Beckford follows World Champs with qualifier win
Published:Wednesday | June 21, 2023 | 1:40 AMLennox Aldred/Gleaner Writer
ELISHAMA BECKFORD, fresh from his national duties at the ISA World Surfing Games in EL Salvador, secured the men’s open division title following the Jamaica Surfing Association’s fifth qualifying event at the Copa Beach in Bull Bay on Sunday.
Beckford rattled up scores of 6.83 and 6.33 for a total of 13.17, which was enough to hand him the title in a final which also featured national surfers Icah Wilmot and Javaun Brown, who were all part of Jamaica’s team that took part at the Games in El Salvador.
Wilmot secured second position following his combined score of 11.50, while Ronald Hastings finished third with 10.33 and Brown fourth with a score of 10.23.
The win now sees Beckford leading the national rankings after five of six events with 3,000 points, followed by Wilmot with 2,870 and Brown rounding out the top three with 2,410.
Beckford’s effort also sees him qualifying for the National Championship in December and also raising his stake for securing a spot on Jamaica’s team at the World Surfing Games in Puerto Rico next year.
“It was good to come back home and get the same world-class waves that we got in El Salvador. The waves were pumping and I had to turn on the styles because of the added support we got from persons turning out to watch the surfing,” said Beckford.
In the meantime, Imani Wilmot easily secured the women’s title after rattling up scores of 5.67 and 4.67 for a total of 10.33 to seal the deal. Elim Beckford was a distant second following her total of 5.42 with Zoe Bain third with a 1.57.
President of the Jamaica Surfing Association, Inilek Wilmot, was pleased with the support that the event and the sport has been garnering since the the World Surfing Games in EL Salvador.
“The events have been growing from strength to strength as we see with added spectator turnout, which is great. We had 25 competitors for this event which shows that the vibe is now back in surfing and we look forward to the final qualifier in Long Bay, Portland, on August 12,” said the president.