2007 winner Jeremy Johnson. Photo: 2M

The WRV Outer Banks Pro has had all the manic success and surprise dangers East Coast surfers expect from a contest staged in the middle of hurricane season. The inaugural 2002 event was held in some of the area's best waves of the New Millennium; a consistent head high glassy south swell graced the entire contest period, peaking during the finals and pinning spectators to the sand, heat after heat. But, two years later, the darker forces of nature caught up with contest organizers in the form of Hurricane Isabel, altering local life forever and demolishing the contest site at Kitty Hawk pier.  

It wasn't long before life returned to normal and the WRV Outer Banks Pro rolled merrily south to Jennette's Pier in Nags Head, to a fresh venue, a new beginning and the contest's best vibe ever. And while Pro didn't showcase the surf potential, it was successful at creating a must-see event. Unfortunately, after a seemingly solid re-birth, the Outer Banks Pro was destined for another interruption with the unfortunate departure of its founder, ESA Director Kathy Phillips.

  But never doubt the lure of quality surf and the prospect of a good throwdown. Never doubt the resolve of Wave Riding Vehicles to bring a first-class hard hardcore contest to the Outer Banks. And, most of all, never doubt the inspirational power of the Outer Banks, its waves and its people, which has made this event a professional favorite for the likes of past champs like Aaron Cormican, Chris Ward, Jesse Merle Jones, and NC native Ben Bourgeois. A power that will continue to draw world-class surfers for years to come. In the words of Nick Carroll, “I defy any surfer to walk out to the tip of sand that is the Cape and not leave aware that the Banks is one of the world's greatest surfing areas...”