- November 23, 2024
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Surfers compete at the 19th-annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Flagler Beach. Photo by Ray Boone
Surfers compete at the 19th-annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Flagler Beach. Photo by Ray Boone
Surfers compete at the 19th-annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Flagler Beach. Photo by Ray Boone
Surfers compete at the 19th-annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Flagler Beach. Photo by Ray Boone
Surfers compete at the 19th-annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Flagler Beach. Photo by Ray Boone
Surfers compete at the 19th-annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Flagler Beach. Photo by Ray Boone
Surfers compete at the 19th-annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Flagler Beach. Photo by Ray Boone
Surfers compete at the 19th-annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Flagler Beach. Photo by Ray Boone
Surfers compete at the 19th-annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Flagler Beach. Photo by Ray Boone
Surfers hold up their trophies after the conclusion of the 19th-annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic. Photo by Ray Boone
Tommy Tant Sr. (left), Barbara Tant and Will Tant speak to the crowd at the Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic. Photo by Ray Boone
Twenty-one years later, the Flagler Beach community still remembers the loss of Tommy Tant.
Tant, an avid surfer, was 24 years old when he died in his sleep from an aortic aneurysm. He suffered from Marfan Syndrome, an inherited disorder that affects connective tissue, but he was undiagnosed.
For the 19th-consecutive year, surfers from around the community competed in the annual Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic at Flagler Beach on Saturday, Nov. 2, and Sunday, Nov. 3.
All proceeds benefited the Tommy Tant Memorial Scholarship Fund, the Flagler County Food Bank and the National Marfan Foundation to help raise awareness of the disorder.
“We want to raise awareness because we don’t want to see that happen to anyone in our community,” said Will Tant, Tommy’s brother.
There were 19 divisions (three professional, five open and nine amateur) and 123 total contestants.
“It’s very healing,” said Donna Cianciulli, who has been involved with the event for the past 14 years. “We have a wonderful community feeling. We all come together to celebrate Tommy’s life and grow closer as a community.”
For Barbara Tant, Tommy's mother, seeing all the community support left her and her family speechless.
“We’ve realized the contest isn’t just ours," she said. "It belongs to Flagler Beach.”
