OCEAN CITY- The 2017 Maryland State Surfing Championships held last weekend at 36th Street in Ocean City was a big success with winners crowned in several divisions including a Maryland State Surfing Champion award for local Robby Pinzhoffer.
The 2017 Maryland State Surfing Championships, presented by Shotti’s Point, K-Coast Surf Shop and Atlantic/Smith, Cropper and Deeley, took place last Saturday at 36th Street in Ocean City. Conditions were mixed with two- to four-foot waves most of the day with light to moderate winds. The Maryland State Surfing Championships, run by the Eastern Surfing Association’s Delmarva District, featured events short board, longboard and bodyboard for men and women in age divisions ranging from 12 to the Legends Division for men over 55.
The future looks bright for the Delmarva ESA with this group of young finalists in the menehune under-12 short board division in last weekend’s Maryland State Surfing Championships in Ocean City. Pictured from left are Gavin Bren, Kai Sommers, Trey Winklbauer and Seamus Orth.
Photo by Dwayne Dunlap
The short board open division, which features competition between men and women of all ages, was the main event of the day with Pinzhoffer, 15, of Ocean City taking first place and winning the title of 2017 Maryland Surfing Champion. Pinzhoffer, fresh off a strong performance at the ESA Eastern Surfing Championships in Nags Head, displayed radical maneuvers on the largest waves in each of his preliminary heats to advance to the finals. Pinzhoffer also took first place in the junior longboard division and the boys’ under-16 short board division.
In other highlights, local surfer Aria DiLiberto, 20, of Delaware, fresh from a strong performance at the ESA Eastern Surfing Championships in Nags Head where she finished fourth, took first place last weekend in the women’s longboard division in the Maryland State Championships. In addition, Elsa Quillin, 16, took first place in the junior longboard division in the Maryland State Championships last weekend. Qullin finished fourth in the same event at the ESA Eastern Championships in Nags Head. The complete results for last weekend’s Maryland State Surfing Championships can be found at www.delmarva.surfesa.org.
