After two consecutive years of inconsistent surf for the Hossegor stop of the Mulletfish surf series, the conditions were given the go-ahead for this year’s edition. It was run on the sandbank of ‘Les Culs Nus’ instead of the famous ‘La Nord’ because the wave was breaking at high tide right in front of the Volcom surf Team House.
After a hard wake-up for some of the staff (Hossegor is a place to party 365 days a year) registration started at 9am with a flow of kids coming from the local surf clubs and from other places far away like Mediterranean spots or Reunion Island. Everybody was happy to get some breakfast, and a pair of cool Volcom highwear glasses, a Mulletfish tee, some Sex Wax and more goodies…
The waves were 3-5 feet in the morning and glassy with a strong current, a little left was really tempting on the inside but surf was difficult and you had to use some local knowledge to be well placed. The contest started with the junior division which was full of rippers – it was arguably the best European VQS junior level ever seen – those kids know how to rule the spot…
Some menacing clouds were present in the morning but the sun showed up before noon to introduce clear blue sky for the rest of the day. The groms were next as the tide was decreasing and the swell dropping but surf conditions were still difficult. They handled it better than expected by surfing strong on every wave that they managed to catch with Tom Cloarec impressing the judges early on with solid where it counted.
Tasty sandwiches were served to everyone as the Open division was charging the spot or their first round. This was actually a mix of ages cause the Juniors were that hungry that they filled the remaining spots in Open to try to beat their elders. Team rider Jason Griffith was on fire boosting sick moves on critical sections but had to let his spot on semi final to Medhi Veiminardi due to a digestive emergency…
Waves during Girls heat were closing out and didn’t let them the chance to express themselves fully but Alizé Arnaud found some to secure the victory and a spot to the VQS European championships in April. Groms were on fire and Marc Audo who made his way from early morning setup to the finals smoked his opponents by finding the best waves and ripping, good job!
The Juniors final was between 6 competitors and hard to judge because of the backlight, but even with really good heat of PV Laborde and the explosive Benjamin Pilon, young Medhi Veiminardi was surfing a step higher and took the win… He continued his roll by beating Tom Frager, Nico Portugais and Rogerio in the Open division final as well by finding the better waves while the high tide was becoming a problem …watch out for this guy!
The best flyer was Binjamin Pilon busting an alley-oop and winning a custom Mullet Fish skate deck, and a bag full of stuff… At the end of the day for those who were still hanging out a BBQ was on in front of the spot at the Team House, the instruments were plugged in and it ended as a good jam session. All the finalists are qualified for the VQS Euro Championships in April, stay tuned for more info.
Results:
Girls:
1. Alizé Arnaud
2. Luana Papa
3. Pasquiou Trotin
4. Camille Gesquire
5. Malissa Pichaud
Groms:
1. Marc Audo
2. Tom Cloarec
3. Louis Sempe
4. Vincent Escale
Juniors:
1. Mehdi Veiminardi
2. Benjamin Pilon
3. Pierre-Valentin (PV) Laborde
4. Rudy Marechal
5. Teddy Samtin
6. Baptiste Dauthe
Open:
1. Mehdi Veiminardi
2. Tom Frager
3. Rogerio
4. Nico Portugais
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