Makka Pro News Aug. 3, 2007

12 July, 2007 : - - Thousands of citizens from Yallahs and its environs descended on the Makka surfing beach in South Haven, Yallahs on Sunday July 8th, when the Jamaica Surfing Association in association with the Caribbean Surf Network hosted the islands first ever professional surf contest, the ’’2007 Makka Pro’’. Much to the joy of the attending public, TV celebrity and father of modern Jamaican surfing, Billy ‘CC’ Wilmot of Royal Palm Estate fame, provided entertaining and informative commentary throughout the two days of competition.

Trinidad’s National Champion Jason Apparicio and his countryman Chris Dennis nabbed the top two spots in Yallahs. Jamaican Icah Wilmot finished 3rd overall with Barbadian Adrian Small finishing 4th.

In the Bodyboard division Alan Alleyene and Paul Wilson, both of Barbados, took the 2 top spots with Jean-Luc Lotaut from Martinique in third. In the women’s division, Alexis Gordon from Barbados took first place, Danielle OHayon and Imani Wilmot of Jamaica secured second and third places respectively, and Jade Nichols of Barbados placed fourth.

The event saw two rounds of body boarding, two rounds of women’s surfing, and six rounds of open men’s surfing on display over a two day period. The surfing action was exciting from the very first heat. With overhead waves coming in, the crowd was thrilled to see the skill demonstrated by the visiting surfers, and swelled with pride and joy when skills were matched by their Jamaican champions.

At the end of the first day there was an air of content and anticipation among the people in attendance. Two Jamaicans had qualified for the women’s final, and half the field of surfers in the men’s round was made up of Jamaicans. Day 2 saw a slight decrease in size of the waves but not in the caliber of the performances delivered by the contestants.

When the ¼ finals were run the ever building crowd became very supportive of their local surfers with loud cheers going up with each ride. Standouts from day 2 included Joel ‘Fire T’ Lawrence who had the whole beach on their feet during one impressive heat and young Ackeam Phillips who thrilled the spectators as he performed as well as any of his senior adversaries.

The crowd was not biased however as their cheers were just as loud for the visiting athletes whenever they executed impressive maneuvers, and by the end of the day they had become expert critics of the newly introduced sport, being able to split the difference between poor, good and excellent rides.

By the time the event got around to the finals in the three divisions there were thousands of patrons jammed along the stretch of west St Thomas coast line. The ladies went out to show their skills. Two Jamaicans and two

Barbadians faced off for 25 minutes. Each ride resulted in loud cheers from the crowd which was thoroughly engaged. When the horn sounded for the end of the heat Alexis Jordan of Barbados put on a brilliant performance and held on to first with Jamaicans Danielle Ohayon and Imani Wilmot taking second and third respectively to the great approval of the attendees. Young Jade Nichol, the second Barbadian finished in fourth.

The Bodyboard division finals saw 2 Barbadians and one surfer from Martinique contesting the 3 man final. Exciting displays of the surfing variation which sees surfers riding either in the prone or ‘drop-knee’ position were presented by the competitors much to the delight of the crowd on the beach. When the final horn sounded Alan took first with his countryman in second and Jean-Luc third.

Then it was the moment all had been waiting for. The open men’s final. The four contenders were Jason Apparicio and Chris Dennis from Trinidad, Icah Wilmot of Jamaica and Adrian Small from Barbados. The crowd on the beach were pumped and ready for the climax of the event.

The horn sounded for the beginning of the heat and Jason opened up with a beautiful ride which had the crowd cheering for each thrilling maneuver he executed. Jamaican Icah Wilmot then opened up his bid with a small ride that showed his skills much to the appreciation of the now vociferous crowd.

The waves slowed down for a few minutes and then returned to provide a slurry of action from the surfers with each getting waves and demonstrating the skills that saw them through the early elimination rounds and into the final. Billy Mystic, who was the main commentator had the crowd involved every step of the way. He offered explanations of surfing terms and judging criteria which informed and educated the patrons.

It was touch and go every step of the way with Adrian grabbing smaller waves and connecting them across the inside in front of the crowd who cheered the Bajan on. Then Chris got a nice one and with his repertoire of quick flashy moves had the crowd astonished and won their loud vocal approval. The surfers traded the spotlight with each ensuing ride which brought the excitement to a crescendo in the last minute of action. With the seconds ticking, a beautiful ‘set’ of waves came in and all four of the contestants caught one. The crowd went wild as the simultaneous action from the four top contenders dazzled the beach with move after spectacular move being met with eruptions of loud cheers from the delighted onlookers. The horn sounded and the people applauded the surfers performance.

When the spray settled and the scores tallied, Jason Apparicio stood atop the heat with countryman Chris Dennis in second, Jamaican Icah Wilmot held on to third ahead of fourth place finisher Adrian Small of Barbados. The top eight finishers all received cash prizes for their efforts.

The citizens of South Haven and environs who attended the two day event expressed their extreme satisfaction with the venture which highlighted the parish and their community, and expressed the hope that the event be an annual one.