By ARABELLA SERRATA
Special to the PRESS
The Texas Gulf Surfing Association [TGSA] recently held the South Padre Open on Dec. 7-8 at Clayton’s pier. The event was sponsored by the city of South Padre Island [SPI], Viva and Nautico Island Grill.
The South Padre Open challenged its participants to a variety of surfing categories spanning across different skills and demographics. According to the official results, the event had 22 divisions with at least 115 participants.
In the longboard categories, Madelyn Ferris took first place in the Women’s division with 10.66 points. Galvin Del Rio won Junior Longboard with 7.00 points and Taj Smith won Menehune Longboard with 11.33. Men’s Longboard saw Ian Appling in first place with 15.67 points, Appling also won Open Longboard with 16.83 points. In Senior Longboard and Legends, Brett Hopkins won with 10.86 and 6.77 points. The Grand Legend Longboard and Grand Legends victor was John McGee with 9.17 and 7.17 points.
Gabriel Prusmack won Open Shortboard with 16.50 points and Masters with 16.23 points. Michael Gibson won the Open SUP with 11.47 points.
In the Women’s category, Serena Nava won with 12.17 points. Zoe Jeansonne won Junior Women with 7.00 points. The Girls category had Claire Saldivar in first place with 8.90 points, the Menehune Girls winner was Alex Hickey with 9.57 points.
In the Men’s category, Shane Wiggins won with 17.83 points, and the Junior Men’s category saw Cole Segrest as the champion with 12.33 points. Yates Harris won the Boys category with 11.90 points and the Menehune Boys category with 15.83 points. Zac Smith won the Senior Men category with 12.27 points. The Micro Groms category saw Grant Gwyn win with 14.84 points.
TGSA is a non-profit organization that specializes in “grassroots” surfing events, according to its official website. They strive to create an enjoyable environment while maintaining sportsmanship and environmental awareness.
For more information on TGSA, visit their website at surftgsa.com or visit their official Facebook page. To view the full list of victors at the South Padre Open, visit the Liveheats listing for the event.