MANASQUAN — Cowabunga! On a beautiful Friday beach day the Manasquan Boardriders Club (MBRC) held the ninth annual Softboard Rodeo. The competition invited local groms aged 16 and under to Inlet Beach to test their skills and creativity in the unique surf contest.
With soft tops scattered across the shoreline of Manasquan Inlet Beach, contestants began lined up on the fence 50 meters from the shoreline. At the sound of a horn, up to six contestants per heat sprinted for the Atlantic Ocean where soft top surfboards sat ready to plunge into the water.
Each heat lasted 15 minutes and the top three contestants advanced into the next round. With an array of judges scattered across the beach, surfers were judged on their top two waves based on creativity and style, on a scale from zero to a perfect 10 points.
MBRC board member Larry Schmidt told The Coast Star, “We have the classic board contest but those boards are super heavy and it’s really hard for the kids to ride them, so we started this event to get the kids out. It’s a great day on the beach. We do it on a Friday to try and encourage parents to take a day off of work and sit on the beach for the day. It’s all about the kids having fun.”
The kids did exactly that. With over 150 contestants in six different age groups, the Manasquan Inlet was packed with young surfers eager to impress judges and beachgoers alike.
The day started at low tide with the age 6 and under division, which was won by Hendrix Fender-Marotta on a tie-breaking win.
Later in the day, 18 7- and 8-year-olds took to the water with Shane Thompson coming out on top edging out Kinsley D’Antuono by 0.35 points to take home the win. Riley Hammell prevailed over the 24 9- and 10-year-old surfers, beating runner up Sean O’Connor by 0.15 points.
Of the 34 11- and 12-year-olds who participated in the rodeo, Keira Soleau took home the title with a combined score of 10.80.
In the most popular division of the day with 48 contestants, the 13- and 14-year-old division was won by Finn Holloway with a combined score of 12.40.
In the final division of the day, the 15- and 16-year old division was won by Jake Miller, who beat Owen Quigley by just 0.59 points.
Runner-up Owen told The Coast Star, “It’s good to see the community come out. It’s a good group of people. It’s definitely nice to surf the inlet with no one out. It’s awesome.”
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