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WILD WILD WEST
Volcom VQS Championships invade Newport Beach
Hold on to your boards and britches, it's the wildest contest in the west -- the Volcom Totally Crustaceous tour opened up a time warp this weekend and turned the stretch of sand at 54th St. Newport into the Volcom Corral.
Outlaws of all ages gathered this year to take a crack at the $50,000 worth of prize bounty Volcom was offering at this year's VQS championship. With a building NW and S/SW swells forming up wedgey peaks up and down the beach the showdowns were fierce both in and out of the water. Clad in bandolier festooned jerseys, the VQS qualifiers shot up the low tide peaks in a true western style standoff.
Oahu's Joel Centeio proved a deadeye in the Pro Division, cracking off turn after turn on the long walls he rounded up. "Stoked, stoked, stoked..." was all Joel could muster with $10,000 and a wagonload of prizes under his belt. Santa Cruz's Ratboy came second followed by Asher Nolan and local cattle rustler Punker Pat Towersy.
Infamous aerial outlaw Nathan Fletcher was packing the heat in the airshow, with a humungous boost at high noon that sent the herd into a frenzy on the beach. Earning himself $5000 in cold hard cash, the black-garbed Fletcher rode into the sunset with a sly smile.
Local cowgirl Erica Hosseini trail-blazed the girls inaugural season with tight snaps in the pocket and earned herself $1,000 in reward money.
Orcutt's Killian Garland stormed both the Juniors division and Airshow division (2nd) like Pancho Villa, guns blazing. The central cal phenom was laying down super carves, blasting stylish airs and praising the VQS platform, "Volcom's contests are the best, you gotta surf your local Volcom contest so you can be here one day."
The kings of the VQS though, are the groms. Volcom's got nothing but respect for the groms and it shows with the treatment they receive. 2005 Grom Champ Granger Larsen of Maui took home $5,000, a prize pack of Volcom schwag and a 50cc Motorcycle.
And while the contest ran, the Wild West on the beach was over-the top. A saloon was running full steam with card tables, horseshoes, even a mechanical bull throwing groms in all directions.
When the lunch bell rang it was straight prospector fare: BBQ tri-tip, chili, cornbread and apple cobbler for dessert. Competitors and beachgoers testing their frontier skills for all sorts of loot, while a fully dressed VQS posse kept the peace with gritty looks and loaded six-guns. The show is a wealth of random entertainment, from Ken "Skindog' Collins calling the contest and heckling the crowd to the S.S. Barney sailboat cruising outside the lineup to "cut down the wind-chop," Volcom stone sail and all.
And while it's all fun and games, it's also a high stakes surf contest. With VQS series on both the east and west coast, Australia, South Africa, Europe, Japan and Brazil the Pro/Am contest are one of the world's premiere surfing showcases. On top of that, the VQS is completely free and open to surfers of all ages. Already in its 5th year the VQS continues to expand across the world, but every year it comes home to Newport Beach's 54th st. peaks for the crowning of the VQS champs.
Results for the 2005 VQS Champs held at 54th St. Newport Beach, California
Pro Division
1ST JOEL CENTEIO- $10000
2ND RATBOY COLLINS- $5000
3RD ASHER NOLAN- $2500
4TH PUNKER PAT TOWERSEY- $1000
Airshow
1ST NATHAN FLETCHER- $5000
2ND KILIAN GARLAND- $2000
3RD JOSH HOYER- $750
4TH PUNKER PAT TOWERSEY- $400
5TH JOSH SLEIGH- $100
6TH JAY QUINN- $100
Juniors
1ST KILIAN GARLAND- $6000
2ND SHOTA NAKAMURA- $3000
3RD CORY ARRAMBIDE- $1500
4TH BLAKE WILSON- $1000
Groms
1ST GRANGER LARSON- $5000
2ND DILLON PERILLO- $2500
3RD KIRON JABOUR- $1500
4TH KENTO TAKAMASHI- $1000
Girls
1ST ERICA HOSSEINI- $1000
2ND SARAH HOFFERT- $500
3RD SAGE ERIKSON- $200
4TH LEXI WILSON- $100
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Mike Howrigan
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