Fifty years after former Ocean City Recreation Director Don Pileggi started it, the Spring Fling Surf Contest returned to Ocean City on Saturday morning.
About 25 surfers of all ages competed in the casual event in clean hip-high surf that picked up as the contest proceeded.
The event honored Pileggi for his many contributions to the Ocean City surfing community. Pileggi was a 1950 Ocean City High School graduate who later supervised the local Youth Center for eight years and worked for the Ocean City Recreation Department for 28 years.
He was on the beach Saturday to watch the revitalized contest.
The wave of the day went came from the youngest age bracket (13-and-under) and went to Kyle Tester.
Winners were as follows:
- 13-and-Under: 1) Kyle Tester, 2) Joey Kelly, 3) Steven Zakroff
- Junior Men: 1) Nick Brady, 2) Sam Chatzinoff, 3) Craig Nordberg
- Men: 1) Pat McCarron, 2) Matt Aramando, 3) Matt Dimarino
- Masters: 1) Willie Fannon, 2) Ron Curcio, 3) Charlie Bowman
- Women: 1) Caroline Bowman, 2) Zoe Bourgeois
- Longboard: 1) Charlie Bowman, 2) Caroline Bowman, 3) Jamie Kelly
- Wave of the Day: Kyle Tester
The event was sponsored by the Ocean City Recreation Department with the help of the local surfing community, which has vowed to bring back the Turkey Trot and Polar Bear contests this year.
