THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 31, 1994 TAG: 9408300177
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 143 lines
IT WAS . . . a way cool happening.
As it has been for the last 32 years, the East Coast Surfing Championships is the locals' end-of-the-summer bash.
Sun, surf and sand are the foundation. Music, food and fun are the rest.
The Virginia Beach Jaycees know how to throw a party. Just ask any of the nearly 100,000 people who came.
``It was a fantastic weekend,'' Jaycees president Beth Knaus said.
Each year, the Jaycees culminate nearly a year of work with this five-day fund-raising gig.
With the help of more than 300 committee members and volunteers, co-chairmen Kevin Merritt and Jim Davis were able to pull this year's edition off with only the usual minor problems.
``We learn something every year and put it to use,'' Knaus said. For instance, the main stage where music was pumped out all weekend by local and national acts, was moved to face the ocean instead of the Boardwalk.
``We always get a few complaints from hotels about the noise,'' Knaus said. ``So this year, the sound went the other way.''
And the Jaycees positioned beer tents on either side of the stage, instead of having one further down the beach.
The result was a record number of kegs sold - beer sales bring in a lot of money - with the proceeds going to send kids to Camp Jaycee and take underprivileged children on Christmas shopping trips.
They won't know how much they made from on the weekend for a few weeks yet. They've got to pay the bills first.
JUMPING FOR JOY: Merritt likely has mixed emotions about the record 150 kegs - up from 104 last year.
He made a bet with other Jaycees that if the record was broken, he would bungee jump.
``And Jim Davis agreed to pay for it,'' Merritt said. ``He's getting off lightly.
``I've never done it before and I'm not scared. Of course, I'm not standing up there right now.''
BUD MAN: For breaking the record, Merritt and his partners can thank Don Albee of Hoffman Beverages - the ``Bud Man'' who kept the kegs flowing.
Budweiser sponsors the event and the Bud Pro Tour, the surfing professional men's division.
Albee is Hoffman's director of brand promotions.
During the weekend, he could be found passing out Budweiser paraphernalia - keychains, hats, pins. He also had to coordinate the efforts of the three ``Bud Girls'' who were signing autographs and posing for pictures.
But while happy with the increased sales, Albee was happier with something else he noticed while making his rounds.
``There were more bikes hitched up against the Boardwalk railing than I have ever seen before,'' he said. ``I think it's a good sign that people were coming down to drink a few beers and have a good time while acting responsibly. They weren't driving their cars.
``It was a good time out there this weekend for everybody.''
SPEAKING OF CUSH JOBS: Albee wasn't the only one whose job was envied.
New to the scene this year was Savvee Swimwear from Hialeah, Fla., and president David Weinberg.
Weinberg, a diamond importer who bought the company two years ago, has been instrumental in the rise of the professional women's division of the surfing competition. He said he spent more than $100,000 this summer to help promote women's surfing.
The ECSC featured pro women for the first time this year.
Savvee is the tour sponsor.
The tough part of Weinberg's day included signing up women for the bikini contest and helping them pick out a free swimsuit from his bag of products. He also had to pose for pictures with the professional women surfers.
``Somebody has to do this, you know,'' he said.
HERO OF THE DAY: Although few people knew anything about it, Les Wooten of 93.7 FM The Coast radio station was the man on Saturday.
He was another one with a tough job - emcee of the bikini contest - but it was more what he did on his way to the show that deserves recognition.
Wooten spent much of the day on the water with the ``Coast on the Water'' marine patrol, a fishing boat that reports conditions and catches to listeners.
He was out with Kai Lysaght and Rick Bowles - brother of regular skipper Reese Bowles.
While out, Wooten and the crew noticed something splashing around on the surface of the water. When they investigated, they found a 450-pound leatherback sea turtle tangled in the rope of a crab or conch pot.
The animal was just barely able to get its head to the surface for air.
``It was a really nice feeling to see this big creature just swim off after we were finally able to cut the line,'' Wooten said. ``It took us two times to finally get him cut loose.''
A MOMENT OF SILENCE: Jaycees member Paul Chereskin died Thursday in a terrible accident on I-264.
Chereskin had come up with the idea of an obstacle course on the beach in an effort to get spectators a little more involved. He never got to see how his idea went.
Chereskin had stopped to help a distressed motorist when he was hit by a passing car.
``Like he was taught in the Jaycees and his active involvement in the Boy Scouts, he was helping someone out,'' said Knaus, who left the surfing event early Sunday to attend the funeral.
During the annual Friday kickoff breakfast, Davis asked those in attendance for a moment of silence.
The weekend will go down in tribute of Chereskin and his work within the community.
Based on the kind of weekend it was, it is one heck of a tribute. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MORT FRYMAN
Mark Mills of Virginia Beach, a teenager who is headed to France
soon to model, delights the crowd with a flip on his skimboard.
One of the control towers overlooks a crowd estimated at 100,000
gathered to watch the festivities surrounding the surfing
championships, which was sponsored by the Jaycees.
Alisa Schwarzstein, a 10-year veteran of surfing, catches a wave
near Rudee Inlet. She is also on-site media relations director for
the Bud Surf Tour.
Martin Duffy (left) pulls his heart out as his Positive Vibes team
competes against Jimmy Nass and Desperado's II (above), who dug in
for the victory. In addition to surfing and a Tug-O-War, the
festivities included skimboarding, sailboarding and facepainting.
Falina Spires of Florida cuts into the crest of a wave. The East
Coast Surfing Championships featured pro women for the first time
this year.
Two Beach teens, Cindy Seveilla and Doug Clarke, stayed close while
Clarke waited to compete in the skimboarding event.
Virginia Beach teens Paul Poscoren, left, Brian Weatherspoon, Tom
Clark and Jon Maddox get a bird's-eye view of the surfing action.
KEYWORDS: EAST COAST SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS
by CNB