2019 Sun Diego x Vans Am Slam Finale Festival Recap
Check out all of the photos and videos from the festival here!
On September 14th, 2019 the final stop of the Sun Diego x Vans Am Slam Surf and Skate Contest Series was held at Belmont Park. To end things with a bang we threw a huge festival with all of our top brands, a beer garden sponsored by 10 Barrell Brewing, live music and another insane Mega Mashup custom street course for the skate contest. Thousands of people showed up for the event and everyone witnessed some world class surfing and skating while enjoying some live music and scoring some freebies from our vendors!
The Sun Diego AM SLAM Surf Series Presented by Vans brought its brand of fun and big smiles to the shores of Mission Beach September 14h. A small miracle occurred as the waves the day before the event were all but unridable. Saturday morning produced fun 2-3 windswell and put smiles on everyone’s faces that there was something fun to surf for the season finale!
The Women’s Longboard Final was first up for the day and with challenging low tide conditions the ladies made the most of it. Molly Tuschen took the win and came really close to upsetting overall champ Ellah Campagna but Ellah stood strong took the second place finish and held on for the Overall Women’s Longboard crown!!!
On the Men’s side of the Longboarding draw, it was a back and forth battle between Booby Hasbrook and upstart Jack Van Wagoner. Jack used a late 8 point ride to pull away from Bobby and secure not only the victory but the overall season title!!
The Boys division was a difficult affair as the final was at peak low tide and waves were scarce! The groms did what they could with the waves on offer and Kyan Yang busted out some great backside turns! He was able to do enough to take not only the win but the season title as well!
Our 15 and over division is a really neat mix of young rippers and grizzled veterans! It’s always interesting who makes the finals out of the eclectic group of surfers. Jackson Butler made it clear early that he would not be denied. He squeaked by and in form Rafael Pereira by a mere .17 and took the title. Caleb Crozier, who has dominated the division for the year, took the overall title!
Ella McCaffray dropped in to surf the final event of the 2019 season and she was on fire!!!! Searing backside turns and well linked waves made her unstoppable as she took the W for the day. Seirra Downer, from San Clemente, finished fifth in the final adding to her tremendous season total as she made every single final and is the overall champ!!
The Pro/Am finals have been the toast of the Am Slam events and this event was no different. So much was on the line and the waves started to pulse with the incoming tide and the guys turned it on!! Kei Kobayashi, who literally got off a plane a couple of hours before his first heat, was the in-form surfer of the field. He had an outside shot at the overall title with a win and a win only. He needed some help as well due to fact that there were two other surfers, Wesley Santos, and Rafael Pereira who were ahead of him in the standings. Kei took the win, and a $1600 payday, but with a late charge from Wesley who secured a third place finish took the $1000 for the overall season championship!
The Sun Diego AM SLAM Surf Series Presented by Vans is a surfer run series and we appreciate all your support!!! We look forward to 2020 and year number 7!! If you have any input on how we can get better please feel free to reach out to Koastalkaos @hotmail.com!! Can’t wait to see you next year!!!
And In case you missed it check out the photos and videos from the event below:
