THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 29, 1994 TAG: 9408290167
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Californian Jeff Deffenbaugh has never thought much of the surfing conditions on the East Coast.
Used to a bigger West Coast swell, the typically small waves featured in the 32nd annual Budweiser East Coast Surfing Championships Sunday at the south end of the Oceanfront weren't exactly to Deffenbaugh's liking.
But the $4,000 professional division winner's check definitely was.
``Hey, this is my first win on the Bud Pro Tour,'' Deffenbaugh said. ``I'm young and I'd like to make a career out of it (professional surfing). This will help keep that thought going.''
Throughout the weekend, the conditions weakened - the surf getting smaller ever day.
``When the surf is like this, the surfer is actually doing much more work on the waves,'' said Deffenbaugh. ``You can't just ride them, You have to have more skill and work them.''
Deffenbaugh showed excellent abilities to work the small break - getting off several high-scoring maneuvers and constantly showing a knack for getting the most speed out of the waves.
``The surfers are scored for the length of rides, the things they do on them and the speed they can keep on them,'' said Association of Surfing Professionals director Ian Cairns.
``It's much harder to do those things in small surf.
``But while this surf was small, it had a nice shape to it and it maintained that throughout the weekend. It could have been a lot worse.''
Former local and now Cocoa Beach, Fla., resident Cam Anderson captured the junior professional (18-under) title.
``It feels good to win at my old home,'' said Anderson, who has been living in Florida with brother and third-place finisher Cole Anderson for the last three years.
``This was a hard win for anybody. To win, you had to surf with a lot of energy and it's the kind you have to make for yourself. You have to work on these waves and generate your own speed.''
That technique of ``pumping'' the waves is what got Deffenbaugh, 21, and the 17-year-old Anderson into position to win their first professional titles.
And it's the same type skill that earned Faline Spires of Florida a $1,000 prize in the ECSC's first-ever women's division.
Spires, who has relatives in Virginia Beach, also enjoyed her first victory in the Savvee Swimsuit women's professional division.
``My family works for Gyro Systems,'' Spires said. ``This has been a great weekend for me. I haven't seen my relatives in about 10 years, so I was able to stay here cheap, have a good time, and now, look, I'm taking home a nice paycheck.''
The ECSC also crowned champions in 14 amateur divisions, as well as titlists in skimboarding, volleyball, tug-of-war and obstacle course. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN/
In the men's final, Hawaiian Conan Hayes tries to get a ride going
on the bit of surf available Sunday.
by CNB