Sebastian Inlet Delivers for Florida Cup Finals

Fun conditions, core community, and healthy competition—plus a chance to qualify for the 2026 World Club Challenge in Australia—what more could you ask for from a Board Riders state championship?

“We’ve been doing this since 2020, and this has got to be the pinnacle of all events so far,” says Florida Board Riders Executive Director Dane Jefferys. “Everybody bought in this year. There were full rosters, full squads—the whole community came together. It was five years of work, and we can see that it paid off.”

Legends help Space Coast soar to victory

With the sun low on the horizon and water temps still warmer than the crisp morning air, Space Coast’s David Speir eyed a corner during the third-heat 50’s division and stalled into a small cover-up.

When he cleared out from the thin curtain, the 2024 East Coast Hall of Fame inductee and Sebastian legend finished the wave with a few wrapping turns before fixing his eyes on the shore to find Space Coast’s coach, CT, scrambling a signal. Speir knew what to do, tossing his hands over his head to claim a double whammy and turn his already excellent 9.17 into a crushing 18.34.

That score not only landed Speir the BlueBird Hard Water Wave of the Day (worth one hundred big ones), but it also launched the Space Coast into orbit and onto an eventual victory at The Florida Cup.  

“For us, this is one of those wins that’s an accumulation of five years of work,” Says Mason Sapp, Space Coast President. “All the divisions really worked out for us. We took a big win at home here, and yeah, it’s our history. These guys—the 50-year-olds who were part of this process and made it happen—they’re the ones who clearly propelled us into that spot today where we were feeling comfortable.”

Sealing the deal

Last year, after a strong start, Space Coast let The Cup slip away to Jax under home-break advantage in Duval. But this year, their veterans, like Speir, exploited their own connection with a wave they grew up on by kickstarting the club toward an almost cruise-control victory.

“This is David’s wave. He’s cut his teeth out here. He’s been on the cover of Surfing Magazine out here. He has a special relationship with this spot, and it showed today,” explains Sapp. “And then right behind him, Paul Reinecke—his best friend and cohort in owning the peak out there—goes out and does the same thing, maybe even better. They set the tone and gave us the propulsion we needed.”

From there, the Space Coast never let off the gas, logging solid heat totals and good margins through every division, holding off eventual runner-up Jacksonville until the end, ultimately hoisting The Cup as Florida champs.

On to Trestles

“I’m taking this thing to Trestles,” Sapp said with a laugh in the parking lot after the event, holding the 2-foot wooden cup with pride. And although he may have trouble convincing the stewardess to let him take The Cup as a carry on, winning it did qualify his Space Coast club for the U.S. Board Riders Championship at Lowers on May 17th. Not only that, but under a brand-new qualifying structure, the win also guaranteed them a spot at the 2026 World Club Challenge in Australia.

“Getting to the U.S. Championships is amazing. Just to be there with other clubs like San Clemente and all the greats of surfing history in this country—that’s second to none,” he says. “And the real cherry on top is getting to Snapper Rocks. To see the history of the Board Riders movement where it all started—to be involved in that speaks so much to our community and what we’ve put into it. From the Kelly’s, the CJ’s, the Caroline’s, the David Spear’s, the Reinecke’s, the Garson’s, the CT’s—now onto the new generation. That’s what it’s about: showing the next generation what’s possible through this club, this movement.”

With this, the Space Coast is onto their fourth U.S. Finals and third World Club Challenge—not too bad.

But Space Coast isn’t the only Florida club heading to California. Coming in second place on Saturday, the Jax crew also earned a spot at the U.S. Finals in May, so you know they’ll be bringing the cowbell to the west coast. As for the World Club Challenge, they’ve got a shot at that too, but they’ll have to perform at Lowers because only the top five teams there will qualify for Snapper Rocks.

“The qualifying process is crazy because now we have a structure—a ladder to be able to climb from the lowest area, from the club area, all the way to the highest of highs at Snapper Rocks. It’s structured. It’s set up. And that’s what you need,” says Jefferys of the new qualifying process. “You need those rungs to be able to climb up and set your club up for success. Space Coast has been to the top—they’ve seen it over in Snapper. Jacksonville has too. But it’s only going to get better from here, and I’m just stoked to see it grow.”

Coast-to-coast love

With the Board Riders movement growing across the country, the west coast presence was strong at Saturday’s finals, too. U.S. Board Riders Commissioner, Darren Brillhart (Brillo), was onsite to help execute the big day.

“I was really stoked to be here today,” said Brillo. “This is my third year being here at The Florida Cup, and what an epic day. Just stoked to have good waves, good weather, and a great championship. And you just have to extend a huge thank you to all the captains, all the mom and dads, and everyone who supports their club and their community. Because that’s a lot of hard work, but that’s what this is all about.”

Frankie D’Andrea, Co-founder of presenting sponsor Murf Electric Bikes was there too.

“The whole vibe of the event was next level. From the commentary to the number of people who stayed on the beach all day—everyone was there from start to finish. It felt community-based the whole way through,” he said.

D’Andrea, who’s with the San Clemente Board Riders back home, wasn’t just there to scout out the competition for the U.S. Finals, though. He brought one of the Murf e-bikes and trailer that wound up being a work horse for getting contest gear up and down to the beach. Then, for winning the Surfer of the Year award (voted on by all five clubs based on performance and club dedication), Cam Janelle from Daytona Beach Board Riders got to take that full rig home at the end of the day.

Murf, based in San Clemente, is focused on getting people outside in a healthy, active way on a safe, powerful e-bike. D’Andrea says they created the e-bike so that they could get down to surf Trestles, later developing it further to bring their families down to surf, too.

Now, in an effort to support the Florid Board Riders, they’ve donated the bike for the Surfer of the Year and another bike that was raffled off to raise funds for the organization.