Ramon champ of inaugural surf contest

From left, first place Frank Ramon, second place and Wave of the Day winner Masaki Kitami, and third place Solomon Castro pose for a photo during the awards ceremony of the Boogie Down at Obyan last Sunday at Obyan Beach. (LEIGH GASES)

One could just hear the surf rock melody of “Wipe Out” by the Surfaris in the background as 16 of the CNMI’s very own surfers took to the waters off Obyan Beach for the first ever two-day surf contest dubbed Boogie Down at Obyan last Saturday and Sunday with Frank Ramon emerging as the first champion. 

Ramon, a veteran surfer of about 20 years and the oldest competitor, surfed his way to the top in the championship heat with a final tally of 133.95 points, winning $500 cash and a boogie board shaped 1st place trophy.

A close second is Masaki Kitami with 132.5 points, winning a $250 cash prize and second place trophy; and third place is Solomon Castro with 126.4 points, winning a $100 cash prize and trophy. Fourth place is Austin Benavente with 122.35 points.

The Wave of the Day went to Masaki Kitami who won a new board as a prize.

Sixteen of CNMI’s surfers and event organizers, along with first place Frank Ramon, center, second place Masaki Kitami, right of Ramon, and third place Solomon Castro, right of Kitami, pose for a photo after the awards ceremony of the first surf contest Boogie Down at Obyan last Sunday at Obyan Beach. (LEIGH GASES)

Ramon was one with the waves as he rode the tide into the finals with consistent high scores from the three judges—Joe Guerrero, Eddie Johnson, and Antonette Labausa—as he maneuvered complex boogie board tricks through both competition days. 

The judging criteria was based on the surfer’s choice of wave, commitment and degree of difficulty, and combination of major maneuvers—with Ramon scoring 8s, 9s, or 10s across the board.

In the finals, Ramon caught good waves and successfully completed tricks like the “El Rollo,” in which he reaches the lip of the wave and quickly completes an arc before landing again in the water. It was evident he gave it his all, as his board shorts were seen with a huge tear after the competition.

The path to the finals for the Top 4 began on a sun-soaked, music-filled, beach day Saturday with the parking lot full of cars and tents of vendors and entertainment and the beach full of families barbecuing and watching the competition unfurl. 

Ramon advanced to Sunday’s semifinals and finals as he totaled 246.2 points after two heats on Saturday. He then competed against eight surfers in the semifinals and gathered 141.15 points, the highest score amongst them all and secured his spot in the final four.

Although he won, Ramon was humble and said he wasn’t expecting to win and that during the competition, he was cheering and supporting the younger surfers. 

“I wasn’t expecting this. Thank you to my fellow surfers today, big ups to my brothers. I love those guys. I just wanted to come out here and have some fun and support the younger guys… Thank you, thank you Lord. I owe this to everybody, my family… Thank you my love, my kids, everybody. And to the organizers out here, thank you for making this happen. And to our visitors from Guam, everywhere, and all the people locally that came to see us, thank you!”

David Cabrera, an organizing committee member and beach marshal of the event, said it was “a dream come true… the buildup, the reception from the community, the reception from the surf community most especially, and the support that we got from the general public to finally come and have completed this event. And for a very deserving champion to come out on top, is really a dream come true. I’m happy we put it together, and I’m so glad the community came out to celebrate it with us.”

Tournament director Edward Manibusan said that the competition was “Hot and a lot of the scores were only separated by a few points in almost all the heats, so that was really exciting… You can just tell that all our surfers are super skilled and they’ve worked hard for that. They’ve been practicing their time in the water and I think it’s all very telling when you see the scores.”

He then said about the champion that he is “probably one of the humblest, gentlest, and one of the kindest individuals I’ve ever met… When he gets out in the water, he is a monster. He is fierce. You saw a lot in… his surfing, you can see his aggression come out in the water, but as a person, he’s an awesome individual and very deserving of this opportunity and for this championship.”

Joe Villacrusis, co-owner of Salty Skin Pacific and also part of the organizing committee, served as venue director and also announced the winners of the competition.

The 12 other surfers were Michael Johnson, Herman Guerrero, Joey Tudela, Jacob Yamagishi, Abbas Shakir, Ian Fleming, Maverick Itibus, Tony Atalig, Sidney Camacho, Shuji Takanobu, Vincent Villagomez, and J.R. Villagomez.

The next Boogie Down at Obyan competition is set for about the same time next year.

Sponsors of the event were Saipan Surf Company, Local Bones, Salty Skin Pacific LLC, Marianas Surf Skate League Inc., Kona Brewing Co., Lotus Surf Shop, TurnKey Solutions, ONVOUS, Borderline, Roil Soil Marketing, Mariana Islands Nature Alliance, BluLily Craft & Design, DASH LLC, Office of Rep. Sheila J. Babauta, Office of Rep. Joel Camacho, Office of Rep. Roy Ada, Naked Fish Bar & Grill, Pualani Crown, Island Tide Records, Tanom Writing & Design Services, INK Harbor, MVA, Ginen i Tasi, Department of Public Safety, Department of Fire and Medical Services, Marianas Visitors Authority, Division of Coastal Resource Management, and Department of Land and Natural Resources.