Tommy Tant Memorial: Unity in the waves


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  • | 5:00 a.m. November 12, 2013
Jesse Heilman gets big air during the Red Bull Top Whip tow-at contest Saturday at the Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic. PHOTOS BY SHANNA FORTIER
Jesse Heilman gets big air during the Red Bull Top Whip tow-at contest Saturday at the Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic. PHOTOS BY SHANNA FORTIER
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For the 14th year, the Flagler Beach community came together to celebrate the life of Flagler Beach local Tommy Tant with the annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic.

Each year, the contest grows, with more than 300 surfers competing in four pro divisions and 11 amateur divisions this year.

In addition, this year, Red Bull brought a different style of tow-at contest called the Red Bull Top Whip. In this contest, a jet ski tows a surfer in the waves and then spins in such a way that the surfer is propelled into a break for some big air.

Four of the top East Coast surfers, Blake Jones, Evan Thompson, Jesse Heilman and Jeremy Johnston, set to the sea with a partner jet ski driver. Jacksonville surfer Thompson and his driver, Jay Dodson, took the win, scoring a 5.33 rating from a panel of judges. Thompson also won the Night Riders event in Flagler Beach last year.

But the Red Bull contest is just one part of the two-day event. It’s mostly about the community.

“I am in awe,” said Barbara Tant, mother of Tommy, who died in 1998 of an aortic aneurysm. “The love of our community — it’s so unique. They’re the ones that make it so special.”

She said that Tommy was a humble young man and he wouldn’t believe that the contest in his memory has grown to such a large community event.

Tommy’s memory not only continues to grow through the surf, but also through the philanthropy and awareness the contest brings.

This year, the contest celebrated a philanthropic milestone of contributing more than $100,000 back to the community with more than $70,000 in scholarships, $23,000 to the Flagler Food Bank, and $12,000 to the Marfan Foundation.

TOMMY TANT MEMORIAL SURF CLASSIC RESULTS 2013

MEN PRO presented by Bright House
1. Aaron Cormican
2. Noah Schweizer
3. Ryan Briggs
4. Corey Howell
 

WOMEN PRO presented by SurfStationStore.com
1. Rossi Klein
2. Cierra Cunningham
3. Zoe Banik
4. Emory McClary
 

GIRLS 17 & UNDER
1. Emory McClarey
2. Hannah Blevins
3. Braidyn Cunningham
4. Sheaylyn Cunningham
5. Molly Kirk
6. Eden Lange
 

GRANDMASTERS
1. Todd Ayers
2. Lynn Harrington
3. Jay Smith
4. Walter Snell
5. Marvin Butler
6. Glen Schwarz
 

OPEN MEN LONGBOARD
1. Alex Hobbs
2. David Hettel
3. Stephen Tyson
4. Alan Ellison
5. John Krebs
6. Chris Lind
 

OPEN WOMEN LONGBOARD
1. Jasmine Dean
2. Lily Whatley
3. Chandler Von Cannon
4. Hannah Blevins
5. Jillian Bontempo
6. Olivia Beaven
 

BOYS/GIRLS 11 & UNDER
1. Noah Dovin
2. Tommy Coleman
3. Ryan Huckabee
4. Hannah Blevins
5. Blake Elmore
6. Matt Edwards
 

BOYS 14 & UNDER
1. Robbie McCormick
2. Chase Elmore
3. Ransom Carlton
4. Patrick Conklin
5. Charlie Currant
6. Evan Brownell
 

BOYS 18 & UNDER
1. Cobie Gittner
2. Chauncy Robinson
3. Dylan Martin
4. Michael Romano
5. Chase Stevens
6. Autsin Tarus
 

MASTERS
1. Ron Logan
2. Chad Carr
3. Jimmy Blumenfeld
4. Stephen Nipple
5. Chuck Lanham
6. Mike Deaton
 

OPEN BODYBOARD
1. Devin Ricke
2. Dan Worley
3. Devin Eman
4. Tyler Dalecki
 

WOMEN 18+
1. Haley Watson
2. Chandler Von Cannon
3. Ivey Rose Scott
 

LEGENDS
1. Daryl Schlie
2. Lee Brickers
3. Tom Tant
 

TADPOLES
1. Carl Burger
2. Braedon Kopec
3. Christian Schwartz
4. Skye Blumenfeld
5. Garrett Marshall
6. Rob Schweizer
 

JUNIOR PRO presented by Flagler Orthopedics
1. Corey Howell
2. Hoah Schweizer
3. Merrick Cunningham
4. Robbie McCormick
 

WOMEN OPEN
1. Emory McClary
2. Hannah Blevins
3. Molly Kirk
4. Chandler Von Cannon
5. Elle Klein
6. Jeri Higuera
 

MEN OPEN
1. Jimmy Blumenfeld
2. Robbie McCormick
3. Check Lanham
4. Chase Elmore
5. Michael Romano
6. Noah Dovin

 

 

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