East Coast Heats Up With the Best Flowboarders in the Nation

EAST COAST HEATS UP WITH THE BEST FLOWBOARDERS IN THE NATION

The best flowboarders from all over the nation flocked to the state of Florida this last weekend to compete in the last leg of the Carbon FLOW (Flowboarding League Of the World) Tour.  Starting off the action in Clearwater Beach, Surf Style surf store was the arena where the riders would go head to head, and with over 70 competitors the crowd was in for an exciting day of competition.

The unique venue of Surf Style boasts a single pump FlowRider® that is situated in a massive surf shop across the road from the beach.  For the first time this season the Youth division (under 12) started from a semi final round and had riders from as young as 10 years old competing for a spot on the podium.  Rising to the top of the pack was Joe Chapa, who had been competing in both the Youth and Junior divisions all season.  Joe took first place in the Youth BB division while the youngest of the Moore family, Keaton Moore, took yet another first place in the Youth Flowboard division.

Even though both Masters divisions are quite small, this does not ignore the fact that they are both highly competitive.  The Masters Bodyboard division has been a tight race all year between two veterans, Cathy Seabert and Tracy Carroll.  This rivalry had been brewing since the start of the season and the vibe was tense when both ladies made their way into the finals.  In the end it was Cathy Seabert who took the gold, followed by Utah FlowRider venue manager Shaun Hancock, with Tracy Carroll coming in third.  This result would mean that both Tracy and Cathy would be going into the finals at Fantasy surf neck and neck for the season crown.  The Masters Flowboard division was not as hotly contested as Jason Moore swept the division with multiple wins, securing his national title before the tour ended.  Jason had been putting hours of training in the off-season, which paid off in the end.

This brings us to one of the most exciting divisions on tour. The under 17 Junior riders have displayed a skill level of riding this season that has been no less than outstanding.  Any of the finalists could of taken home the gold, but this was not going to be easy with Jaxson Moore, who has dominated this division all year. Jaxson is a kid of few words and likes to let his riding do the talking.  Jaxson competed his way to the top with local Floridian Nick Sanchez in close second, west coast young gun Daniel Tarapchak in third and Bubby Koby in fourth. The Junior Bodyboard division is equally exciting as “veteran” rider Cameron Lodge used his experience and claimed first place followed by Bubby Koby, Christian Duffy and representing the girls, Halley Chapa.

The female division is one of the fastest growing divisions on the tour. These girls of all ages are taking their riding to the next level and are soon going to be challenging the boys.  Once again taking out the Open Female Bodyboard division was Cathy Seabert, proving that she has what it takes to beat the up and comers.  The Open Female Flowboard division has a deep pool of skilled riders, which played out to be very exciting.  The top six female riders were all equally deserving of the title but local Floridian Austyn Bynon showed some local knowledge and got the gold. Coming in a close second was tour newcomer Xana Nash who has also been testing her skills against the boys in the Junior Flowboard division.  Another Moore family member, Madison Moore flew the flag for Canada getting third place with Caitlin Clifford coming in fourth.

The Open Men’s division was the most exciting it’s been all season as the new format allows Juniors and Masters riders to compete in this vast division.  Pro flowboarder Brad Spencer proved as one of the best all round riders using his competitive knowledge to get to the top of the podium in the Open Men’s Bodyboard division.  Hasim Paputchi did not go down with out a fight and ended up second after a great performance in the Utah leg a few weeks before.  The next two spots were filled with the junior riders Cameron Lodge and Christian Duffy who are proving that they can compete with the older more experienced riders.  I know you have heard this name many times already but yes, once again, Jaxson Moore flies the flag at the top in the Open Men’s Flowboard division.  Jaxson is proving that he is the one to beat in both  the Junior and Open Men’s Flowboard divisions and all competitors will need to bring their “A” game in order to beat him.  Not backing down easily and coming in second was Carter Wood from Utah followed by local Tate Freeman, and tour veteran Justin Collins.

This brings us to the Pro’s.  Once again the Pro riders delivered and like any tours in the previous years these divisions were as competitive as ever.  With Sean Silveira being in the number one spot for the last 5 years, it was good to see that there was some great talent nipping at his heels.  Focused all season long was ex wake boarder Brad Spencer who had gold on his mind.  With some really technical riding and clean runs, Brad rose to the occasion and overtook the rest of the field to take home the gold.  Coming in a close second was junior rider and Pro division newcomer Theo Koby followed by another newbie Chuck Wright, with Sean Silveira in a not so familiar fourth place.  The Pro Bodyboard division has been taken over by a young group of skilled riders.  With Nick Nguyen at the forefront, leading these rookies, it was no surprise that Nick claimed first place and secured his number one spot.  The next three spots were battled for by the under 17 riders, but it was Andrew O’Conner who managed to put together some clean smooth riding with hands down the biggest rodeo on tour.  Nick Sanchez followed with a close third and Andrew Shelton taking fourth.

This first stop was extremely exciting and was a great warm-up for the finals event at Fantasy Surf.  The staff at Surf Style helped put on an amazing event with record-breaking prize bags, which included a total of over $5000 worth of swag!!  We would like to personally thank Ben Corwin for all his hard work and dedication to the event.  There will be a well-needed, one-day break for the riders to re-energize, as the Final’s will be an event not to miss.

Surf Style, FL: August 9th, 2012 Results

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