The Sun Diego Am Slam Surf Series Presented by Billabong took the way back machine for Event #3 to beautiful Ocean Beach. With this beach's eclectic mix of locals, hippie vibes and a fair share of vagrants wandering about, it is always a people-watching delight in OB.
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Fortunately, with a solid south swell and 48 local and international pros in the water on Saturday, everyone’s attention was toward the churning Pacific and not on land.
There was insane surfing action all day with Santa Cruz standout Sam Coffey garnering the highest single wave score of the day with an incredible full rotation frontside air reverse, receiving a 9.2 for his efforts. Curran Dand also threw down some serious maneuvers during the day earning himself multiple 8+ rides.
The Finals for the Pro/Am Division was a one man show. Wesley Santos (Brazil) by way of Huntington Beach took it to the inconsistent conditions with power and flair, even busting a perfect Superman air to help secure the victory and a $2,000 payday.
Second and third place was an all-out battle as 15 year old phenom Lucas Owston and San Clemente wunderkind Kei Kobayashi went back and forth for the duration of the heat. However, Lucas was able to get a 5.63 in the waning minutes to secure second and $1,000 for his efforts. Coming in fourth and wrapping up a great August was Joshua Burke. Coming off a second place at the Jacks Surf QS event Josh was ripping all day and unfortunately ran into a bit of bad wave luck in the final.
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Sunday saw the south swell deteriorate a bit but that did not stop the groms from killing it!!!
The Womens longboard division was a one woman show as Tiare Thompson put on a dominating performance close to her home.
Tiare was at it again for the Womens Shortboard Final taking home her second victory of the day over a hard charging Ella McCaffray by a mere 0.17 of a point.
The Mens Longboard final was dominated by silky smooth Jack Van Wagoner. His ability to transition from nose riding to strong turns is seamless and very mature for his age.
Boys 14U was handled by Luke MacBeth. His strong forehand in-the-lip brand of surfing got him a 6.57 in the last few moments of the final pushing him past Eeli Timperi for the W.
The last heat of the day was a struggle for the competitors to find any waves of consequence. Caleb Crozier found the best wave of the final and rode it to 7.17 that was enough to push him ahead of Panama’s own Izzy Elizondo for 1st place.
A Great time was had by all at the 3rd installment of Am Slam. The final event of 2021 will be held in Mission Beach right in front of Belmont Park. It will host our surf, skate, and music festival. Don’t miss it! Click here to sign up now!