The 2016 Oakley Surf Shop Challenge hits Hawaii this Friday, July 8th, at the Ala Moana Bowls on the South Shore of Oahu for the seventh and final stop of the qualifying series. Local surf shops will compete for the opportunity to represent Hawaii against six other regional finalists from North Carolina, New Jersey, California and Florida this fall.
Defending Hawaii Champions: Town & Country
Oakley Surf Shop Challenge Official Forecaster Surfline.com predicts promising fun sized SSW swell on tap. Swell is still developing, but could be good enough for chest-high to occasional shoulder-high+ sets for Bowls on Friday the 8th, the final day of the event waiting period. The contest will kick off around 8:30 am, depending on conditions, with consistent medium low tides all morning, breezy ENE trade winds and sunshine.
The unique Oakley Surf Shop Challenge event series pits four-man surf shop teams (two shop pros and two shop employees) against one other. The winning team from each of the seven regional qualifiers will win an all-expense-paid trip to Southern California to compete in the National Championship for a $5,000 prize purse, grand prize trip to the 2016 SURFER Poll at Turtle Bay on the North Shore of Hawaii and title of America’s Most Core Surf Shop.
Reigning Hawaii Champions Town & Country will be back to defend their title against invited teams including:
Hawaiian Islands Creations (Ala Moana)
Hawaiian Islands Creations (Kailua)
McCully Bicycle and Sporting Goods
Quiksilver North Shore Boardriders Club
Sera’s Surf & Shore
Tamba Surf Company
Town & Country Hawaii
The 2016 Oakley Surf Shop Challenge schedule:
- March 25 – Southwest – Seaside Reef, Cardiff, Calif. – Winner: Surf Ride
- April 11 – Mid-Atlantic – Nags Head, Outer Banks, NC – Winner: Sweetwater Surf Shop
- April 14 – Northeast – Manasquan Inlet, NJ – Winner: Heritage Surf & Sport
- April 19 – Southeast – Paradise Beach Park, Melbourne, Fla. – Winner: Quiet Flight
- May 27 – Northwest – Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, Calif. – Winner: Pacific Wave
- June 3 – West – 56th Street – Newport Beach, Calif. – Winner: Huntington Surf and Sport
- July 8 – Hawaii – Ala Moana Bowls, South Shore, Oahu, Haw.
- Fall 2016 – National Championship – Southern California