6th Annual Dempsey Holder contest

The 6th Annual Dempsey Holder contest, was held in Imperial Beach, just south of the pier. The Surf was AMAZING when we first showed up at about 6:45 in the morning. There was over 140 contestants in the competition. The City Counsel called it the biggest surf event ever in the South Bay area. They really set the bar for including the whole community into the event.

The contest overall went smooth, and was completely wrapped up (including awards) by about 2:30ish. There were 2 competition areas...A and B. Doing 2 heats at a time, helped keep everything on track. Hats off to the organizers, they did a great job! There was 40+ body boarders competing for 1st place. Morey Boogy was giving a year long sponsorship to the 1st place Body Boarding winner. Each division of the contest won a board shaped by TNT. The competitors put on a good show!


My first heat was at 9:15, I was able to get first place in the heat and advance to the Semi Finals. The Semi Finals for Long Boarding was at 11:30, and winning first again was able to advance to the Finals! WooHoo!!

I met some great people down in Imperial Beach. They had High Tide playing, and it was GREAT being able to listen to them. Along with the band, there were great festival-ish booths to look at . It gave everyone in the family something to do during the contest.

The Longboarding final was at 12:30...What a heat! The wind created a blow out, and everyone was fighting for any wave that came through. I was able to ride all my waves in, and get a few nose rides in the mean-time. Overall it was a fun day with some fun surf! Of course, it didnt hurt to walk away with a 2nd place trophy! I cant wait for next year, I will for sure do this contest again.

The sponsor of the event WildCoast/ Coastalsalvaje is an organization that works with California and Latin America to protect and preserve coastal eco-stystems and wildlife. They are doing a lot in IB and all over the coast to promote education and action within communities to take a bigger part in saving the coastal environment. GO GREEN!!! Check out their website... CLICK HERE