East Coast Surfing Championships

2024 East Coast Surfing Championships

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 Beach on Long 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]

Freestyle motocross at the 2017 ECSC
2017 ECSC
  1. ^ "ECSC Timeline". The Virginian-Pilot. August 22, 2002. Archived from the original on May 17, 2011 – via Highbeam.
  2. ^ a b Stacy Parker (January 1, 2021). "East Coast Surfing Championships captures title as longest-running continuous surf contest in the world". The Virginian-Pilot.
  3. ^ Philip Townsend (July 15, 2022). "13News Now Vault: Celebrating 60 years of the East Coast Surfing Championships". WVEC.
  4. ^ Stacy Parker (August 3, 2019) [January 16, 2016]. "Local developer wants to build surfing hall of fame as part of Oceanfront pier renovation". The Virginian-Pilot.
  5. ^ "Vans Pro and Pro Junior at the Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships Contests Gain Prestigious ASP Designation and Upgrade". Surfer (Industry Spy blog). April 27, 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championship Set for Aug. 23–30". Shop Eat Surf (press release). August 17, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  7. ^ Andrew Nichols (August 20, 2023). "Coastal Edge ECSC Pro produced by Virginia Jaycees: 61 Years of Surfing History". World Surf League.
  8. ^ Sheridan Alexander (2007). "East Coast Surfing Championships - Virginia Beach". Southeast US Travel. About, Inc. Archived from the original on April 15, 2008.
  9. ^ "East Coast Surfing Championships". Surfer (Industry Spy blog). August 21, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Isabel Dobrin (August 9, 2019) [August 18, 2017]. "East Coast Surfing Championships start Sunday at the Oceanfront". The Virginian-Pilot.
  11. ^ Philip Townsend (August 27, 2018) [August 22, 2018]. "A look back at the East Coast Surfing Championships". WVEC.
  12. ^ Angela Bohon (August 25, 2023) [August 24, 2023]. "Virginia Beach business owners, artisans hopeful ECSC pulls in crowds". WTKR.
  13. ^ "Coastal Edge owner on this year's ECSC". Shop East Surf. May 13, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2024.