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New Oregon Coast Surfing Contest Debuts in September

Surfing photos by Pamela Clark of Goose Hollow, in Seaside

(Lincoln City) – It’s got a funny name, and it’s something a little different in the surfing competition world of the Oregon coast – or just about anywhere. And it will begin in Lincoln City next month.

The first annual Either/Or Surfing Team Cup has been scheduled for the weekend of September 15 and 16 in Lincoln City, Oregon. It features a competition on the waves that’s done with a bit of a twist, as well as a big party at a local bar.

Depending on weather that weekend, it may actually become a pool tournament instead of a surfing competition – hence the title of “Either/Or.” However, with the Oregon coast usually basking in what is known as the “second summer” in September – a time where it’s the warmest of the year in the area – there’s not much of a chance the event will wind up indoors.

Teams will compete against each other for the coveted Either/Or Trophy. Jason Garding, one of the event organizers, notes the winning team will also get a plaque, "so years down the road you can show your grandchildren how rad you used to be.” This one-of-a-kind event is limited to 32 surfers in eight teams, and will utilize a unique team format. The event will run with two teams per game (actually called a “heat” in these circumstances), with each team surfing two quarters per game with the winning team moving on towards winning the team cup. Each team member will have their best wave score combined with the best wave score for their other team members. The team with the highest cumulative score wins the event and the coveted trophy.

Another different aspect of this event is that all surfers in the water during each heat will all be from the same team, surfing cooperatively with each other. They won’t be surfing against each other as is seen in every other surf event. Surfers in the Either/ Or Team Cup are encouraged to share strategy and to change water approach tactics to maximize the best surfers for the best conditions during their heats.

This event is a benefit for a 7th through 12th grade water club in the Lincoln City area.

A surf themed raffle, surf movies filmed with local Oregon surfers and live music will be offered on Saturday, September 15, at BK Mulligans Sports Bar, starting at 6 p.m. The Saturday night event will be free and open to the public.

The event will run a total of eight hours of heats, with each heat scheduled for fifteen minutes. Teams will surf two heats each. Teams must have at least two shortboarders (boards 7'4" or shorter) and one longboarder (boards more than 9'). Teams must register in advance, as team space is limited. Individual team riders will be registered the day of the event in a beach registration process, or at BK Mulligan's Sports Bar Friday night between 6 and 8 p.m.

Lincoln City's Nelscott area

The entry fee for each team will be $150. Checks for team registration can be mailed to Jason Garding at Either/Or Team Cup, 1745 NE West Devils Lake Rd., Lincoln City, OR 97367. Include the team name, a team contact person, a contact phone number and e-mail address with the team registration check. Judging for this event will be provided by the surf judging group Pacific NW Judges, headed by Sonny Owens.

The location for the event will depend on ocean conditions on the day of the event. Areas selected for running the event are the D River Wayside, Road’s End, Canyons, Nelscott, Otter Rock or Mulligans. The event location will be posted last minute, on AwesomeSurfVideos.com, on Friday, September 14. In the event of severe weather conditions, the team cup will turn into a pool tournament at BK Mulligans Sports Bar, which is why the event is called the Either/Or Team Cup (either a surf event or a surf-oriented pool tournament).

Sponsors for this event include BK Mulligans Sports Bar, Awesome Surf Videos, Oregon Surf Shop, Fox Riders Company, Xcel, Rebel Boards, DoubleVizion Photography, ERA Skateboards, Ossie's Surf Shop and Russo Surfboards.

For more information on the event, contact Ken Wilson at 541-921-1070.

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