First Annual Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation Surf Fiesta Recap & Results- 2005
On Sunday October 23rd at Rosecrans Avenue, the good vibes of friends, family and surf returned to beach for the First Annual Jimmy Miller Memorial Surf Fiesta. The goal of the Surf Fiesta was to bring people together to celebrate Jim's life and to raise awareness for the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation. The vibe on the beach was like no other surf competition with young and old, rippers and beginners, longboarders and shortboarders, all surfing together on some of Jim's boards and enjoying the stoke of surfing in a fun, family friendly and competitive environment.
The team versus team format with the wide variety of surfboards made for some interesting heats, some very close competition and some great heckling from the crowd and the people holding the megaphones. Many of the heats were decided by less than a point and the luck of the wheel of boards played a huge role in the day. There were great performances put in by many especially in the morning heats when the new northwest swell was filling in and the conditions glassy. As the day progressed and the conditions became less than optimal, the Surf Fiesta became as much a test of endurance and teamwork as surfing skill and competitive savvy. The final results were less important than the overall stoke of the day.
Results: 1st, 2nd, 3rd place teams all received prizes from
Trilogy Spa and NSL Game and special trophies with pictures of Jim surfing
around the world in a bamboo frame.
3rd place Teams
Casey Glynn, Chris Johnson, Blake Spinak, Marisa Roman, Corey Bradford
Dan Connell, Doug Weems, Kevin Barry, Chris McMillen, Michele Connell
2nd Place
Craig Beck, Tim Schenider, David Denitz, Scott Greist, Ricky Lesser
1st Place
Chris Pollock, Matt Singley, Jeff Miller, John Vidal, Suzanne Fritz
and pinch hitter Megan Manual
Awards
Best Maneuver: Chris Wells for a his huge floater in round one that
brought the crowd to its feet
Best Wipeout- Chris Druliner for his over the falls rodeo ride in round
one
Best Performance by a Grommet- Mason Silva who won a limited edition
Sector 9 skateboard
Best Performance by a Family: The Weems Family- Doug, Stacie, Lindsay,
Susie
Best Performance by a Female- Marisa Roman who won a 9'0" Blue
Longboard
Longest Traveler Award (for people who came the furthest)- Craig Beck
and Rob Molt who received a Body Glove wetsuit and a gift certificate
to Dolly Rocker
Pure Surfing Experience Award: Kevin Barry for his overall stoke for
the event and the day
Through the Surf Fiesta and the Dinner and Auction held at Sangria we were able to raise $20,000 to help spread our mission of healing to many people who wanted to celebrate Jim's legacy. People walked away with surfboards, Sector 9 Skateboards, guitars, a trip to Samoa, yoga lessons, limited edition artwork, a box at the Staples Center for a King game, a weekend in Deer Valley, a fishing trip in Cabo and much more. We also helped raise money for the Help Travis fund by hosting a raffle that gave away a Joe Bark longboard.
The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation wants to thank all of the participants, judges, volunteers, spectators, families, and friends for making it such a wonderful event.
We also would like to thank all of our sponsors for their kind donations: Body Glove, Sangria, Sector 9, Global Surf Industries, Ezekiel Clothing, O'Neil, Billabong, No Fear, Surflife, Actionfilmer.com, Globe Shoes, Auctiv, Salient Army, Progressive Surfing Group, Spyder Surfboards, ET Surfboards, Surf Concepts, Ski and Surf Shop, NSL Game, Waterways Travel, HavocTV, Slackstring, Latch Key Kid, Manhattan Bread and Bagel Company, Round Table Pizza, Manhattan Meats, Dietz Brothers Music, Belitz Audio Labs, Brian Kingston Photography, Sage, Muktiyoga Studio, Dolly Rocker, Trilogy, Campsurf, Diedrich Coffee, The Pilates Room, Talia's, Boogaloo, Fonz's, El Gringo, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Dr. John Vogel, Ken Carey, Rob Stoyke, John Vidal, David Peters, Steve Mitchell, Rob Waxman, Mark Walmer, and XCEL Mechanical. Also a special thanks to the Los Angeles County Lifeguards and the Department of Beaches and Harbors.
We thank you very much for bringing back the good vibes and look forward to next year! We know that Jim was with us all on Sunday.