By Maddy Wagner, Staff Writer
After a delay thanks to Hurricane Florence, the 10th annual Throwdown Surf Classic will be back on at the Chicahauk Beach access on Saturday (Sept. 22) from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon.
One of the founders of the Throwdown — science teacher Jason Breiholz — said this is the first time the Throwdown has had to be rescheduled. This contest is a charity surf event to benefit a local who is in need.
Each year, the three founders of the Throwdown — Breiholz, Greg Sherman and Stephen Lamm — select a local to support. This year they have already raised about $2,000 just in entry fees for 33-year-old Louie Rodriguez, a single father to his 9-year-old boy, Dylan. Rodriguez has dedicated the last nine years to volunteering and working as a firefighter. He was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
“We basically just wanted to have a contest up in Southern Shores and see how big it can get with helping people out,” Breiholz said.
Moving the contest to this weekend because of the mandatory evacuation order for Florence did create a conflict with the Easterns — the Eastern Surfing Association’s East Coast Championships. Breiholz said the Throwdown tried to adjust the heats for some kids who they knew were surfing both contests so it would be easier for them to get back and forth from Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head to Chicahauk in Southern Shores.
This year’s Throwdown is scheduled to feature 165 competitors, which beats the record of 140 competitors last year. Money also is raised by all the spectators who come out for the raffle drawings, auctions and prizes. For the last five years, the contest has raised a minimum of $10,000, but last year was a record of $20,000.
Seeing the whole community come together to support someone like Rodriguez is what Breiholz, Sherman and Lamm dreamed of after they grew up surfing together on the Outer Banks.
“Two of my best friends that I grew up with had the idea to help a community member and it just kind of went from there,” Breiholz said. “We were first raising money for Greg’s mom, who had been diagnosed with cancer.”
Here is a look at last year’s Throwdown: [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fN4tkzYbLI[/embedyt]
Sophomore Maddy Wagner can be reached at 21wagnerma13@daretolearn.org.
