Quiksilver and SURFER Magazine today announced the 2007 Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge presented by SURFER. Courtesy of the support of the new and returning roster of sponsors, this surf series is the best of its kind. Special thanks goes to: DC Shoes, Sector 9 Skateboards, Aviso Surfboards, Future Fins, Komunity Project, Quiksilver Travel, ASR, Surf Expo, Board Retailers Association (B.R.A.) and WaveWatch.com.The 2007 Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge presented by SURFER magazine marks the fourth year of an ongoing effort to give core surf shops the opportunity to not only showcase the talent of their team riders and employees alike, but to also drum up much-deserved recognition for the shops themselves, businesses that represent the foundation of the surf industry.A $10,000 award, a $1,000 DC Award, and an all-expenses paid trip for six to K59 Surf Camp in El Salvador makes this the richest prize purse for any competition of this sort, thus adding fuel to an already raging inferno. With the prize money and a year of bragging rights on the line. The Surf Shop Challenge invites shop team members to “bring their A-game” out from behind the counter to where it really matters most—the water. Regional competition will take place from April through August, with the final event culminating at a location to be determined. Competition kicks-off at Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, for the Northeast Regional qualifier, the first of five events in the 2007 Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge presented by SURFER Magazine. With completely flat conditions prevailing over the North East during recent weeks, shops have been on hold, awaiting the smallest hint of contestable swell. This Thursday, April 12, their patience will pay off as a narrow window of swell approaches. The contest is scheduled to begin at 8 am, and WRV, the 2004 runner-up and the 2005 and 2006 Northeast Regional Champions, will be ready to defend their title in hopes of taking another trip to the National Championships in California. Team captain and former WCT pro, Wes Laine, is confident and ready to take to the water, “The team’s looking good, we’re just waiting to see what the waves are going to do … I think we’ve got as good a shot as anybody to take this thing again,” he says. Directly following the Northeast contest, shop riders in Florida will have their eyes on the horizon in hopes that the Atlantic will provide contestable waves for the Southeast Regionals, which will run, based on optimal wave conditions, on April 13 or 16. Last year, the overall National Champions, Sunrise Surf Shop, emerged from the Southeast qualifier, and this month, they’re looking for a repeat performance.Team Captain Jason Motes is humble, but confidently preparing his team, “We’ve got a long way to go, but I think we’ve got an even better shot at it this year than we did in 2006,” he says. But don’t count out Quiet Flight’s team, who took the Southeast Regional Title in 2004 and 2005 only to be upset by Sunrise in 2006.They certainly won’t rest until they’ve reclaimed what they believe to be rightfully theirs: The Southeast Crown. And another crack at the National title is an added incentive for the Quiet Flight crew, who will do everything they can to win when they hit the water again this month.Originally conceived to provide a fun and competitive format for the hardcore surf shop riders, the SURFER Shop Team Challenge was one of the most popular and exciting Southern California contests of the early 1980s. After several years on hiatus, the competition made a wildly successful return three years ago as the 2004 Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge. Each year the competition level rises, the stakes become greater and the prizes become bigger.Competitor prizes for 2007 include product from Quiksilver, Sector 9, DC Shoes, Future Fins, Aviso Surfboards, Komunity Project and Quiksilver Travel. Regional champions earn a trip to California to fill their spot in the National Championships, as well as VIP passes to the 2007 Surfer Poll and Video awards. National champs will walk away with a winner-take-all $10,000 prize, a full-page ad in Surfer Magazine, an Aviso carbon fiber surfboard and an all expenses paid trip to K59 Surf Camp in San Salvador complements of Quiksilver Travel.
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