Holding Period for Oregon's Biggest Surf Contest Begins

(LINCOLN CITY, Ore.) - Some of the biggest names in professional surfing will be in Oregon for the Pacific Northwest's epic "2007 Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic." The contest is regularly held in twenty to thirty foot plus surf, with surfers being launched into the gigantic waves with high tech jet ski's.

The holding period for this year's competition opened this week and extends through December 31st 2007. Contest organizers, Behemoth LLC, will be monitoring swell and weather conditions and will offer a 48 hour notice when conditions look optimal.

Organizers say the Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic requires a large swell with little or no wind in order to hold the contest.

Fall is typically the best season for surf in the Pacific Northwest. Strong sub-tropical storms begin to form in the North Pacific, pushing large swells toward the coast of Oregon. Unlike the winter months, when rain and wind plague the area, the fall is usually marked by a dominant high pressure over the entire Pacific Northwest, which pushes the storms north, but allows the swells to make a direct hit in Oregon.

The results of the proper weather and swell combination are awe-inspiring perfect waves with faces up to 50 feet.

Conditions like that are just what John Forse, Adam Wagner, and Jim Kusz, Behemoth, LLC partners, are looking for. The last 2 years couldn’t have worked out better. Patience and local knowledge of the reef allowed the team to call the contest on the best days of the year.

“We are hoping that we can hold the contest in conditions as perfect as the past two years. La Nina presents an opportunity for more frequent and larger swells, but could also pose the risk of losing the protection of our high pressure early, which would result in more wind. All we can do is monitor the conditions and hope for the best”, said John Force.

With competitors coming from all over the globe, contest organizers have adopted a traffic light system to help everyone monitor that status of the event. A red light means there is nothing happening or on the horizon. A yellow light means that the team is monitoring a potential swell and competitors should look out for the possible 48 hour notice. A green light marks an official 48 hour notice of optimal conditions and the contest is on.

The Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic, unofficially marks the opening of the pacific big wave season. This is the first major contest of the year for the region, and the competitors are stoked to get back in the water and start competing again. The line up for this years contest, officially announced last month, is jammed pack with the best big wave surfers from around the world. With a roster as talented as this year’s, competition will be fierce.

Behemoth, LLC will be re-launching their web page, nelscottreef.com, in the next two weeks. The new page will contain all the information on this years contest, including a real time contest traffic light. Photos and videos from the previous years will also be available. Look for the new site soon.

The Nelscott Reef Tow In Classic is the only tow in contest on the North American continent and Oregon’s only professional surf event.

Contest judges, 2005 Nelscott Classic surfing event

Shane Desmond (N.Cal)
Tyler Fox (N.Cal)
Adam Replogle (N.Cal)
Alistair Craft (N.Cal)
Garrett McNamara (HAW)
Kealii Mamala (HAW)
Raph Bruhwiler (CAN)
Keith Malloy (S.Cal)
Zach Wormhoudt (N.Cal)
Jake Wormhoudt (N.Cal)
Ross Clarke-Jones (AUS)
TBD Brad Gerlach (S.Cal)
Mike Parsons (S.Cal)
Jeff Clark (N.Cal)
Chris Bertish (S. Africa)
Peter Mel (N.Cal)
Ryan Augustine (N.Cal)
Greg Long (S.Cal)
Rusty Long (S.Cal)
Twiggy Baker (S. Africa)
TBD Russel Smith (N.Cal)
Tyler Smith (N.Cal)
Steve Nichols (N.Cal)
Ali Ben Hammou (Morocco)
Dave Mcgill (Oregon)
Joel Smith (Oregon)
Danilo Cuoto (Brazil)
Rodrigo Resende (Brazil)
Skiz Doudt (Oregon/HAW)
Chava Greenlee (HAW)
Pablo Schulte (S.Cal)
Davey Smith (S.Cal)
Vince Broglio (N.Cal)
Richard Schmidt (N.Cal)
Osh Bartlett (N.Cal)
Anthony Ruffo (N.Cal)
Josh Mulcoy (N.Cal)
Stan Meurer (N.Cal)