Photo: Kevin Welsh
Andrew Gesler / Calling all East Coast surf shop rats. You've been reading the mags, watching the vids and getting shacked all winter long in 40 degree water, bragging to your bros how good it was and that they "missed it." Well now you have the chance to claim some real bragging rights amongst your retail brethren at the 2010 Oakley Surf Shop Challenge. And perhaps, just maybe, if you've been working on your turns, you too could make the main event!

San Clemente, Calif. (April 16, 2010) - The first stop of SURFER Magazine's Oakley Surf Shop Challenge set the tone for an exciting series, and the next two stops-Casino Pier, New Jersey, and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina-are poised to keep that momentum going. The second event of the series will launch at Casino Pier on April 19 or 20 and will be immediately followed by the next stop in Kitty Hawk on April 22 or 23. The official dates will be announced later today and Monday, April 19, for each respective event in order to ensure the best possible conditions for the competitors.

Last year, shops in these regions all competed in a single Northeast Qualifier, but this year the series has expanded to include two stops in the area: the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic Qualifiers. The additional event changes the face of the competition, widening the pool of competitors and dividing some long-standing rivalries. Andrew Gesler, Heritage team captain, thinks the additional stop is a great idea, "I'm a big believer in the talent we have out here and am stoked that more East Coast shops will have the chance to represent out West. Although, some of our biggest competitors have been from Virginia Beach and North Carolina so we're definitely going to miss some of those rivalries, but we'll be happy to meet them in the finals!"

In last year's Northeast Qualifier it was a battle royal between Heritage Surf & Sport from Sea Isle City, New Jersey, and Coastal Edge of Virginia Beach, Virginia for the Northeast Regional title. But this year, things will be different as the two are now competing in separate qualifiers. Ultimately, this means that for the first time in Surf Shop Challenge history both could make it into the National Championships and find themselves going head-to-head among the other five Regional victors once more. But don't be mislead, both regions remain stacked with strong teams; no one gets a free pass into the National Championship.

The addition of a new region has also brought some new shops into the fold this year. There will be fresh teams in the water from Bare Wires Surf & Skate of Long Branch, New Jersey, Suncatcher Surf Shop from Stone Harbor, New Jersey, and Whalebone of Nags Head, North Carolina to name a few.


7th Street
Ocean City, NJ
Inlet Outlet
Manasquan, NJ
Special Sauce
Bay Shore, NY
Primal Surf Shop
Brigantine, NJ
Farias Surf Shop
Surf City, NJ
Unsound
Long Beach, NY
Air and Speed
Montauk, NC
Pioneers Board Shop
North Hampton, NH
Liquid Dreams
Ogunquit, ME
7 Ply
Westerly, RI
Wild Ocean
Wildwood, NJ
Surfers Supplies
Ocean City, NJ
Suncatcher Surf Shop
Stone Harbor, NJ
Southend Surf Shop
Cape May, NJ
Ocean Hut
Larallet, NJ
Bare Wires Surf & Skate
Long Branch, NJ
Heritage Surf & Sport
Sea Isle City, NJ
Kona Sports
Wildwood, NJ

Invited Mid Atlantic Shops:
WRV
Virginia Beach, VA and Kitty Hawk, NC
Surf City
Wrightsville Beach, NC
17th Street
Virginia Beach, VA
Coastal Edge
Virginia Beach, VA
Sweetwater
Wrightsville Beach, NC
OBBC
Nags Head, NC
Freedom Surf Shop
Virginia Beach, VA
Whalebone
Nags Head, NC and Virginia Beach, VA
Village Surf Shoppe
Murrells Inlet, SC

The Northeast and Mid Atlantic Regional Champs will head to Huntington Beach, California, on September 13, where they will face off against the each other and the remaining five Regional Champions in a winner-take-all, one-heat one-champ final.

This year's regional winners will not only earn an expense-paid trip to the National Championship for their chance to score the $10,000 grand prize, but each will also receive a full-page shop profile in SURFER Magazine a Firewire surfboard and a custom designed Buell wetsuit.

For photos, video footage, results, and more check out SurfShopChallenge.com.

Special thanks to Oakley and event partners Muscle Milk, New Era Caps, Firewire Surfboards, Bubble Gum Surf Wax, ASR, and Buell Wetsuits for all their support. Without their involvement the Surf Shop Challenge series would not be what it is today.