The East Coast Surfing Championships (ECSC) is an annual surfing contest held in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

on the

oceanfront A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

, and is one of the United States Surfing Federation’s major amateur events. The ECSC stretches over a four-day period every year in late August at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The original inspiration for the East Coast Surfing Championships came from Long Island, New York in the summer of 1962 when a group of teens held a beach and surf party. Since its official establishment in Virginia Beach in 1963, the ECSC has grown to be the now-longest running surfing contest in the world with the 58th annual surf competition held August 23-30, 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic with safety guidelines in place. The ECSC is a place not only for professional surfers, but for amateur surfers as well, to ride and contend for cash prizes totaling close to $40,000 and championship titles. Men’s and women’s surfing events are held throughout the week, plus other beach sporting events such as

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

, skateboarding,

skimboarding Skimboarding or skimming is a boardsport in which a skimboard (much like a surfboard but smaller and without fins) is used to glide across the water's surface to meet an incoming breaking wave, and ride it back to shore. Wave-riding skimboarders p ...

, a 5k Oceanfront run, and a swimsuit competition. A new event called the Beach Bum Classic was introduced in 2007. The Beach Bum Classic, organized and sponsored by Wareing’s Gym in Virginia Beach, is a

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

-type event including a one-mile sand run, a three-mile bike race on beach cruisers, and a half-mile surfboard paddling race. A reported spectator count of over 100,000 people show up to watch the events during the day, and at night, the Virginia Beach

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of brid ...

fills with people for free concerts on the beach. Bands and musicians include national, regional, and local talents. This year will feature a special event featuring Matthew Higgins, Long Island Surf Pro Champion who is known for his Surf Board maneuvering prowess. The ECSC is planned, organized, and employed by the Virginia Beach Jaycees, a chapter of a nationwide volunteer organization, the United States Jaycees. Media press and coverage includes

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, ''

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Past winners

References

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External links

East Coast Surfing Championships
{{Hampton Roads Sports Surfing competitions Sports in Virginia Beach, Virginia Sports in Hampton Roads Surfing in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1963 Junior Chamber International Surfing in Virginia 1963 establishments in Virginia