SAN CLEMENTE BOARD RIDERS THREE-PEATS

14 Clubs from across the country gather at lowers for championship weekend

By Laylan Connolly, Orange County Register

It seems having Lower Trestles as your home break helps as a training ground for surfers to lay claim to the best in the nation.

The San Clemente Board Riders Club earned its third consecutive US Board Riders National Championship win at Lower Trestles on Saturday, May 18, following a dominating performance to also clinch the coveted West Coast Board Riders Wheat Cup Championship presented by SURFER a day earlier.

The three-day event brought together about 350 surfers from around the state and country to compete at the surf break just south of San Clemente. A pumping south swell filled in just in time, bringing waves in the 4-to 6-foot range on Friday and through the final day, allowing surfers who ranged from former pros, up-and-coming stars to young groms to showcase their talent.

Carlsbad Board Riders on Thursday earned the highest point total to move onto the West Coast Board Riders final day on Friday, but ultimately it was San Clemente, Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz to take the top three spots for a slot into the national showdown on Saturday.

The  US Board Riders National Championship presented by A New Earth Project included a battle between the three California towns and Hawaii’s North Shore and Jacksonville, Florida competing for the national Board Riders title – which comes with a huge perpetual trophy and bragging rights.

The concept of board rider clubs isn’t new, with Australia having community surf clubs for decades. There have been surf clubs in California through the years, but the modern U.S. Board Riders concept was born eight years ago by Huntington Beach friends Casey Wheat, Ziggy Williams, and Chris Moreno, who started Huntington Beach Board Riders and then West Coast Board Riders as a way to gather the new clubs that were forming.

Following the death of co-founder Wheat in 2020, the organization became a non-profit and was renamed U.S. Board Riders Clubs with the annual West Coast Championship called the Wheat Cup in hi honor.

Then, surf clubs started forming around the country, now with 50 from New Jersey to Florida and beyond. Each club from the coastal towns touts hundreds of members, creating camaraderie among the community in and out of the water.

The format of the contest is a unique team element, with four surfers per team surfing one-hour heats. Each surfer gets three waves maximum, with only their top-wave score counting. There’s one designated “double whammy” surfer who gets to double one of their scores, but only if they put their hands over their heads within 15 seconds of finishing their ride.

On the final day, the heats were cut to 30 minutes and teams were made up of two surfers.

San Clemente earned a total 162.93 for the top spot, with North Shore coming up in second spot with a total score of 140.93. Santa Cruz’s score at the end of the day was 137.36, followed by Huntington Beach at 122.27 and Florida with 121.54.

“It was an amazing day” said Don Meek, board chair for the US Board Riders. “I’m sure Casey is smiling down on all of us.”

San Clemente’s team was stacked with pro surfers including World Tour alumni Kolohe Andino, Tanner and Pat Gudauskas, Nate Yeomans, Shane Beschen and Matt Archbold.

“It’s the best surfing event going on,” said Andino in an event recap.

San Clemente’s two trophies will head to the retail store Severson Originals for a week before rotating to various club partners’ businesses and landing at the Rip Curl North America Headquarters for summer.

While San Clemente dominated yet again, North Shore’s team, which is a first-year club, came in second spot after compiling a team just six weeks ahead of the event.

“They came and surfed incredibly well,” Meek said.  “The vibe on the beach was amazing, the surf was great.”

Much work has gone into building the Board Riders, now with more than 50 clubs and growing each year, so that it’s now on solid ground, Meek said.

“Everyone is super excited and the feedback is great,” he said.  “Surfing is always such an individual thing, now you’re part of a team.”

The Board Rider club movement brings together surfers that span generations, with parents and their kids getting to ride for their surf town pride. The teams don’t just come together to compete, but also do community work such as beach clean ups and helping kids from inner cities learn to surf.

It’s not just the generational continuity within each coastal community, with generations of surfers getting to know one another in and out of the water, but also a national connection where a surfer from the East Coast can come out and be hosted by a West Coast club, or vice versa, Meek added.

“It has become a national community of people who all believe in the same thing,” Meek said. “Now, you’re part of the club, part of the program and you will be treated really well.”

2023-2024 U.S. BOARD RIDERS CLUBS SEASON UPDATE

new chapters, new clubs, new partners, same stoke

The 2023-2024 U.S. Board Riders Club’s season has been the best yet, with new chapters, new clubs, new partners and the same stoke that has infused the organization since the first WCBR event in 2016.

As we get ready for our Championship Weekend at Lower Trestles starting on Thursday, May 16th, let’s bring everyone up to date!

On the new chapter front, we saw Hawaii Board Riders explode on the scene with three clubs—Kauai Board Riders, Town Board Riders, and North Shore Board Riders—who finished up the Hawaii Cup in early April with their newest club North Shore BRC taking the win and advancing to the U.S. Board Riders National Championship presented by A New Earth Project on Saturday, May 18th starting at 8am PDT.

