Ready to keep its spot as one of the top surf and paddleboard towns in the world, Wrightsville Beach will once again host a standup paddleboard surf contest this spring, pairing it with new local sponsors and the annual Carolina Cup paddleboard race.
“It will be a showcase of professional and amateur paddleboarders to exhibit their surf skills,” organizer Haywood Newkirk said. “It will only serve to enhance Wrightsville Beach’s reputation as a surfing and paddleboarding community.”
Since the contest had been cancelled last year, organizers had to get approval from the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen last Thursday, which voted to grant a permit for the Carolina Pro-Am after hearing about the conditions that forced last year’s cancelation, as well as how new sponsors will support the event scheduled for mid-April.
The event had been held for three years as the Wrightsville Beach SUP Surf Pro-Am, with proceeds benefiting the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History, and for two years prior to that with a different name, said Newkirk said. This year’s event will also benefit the museum.
Town staff denied the permit based on the board’s guideline of not approving new events during the tourist season. With no clarifying rules, the staff treated the event as new and denied the permit, which was appealed by organizers. Town Manager Tim Owens said there were no complaints or issues with the event, and that it was only denied based on the town’s rule.
Organizers weren’t able to hold the 2018 event for several reasons, Newkirk said, starting with the original sponsor pulling out due to financial troubles. However, Newkirk said that South End Surf Shop was filling the role, which can provide support to the event from its nearby location.
Additionally, the museum had its own priorities in 2018, particularly organizing the moving of the Ewing-Bordeaux Cottage last year.
“We didn’t feel we were organized enough to pull it off,” Newkirk said. If we were aware of the rule, we would have attempted it.”
The 2017 contest drew some of the top athletes in the sport, bringing in seven of the top-10 ranked men and five of the top 10 women, while drawing more than 100 professional and amateur contestants.
With travel costs an issue, Newkirk said the event is paired around the Carolina Cup paddleboard race, since several of the top contestants will be in town for that event, one of the premiere contests in the world for the young sport.The event will be held on Easter weekend, a week ahead of the Carolina Cup.
Drawing top-tier athletes to Wrightsville Beach only further enhances the town’s growing reputation as a thriving board-sports community.
“I’ve surfed around the world and 20 years ago, I will tell people I’m from Wrightsville Beach, and they would ask ‘Where’s that?’,” Newkirk said. “Now they tell me, ‘That’s in North Carolina, I heard that place was awesome.’”
The event won’t require any road closures and Mayor Bill Blair said that in the past, he could see the event from his house and found it to be well run.
