Cornhole, football - and maybe a little surfing, too

VIRGINIA BEACH

Jay Del Vecchio knew there was surfing. So did Debbie Lowrance and Perry Pruitt and many others.

Surfing is the hub of East Coast Surfing Championships. But there's plenty else going on.

While surfers in the 47th running of the ECSC were enjoying some of the best waves in years, other athletes were competing in such events as a 5K run, sand soccer, volleyball, flag football, skimboarding, skateboarding, BMX biking and cornhole.

That's right, dude... cornhole.

Saturday's tournament was the second at the ECSC for Lowrance's Virginia Beach Cornhole.

"It's still in its infantile stages, but it's growing," she said. "We have couples, singles, families.... It's a wonderful way for people to get together.

"And this is a great setting for a cornhole tournament."

The humid August air did little to stop competitors in singles and doubles from tossing canvas bags filled with feed corn at boards with a hole in one end. Being next to the beer tent didn't hurt.

Some players were much better at it - cornhole, not beer drinking - than others.

"We've got some really good cornholers here," said Lowrance, flashing a devilish smile. "Even a few semi-pros that are ranked nationally."

Pruitt doesn't care about a game most kids would call bean bag toss.

The 14-year-old Kitty Hawk resident is one of the best skimboarders in the country.

He won the ECSC boys event last year. He also finished third in the boys division of the world championships in Laguna Beach, Calif., and was second on the SkimUSA Tour. This year, he is spanking the competition with five victories and a runner-up finish in six contests.

Even competitors marvel at skills demonstrated by the pint-sized 85-pounder.

"It's not right, dude," a considerably larger skimboarder said. "This definitely is a little guy's sport.

"He's rocking it."

Pruitt ran toward the shoreline shallows and tossed his board onto the water before jumping on. He rode into the wave, slashed back off the lip and leaped off as he made the board do a 360-degree turn.

Then he wowed the others by landing back on the board and gliding to shore.

"That's sick," another boarder said, shaking his head.

All in a day's work for Pruitt.

"That's a '360 shove it.' It's easy," the little guy said, matter-of-factly. "But I'm not a pro or anything."

Del Vecchio was looking like a pro as he quarterbacked his team down the sand.

For awhile at least.

Del Vecchio had just thrown a touchdown pass. But it was called back because of a blocking penalty. He still looked like he would push his team into the end zone - until a defender from his team's Richmond-based opponent pulled off an end zone interception.

"You have to really play your best all the time or these guys will eat you up," he said. "All these teams really come after you."

Beach flag football is played by teams of four men and two women. If a guy scores, it's worth 6 points. Girls earn 9.

"Hey... girls have always been worth more in my book," Del Vecchio said.

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Family Scoring

Anne Satterwhite also knew there was surfing taking place. She was just too busy to enjoy it.

Too busy, even, to watch her son compete.

Satterwhite was working as a score tabulator - taking score sheets from judges and doing the math to see which surfers advanced to the next round.

While she was wearing out her calculator, her son, P.J. Satterwhite, was doing the same to the competition in the opening round of the professional men's division.

At least she had people she could ask how her son was doing. Her daughter Erica helps as a tabulator and husband Wayne is a judge for amateur surfing.

"This event is a family thing for us, a family vacation," Anne said. "This is our fifth year coming to the ECSC."

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Sharing the surf

Even some of the surfers had other things to do once out of the water.

Which Ryan Helm was cool with.

After his second professional men's heat, he headed to the BP Fuels tent to sign autographs, meet the crowd, and talk about several of his community projects.

Last year's ECSC runner-up teamed with the Palm Beach Gardens Police Athletic League in Florida this year to found the Native Surf School - an organization that introduced underprivileged kids to surfing.

"We find kids, inner-city kids, that otherwise would never have a chance to surf," said the 35-year-old resident of Jupiter, Fla. "I had done surf camps before starting this one, but I've never see kids who enjoy it so much.

"We're able to show them something better or different than what they're used to seeing."

Helm is also involved in the Brandolini Foundation, which sends surfing equipment to children in poor countries.

And since there is a surfing contest at the ECSC, he's surfing.

"I'm in the quarterfinals," said the married father of two young surfers. "I'm going to try and bring it home.

"Especially after finishing second last year."

Because, after all, the ECSC is a surfing competition - and more.

Lee Tolliver, (757) 222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com