|
Admit it. You’re already wondering if you should read this because it was written by a “sponger.” I’ll step out on a limb here and tell you that my tale is one of a kid from Maryland fulfilling his waveriding dreams, and the vehicle I rode to get there was really just a footnote.
 The Eastern Surfing Association and my bodyboarding life intersected way back in 1980, as I reached a point where I wanted to see how I compared to my few free-state bodyboarding peers. Most of the local surfers in Ocean City, Maryland sure didn’t give us much positive feedback, so going against each other competitively was going to be our barometer. Kathy and Jeff Phillips were some of the first ESA directors to add the new “Boogie” division to the local events, and I pounced on it along with my fellow fin-footed friends. Sparing the details, I can honestly tell you that the ESA is directly or indirectly responsible (along with some other key figures in my life) for everything I am and everything I have today. Ah yes, fond memories of competing at 15th Street during a freak April snowfall… oh yeah, now I remember why I moved to California! But more on that later.
The ESA became a bridge that connected the gulf between surfers and bodyboarders in my town. Those of us that slogged it out through the harsh winters would see each other at the contests and have a laugh or three, and that bred mutual respect and lifetime friendships. The boards we rode were just details really.
 In 1982, I got a bit jealous seeing my standup counterparts accumulating points and having a swing at the ESA Championships in Hatteras, which at the time had no “Boogie” division, so I started a campaign, along with Kathy Phillips and Mary Lee Christensen at Morey Bodyboards to convice Dr. Couture to add one, which he did. That enabled me to qualify for the chance to become the first East Coast Champ for bodyboarding. Now, this is 1982, and I had no clue who I would be going against and how far behind or ahead in skill level I was. I showed up at the beach for my first heat, only to have the contest director inform us that we could only ride prone. No kneeriding, standup, or any other upright posture was allowed. Well, there went much of my repertoire out the door five minutes before my big chance. Somehow, I made it through to the final and found I was going up against some punk little surfer kids named Sean and Kelly Slater. Apparently, they were pretty decent Menehune surfers I was told but, alas, the hastily enforced no-standup rule basically threw ALL of their repertoire (read “standing up”) out the window, so I pulled out all the stops, including my patented head stand (hey, that isn’t “upright”) and took the win from Kelly to claim the title. Thick and tasty icing on the cake came in the form of winning one of the all-new Marsh Scholarships and, since I was headed for college when I returned from Hatteras, that money would come in handy!
At that point, I learned that Morey Bodyboards was putting on the first-ever Pipeline International Championships, and I figured, hey, writing letters worked before, so I penned a plea to Morey and asked if the winner of the ESA Championships could represent the East Coast at Pipe. Kathy and Jeff even had a benefit contest to help raise money so I could afford to make the trip! Unbelieveable! Another door opened for me, and three months later I found myself staring down the face of a 12 foot wave at Pipe, wishing I were wearing a swim diaper. I survived that encounter and went on to compete at that event every year for 18 years, even making the final at one stage.
Well, several contests, ESA All-Star Team spots, Championships, and road trips later, I was ready to move on to the pro ranks after college. Fortunately for me, my sponsors at the time were behind me and I packed up and left my beloved East Coast to start a new life out west. I settled in San Clemente (where I still live today) and started duking it out with guys whose posters adorned my walls as a grom, and I saw success. More dreams were realized as I actually started making a decent living laying on a seven square foot piece of plastic foam and having the opportunity to see the world. Growing up in a family that made its’ living slinging cheesesteaks and donuts began to give me a reputation as the junk food guy on Tour, and I made no effort to hide it. Anything to stand out from the crowd. Trips to Japan for competition featured me packing cans of Sterno and Stagg Chili. Trips to Europe saw me subsisting on French fries and bread and butter. Sessions in Australia were footnoted with a visit to the Golden Arches. Ahh, The Arches. One of my most memorable sessions was at Greenmount Point, where I actually timed a ride it was peeling so long. One minute-10 seconds, dropknee the entire way and, when I finally kicked out on the beach, God’s gift to American cuisine, McDonald’s was wafting the heavenly scent of sizzling patties of pseudo-beef across my nostrils. It couldn’t get any better! But, it did!
I met my wife in Australia on a trip there in 1990, and we got married in Hawaii in 1999 with all our bodyboarding friends there at the wedding. Vicki, my wife, was a pro bodyboarder too, and we retired and started eBodyboarding.com, the Internet’s Bodyboarding Superstore. It was time to revisit my past!
 On subsequent visits back to Ocean City, I began entering the local ESA events and even timed some of my visits around the events which, fittingly, were once again run by Kathy and Jeff. This time, because I also stand-up surf, I entered both the Senior Men’s surfing AND the bodyboarding divisions. I was reliving my youth and reconnecting with my old surfing buddies from 15 years ago. It was as if it were 1980 again. I managed to accumulate enough points to get a slot in the Regionals in 2002, and flew back for that event, going against decades old rival, Ray Pierce, from Vah Beach. Again, like going back in time! Ray took that event, and we went head to head again later that summer at the U.S. Championships out here in California, where I managed to get my revenge. But it was one last ESA title that I really wanted. So, it was to be a revisit to Hatteras in September of 2002. How cool, seeing people I hadn’t seen since my last Easterns in 1986! Too many to mention, but good old friends and aquaintances. Well, Ray took me down in the final and I didn’t get that one last ESA title, but I did manage to snag a spot on the ESA All-Star Team at age 38 -- a fitting end to a 23-year competitive career that was all possible thanks to my humble beginnings in the ESA.
Now, my life here in San Clemente is spent running our business and raising my daughter, Saige, with baby number two on the way as of this writing. I’m also spending a lot of time training and racing in the sport of triathlon, but I’m really looking forward to my next visit back to Ocean City. My old buddy, Art Baltrotsky, is running the ESA district back there these days, so I’ll have to check the schedule to see if there’s a contest on when I’m back. I think I might just have one more in me!
Thanks ESA!!!
Jay Reale
Owner, eBodyboarding.com |
