to compete in the USA Surfing Championships, surfers must first compete in a year-long series of local events and finish at the top of their age division in their year-end points standings. Then these top place competitors are invited to compete in regional surfing championships. Top place finishers in the regional championships earn invitations to compete in the Eastern Surfing Championships and then on to the USA Surfing Championships.
The next local event for the Delmarva District of the Eastern Surfing Association is the 9th annual K-Coast / Reef Open on November 10 in Ocean City, Maryland at 35th Street. Surfers will be competing for thousands of dollars in prizes and a trip to Barbados. All proceeds from the K-Coast / Reef Open will benefit the Ocean City Career Firefighters and Paramedics Association. For more information about the Delmarva District of the Eastern Surfing Association go to www.DelmarvaESA.org or call the toll-free contest info line at 1-888-632-4742.
For more information about the Eastern Surfing Association contact:
Art Baltrotsky
Delmarva District ESA Director
http://www.DelmarvaESA.org
P.O. Box 207, Ocean City, MD 21843
410-641-3329
delmarva@surfesa.org
The Eastern Surfing Association (ESA), founded in 1967, a non-profit, IRS tax-exempt corporation, is the largest surfing organization in the world with more than 11,000 members. It is dedicated to the sport of surfing, to the operation of a program of competition for surfers of all ages and abilities, and to the establishment and preservation of public access to a clean shoreline and ocean environment. The association's activities are organized in a total of twenty-seven districts, which extend along nearly 2,000 miles of coastline, stretching from Maine through the Gulf Coast of Florida and Alabama and also including the Great Lakes and Puerto Rico. The Delmarva District currently has more than 550 active members and is operated by a non-paid, all volunteer staff. Visit the Delmarva ESA on-line at www.DelmarvaESA.org.