The East Coast Surfing Championships (ECSC) is an annual surfing contest held in late August in Virginia Beach, Virginia on the oceanfront, and is one of the United States Surfing Federation's major amateur events.
The event originated in a summer 1962 beach and surf party organized by a group of teens at Gilgo BeachonLong Island, New York.[1] It moved to Virginia Beach the following year, and is now the longest-running surfing contest in the world[2] and a major source of tax revenue for Virginia Beach, attracting more than 100,000 people a year.[3][4] In 2011, the Association of Surfing Professionals designated the pro division a 4-star event and the junior division a 4-star junior qualifying event.[5] The 2020 ECSC was not canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but took place with health precautions including live-streaming.[2][6] However, the 2020 and 2021 events were not World Surf League qualifying series championships. In 2022, a women's World Surf League qualifying series event was added.[7]
Men's and women's professional and amateur surfing events are held throughout the week, plus other beach sporting events such as volleyball, a 5k oceanfront run, and a swimsuit competition. The ECSC also includes live music, BMX, skateboarding and skimboarding exhibitions, and in some years freestyle motocross.[8][9][10][11]
The ECSC is organized by the Virginia Beach Jaycees, a chapter of the United States Jaycees; its primary sponsor is Coastal Edge Surf Shop,[6][12] which became name sponsor in 2013.[13] The Jaycees established the ECSC Legends Hall of Fame awards in 2005.[10]
| Year | Men |
|---|---|
| 1963 | Jack Roland Murphy[14] |
| 1964 | John Eakes[14] |
| 1965 | D. W. Carter[14] |
| 1966 | Gary Propper[14] |
| 1967 | Steve Bigler[14] |
| 1968 | Corky Carroll[14] |
| 1969 | Joe Roland[14] |
| 1970 | Dennis Doyle[14] |
| 1971 | Dennis Doyle[14] |
| 1972 | Jimbo Brothers[14] |
| 1973 | Yancy Spencer III[14] |
| 1974 | Jeff Arensman[14] |
| 1975 | Bennett Strickland[14] |
| 1976 | Kim Hickman[14] |
| 1977 | Kim Hickman[14] |
| 1978 | Dave Nuckles[14] |
| 1979 | Allen White[14] |
| 1980 | Wes Laine[14] |
| 1981 | Wes Laine[14] |
| 1982 | Buddy Pelletier[14] |
| 1983 | Matt Kechele[14] |
| 1984 | John Futch[14] |
| 1985 | Richie Rudolph[14] |
| 1986 | Richie Rudolph[14] |
| 1987 | Scott McCranels[14] |
| 1988 | Scott McCranels[14] |
| 1989 | Steve Anest[14] |
| 1990 | David Speir[14] |
| 1991 | Alan Burke[14] |
| 1992 | Matt Kechele[14] |
| 1993 | Shane Stoneland[14] |
| 1994 | Jeff Deffenbaugh[14] |
| 1995 | John Logan[14] |
| 1996 | Ryan Simmons[14] |
| 1997 | Danilo Costa[14] |
| 1998 | Tom Curren[14] |
| 1999 | Taylor Knox[14] |
| 2000 | Marco Polo[14] |
| 2001 | Bryan Hewitson[14] |
| 2002 | Dino Andino[14][15] |
| 2003 | Jason Reagan[14] |
| 2004 | Eric Taylor[14] |
| 2005 | Aaron Cormican[14] |
| 2006 | Aaron Cormican[14] |
| 2007 | Aaron Cormican[14] |
| 2008 | Asher Nolan[14] |
| 2009 | Aaron Cormican[14] |
| 2010 | Jeremy Johnston[14] |
| 2011 | Kolohe Andino[14][16] |
| 2012 | Jean Da Silva[16][17] |
| 2013 | Patrick Gudauskas[16][18] |
| 2014 | Michael Dunphy[16][19] |
| 2015 | Kanoa Igarashi[16] |
| 2016 | Evan Geiselman[16] |
| 2017 | Keanu Asing[16] |
| 2018 | Hiroto Ohhara[16][20] |
| 2019 | Luke Gordon[16] |
| 2020 | Noah Schweizer[21] |
| 2021 | Dylan Hord[22] |
| 2022 | Jett Schilling[16] |
| 2023 | Kolohe Andino[15][16] |
Media related to East Coast Surfing Championships at Wikimedia Commons|
Sports in Hampton Roads, Virginia
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