16th Longboard Challenge A Big Success

Jun 15,2017 by Shawn Soper

OCEAN CITY- The Ocean City Surf Club’s 16^th Annual Longboard Challenge last week was a huge success with a weekend-long festival of contests and parties and a reunion of sorts for many of the sport’s local legends.

Last Saturday, the Longboard Team Challenge took place at the beach at 37^th Street. The contest featured 16 teams from all over the country competing for bragging rights for the next year. On Sunday, the professional longboard surfers take center stage with 16 pros from all over the U.S. competing. Kevin Dewald of Cape May took first place and earned $1,500, Mike Melchiorre of Virginia Beach was second and won $1,000, Ocean City’s Roland Gerachis was third and earned $750 and Chris Makibbin of Ocean City was fourth and earned $500.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.