Four surfers representing the Wrightsville Beach Longboard Association travelled to southern California Sept. 5-7 for the chance to compete against the best longboarders in the world and surf the legendary wave at First Point, Malibu, with only a few other people in the water.
John Sideris, Misty Mangiacapre, Steve Mangiacapre and Drake Courey competed in the Malibu Surfing Association’s MSA Classic Invitational, the United States’ most prestigious club-level surfing contest. The contest website states 250 athletes representing surfing clubs all over the world participated in the contest.
During a Sept. 7 phone interview, John Sideris, vice-president of the WBLA, said it has been a longtime goal of his to bring a team to the competition.
“We joined the International Coalition of Surfing Clubs,” Sideris said, referring to the organization that represents the interests of surfing clubs throughout the world. “I’m friends with two of the guys out here in the Malibu Surfing Association … and they gave us four slots in the competition.”
Sideris added he believes the WBLA deserves to compete against the best surf clubs from locations such as Hawaii and Tahiti that regularly see much larger surf than Wrightsville Beach.
“We have a lot of talent in Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach,” Sideris said. “Up and down our coast we certainly have world-class surfers. Fifty percent of our team made it to the semis.”
Misty Mangiacapre explained each team member in the group competed in his or her respective age group division, and the results of each individual surfer determined the team’s overall placing. Although Mangiacapre did not advance out of her first round heat, she said the experience of surfing alongside the world’s best longboarders was inspiring.
“It’s a great opportunity,” she said. “Some of the ladies here could be competing against our boys back home and would be killing it, so it’s an opportunity to have some great competition.”
Mangiacapre said the chance to surf Malibu in perfect conditions with only four other people in the lineup was well worth the contest entry fee. She described the surf as overhead, adding that the water wasn’t too cold, either.
“Before the sun came up this morning, there had to be more than 100 people out in the dark,” she said. “So to have the opportunity to surf Malibu for 15 minutes and know no one is going to drop in on you, it’s totally worth it.”
Drake Courey advanced to the semi-finals in the Men’s 20-29 age group. Steve Mangiacapre also made it to the semi-finals in the Men’s 30-39 division, a feat made impressive by the fact that his age group included Joel Tudor, regarded as one of the world’s greatest longboarders.
Misty Mangiacapre said one of the best parts of the experience was being immersed in the longboarding community, a culture characterized by stylish noseriding reminiscent of surfing in California during the 1950s.
“It’s a lot different because they really put an emphasis on style,” Mangiacapre said. “Traditional longboarding is valuable out here, whereas back home we don’t really have the same appreciation for it.”
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