Atlantic Park Surf has announced its inaugural Commonwealth Cup on Dec. 11, bringing together 60 high school students from across the region for the East Coast’s first-of-its-kind statewide high school surfing championship–the first ever to take place in a surf lagoon.
Atlantic Park Surf’s Commonwealth Cup is the culmination of a year-long initiative that formally created and convened high school surf clubs from across Coastal Virginia for recurring meetups at North America’s first Wavegarden Cove surf lagoon. Stewarded by East Coast Surfing Hall of Famer Jason Borte, the surf park’s Director of Surf Coaching, this effort is a step toward establishing surfing as an organized high school sport.
“Surfing in this area has long been viewed as a way of life, but it wasn’t taken seriously as a sport. With perfect waves in a contained environment now available year-round, young athletes have the opportunity to showcase their skills in a way they couldn’t have dreamed of before,” Borte said. “The Commonwealth Cup brings the community together to support surfing as a high school sport and places it, quite literally, in the spotlight.”
The competition will consist of individual Boys’ and Girls’ categories and a Team category, with the winning team taking home the inaugural Commonwealth Cup. Participants will include students from Cox High School, First Colonial High School, Kellam High School, Cape Henry Collegiate and Norfolk Academy and more, as well as students in homeschool programs.
The event, which takes place on Friday, Dec. 11, from 5 to 8 p.m., will also feature a high school marching band and an Alumni Expression Session, during which up to 20 local alumni will have the chance to ride waves to raise funds for their respective high school clubs.
Registration is now open for surf club team entries, with up to five competitors per team (four boys and one girl). School club teams and alumni interested in registering should contact aiden@atlanticparksurf.com. The deadline for team registrations is Nov. 30; individual registrations will open on Dec. 1 at atlanticparksurf.com. Follow @atlanticparksurf for ongoing updates.
Members of the media interested in covering the event should contact valeria@thepalmtreetype.com by Dec. 7 to secure a press pass.
About Atlantic Park Surf
Atlantic Park Surf is the centerpiece of the 10-acre, $350-million Atlantic Park development. Centrally located and integrated into an urban environment adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic Park Surf is unlike any other surfing lagoon in the world, offering unlimited wave profiles to suit all levels. Powered by Wavegarden Cove, the most energy-efficient wave-generation technology in the world, the system can generate up to 1,000 waves per hour and more than 20 types of waves, ranging from one to six feet in height and tailored to beginners, intermediate, advanced and expert surfers. Learn more at AtlanticParkSurf.com or follow @AtlanticParkSurf.