We’re also stoked to welcome New England Board Riders and New York Board Riders who will hit the start button in our 2024-2025 season with 4 clubs in each chapter.

New clubs that joined include Red Triangle in the WCBR, with Carolina Beach and Grand Strand joining the MidAtlantic.

On the partner front we were thrilled to welcome back A New Earth Project as our official sustainability partner and the presenting sponsor of the USBRC National Championships. Sun Bum, Banzai Bowls, Yeti, FUEL TV, The Surf Network, Rip Curl, Huntington Surf ‘n Sport, Jack’s Surfboards, and Zebra House Coffee.

New partners who’ve joined us this year include Turtlebox Audio, West Peak Sparkling Seltzer, Range Essentials, FuWax, and SURFER Magazine who will also be the presenting sponsor of the 2024 West Coast Board Riders WHEAT CUP Championship.

Speaking of the WHEAT CUP, the following teams have qualified so far, with the final event in the South region deciding who will advance from there, with the high-third wild card hanging in the balance.

• Santa Cruz Board Riders

• Central Coast Board Riders

• Huntington Beach Board Riders

• South Bay Board Riders

• Newport Beach Board Riders

• San Clemente Board Riders

And currently sitting in high-third is the Dana Point Surf Club.

THE FUTURE IS LOCAL!

san clemente board riders take the win at the 2023 usbrc national championship presented by a new earth project

LOWER TRESTLES, San Clemente, CA (May 27, 2023)—What an amazing day at the 2023 US Board Riders National Championship presented by A New Earth Project. 

Congratulations to the hometown heroes San Clemente Board Riders on taking both the WCBR WHEAT CUP and their second consecutive US Board Riders National Championship.

San Clemente—157.18

Space Coast—130.25

Santa Cruz—127.58

Encinitas—123.15

Jacksonville—106.06

And we would be remiss if we didn’t call out San Clemente’s Kade Matson and his perfect 10 whammy in the last heat of the day paired up with Kolohe Andino’s 8.43 for the highest heat score in USBRC history of 28.43

Thank you to all of our clubs. Your commitment, dedication, and passion are what make this whole thing possible. 

Thanks to our crew, judges, announcers, board members, and volunteers—what a year.

To our chapter leaders. KevMo in New Jersey, Dave Portch and Morgan OConnell in the MidAtlantic and Dane Jeffrey’s in Florida. 

And to our partners. 

@anewearthproject

@sunbum

@yeti

@leus

@drinkyuzy

@guayaki

@alani.media

@couchsurfingshow

@liveheats

@l8nightwithchoccy

@actionsportscanopies

@banzaibowls

@eatnorthside

@zebrahousecoffee

@boardandbrew

@castateparksoc

@brilloproductions

@flykngimages

Photos: @flykngimages

The Future is Local

Get ready for the 2023 us board riders national championship presented by a new earth project

it’s east coast vs west coast as the top clubs from across the country gather at lower trestles on Saturday may 27th to compete for the usbrc cup

Laguna Beach, CA (16 May 2023)—The US Board Riders National Championship presented by A New Earth Project will kick-off at 8am Saturday May 27th 2023 and bring together the top seven clubs from around the country to compete for the coveted USBRC Cup.

This second running of the USBRC Nationals will feature Monmouth County Board Riders from the New Jersey chapter, Outer Banks Board Riders from the MidAtlantic, Space Coast and Jacksonville Board Riders from Florida, and the top three clubs from the 2023 West Coast Board Riders WHEAT CUP Championship which will take place on Thursday and Friday, May 25th and 26th also at Lower Trestles.

“It has been an incredible year of competition for all of our USBRC chapters” said Commissioner Darren “Brillo” Brillhart. “The explosion of our Board Riders Club movement has been incredioble to witness, and the level of surfing across all age groups has never been higher.”

Each club will be bringing 14 surfers with 2 surfers per age division—U14, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50+ and Open Women. Heats will be 30-minutes with each surfer able to ride three waves with the top wave score counting. Each club will also designate a “Double Whammy” surfer in each heat who will be able to double their wave score by raising both hands above their head within 15-seconds of finishing a ride.

The Presenting Sponsor of the 2023 US Board Riders National Championship is A New Earth Project, the sustainability initiative that was launched in April 2022 by Atlantic Packaging, the largest privately held packaging company in North America. “We’re stoked to support the US Board Riders Organization and the community that they are building” said Wes Carter, president of Atlantic Packaging and Founder of A New Earth Project. “To come alongside this movement and see the way that they are making sustainability a core value is incredibly gratifying.”

The event will air live around the world on FUEL TV, FUEL TV+., the USBRC YouTube Channel, and on The Surf Network.

About US Board Riders Clubs

Laguna Beach-based US Board Riders Clubs is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that administers the growing board riders club movement in the US, with 47 clubs and counting since its inception as West Coast Board Riders in 2016. USBRC also stages the annual US Board Riders National Championship presented by A New Earth Project and assists with the formation of new chapters which today include New England, New Jersey, Mid Atlantic, Florida, and WCBR.