By Emma Bouthillette 

Staff Writer

When Kennebunk Parks and Recreation Youth Wrestling Coach and Kennebunk Outdoors owner Ron Aromando decided bottle drives are not the most enjoyable fundraiser, he came up with a plan for a surfing contest like no other around. 

All surfboards were required to be at least nine feet long and pre-date 1968. There were to be no leashes and no rules, Ron Aromando said.

“It’s exactly like a 1960s contest—the only difference is the wet suits. It is really like an anti-contest,” he said. 

“We wanted to bring back, or even introduce, a little culture of the 1960s surfing,” Ron Aromando’s wife Lorraine said. “The boards were longer and heavier. You have to know how to catch waves, and it is tougher to take a late drop, but it is a smooth style of surfing.” 

She said classic long boards have a history. They are rare to come by because they were either damaged or disposed of, she said. As owner of Kennebunk Outdoors Surf and Skate and an avid surfer, Ron Aromando had a collection of long boards for surfers to ride during the contest.

Ron Aromando said he wanted to model the long board classic competition after a defunct New Jersey competition, which focused on faster surfboard. He said surfboards after the 1960s started to change as producers began to use lighter materials and create shorter boards for speed.

As surfers arrived before 8 a.m. at Gooch’s Beach in Kennebunk on Saturday, they wore jackets over their wetsuits, warm shoes or water booties and hats to keep warm in the fall-like chill, but as the sun rose and the waves picked up, everyone shed their layers.

There were only enough women for one heat, but the men were divided into four heats of six competitors. Each heat was 20 minutes long with Ron Aromando as the only judge. As the day went on, the waves picked up making for some great surf, Lorraine Aromando said.

“These are really fun waves. Perfect for this contest,” she said. “Some people surfing today aren’t used to the long boards and having waves bigger than this only creates a fear factor.”

Each participant was required to wear a white shirt with large numbers printed on the front so Ron Aromando could identify who was surfing, and while there was no cash prize for the best surfers, there were bragging rights and a trophy to take home for first, second and third place for men and women. 

Children and adults were divided by gender, but Ron Aromando said he was scored the participants younger than 14 years old a little different than those older than 14. In the end, Jim Trentalange won first, Brian Landergan came in second and Zachary Tyson took third in the men’s division, while Liz Muse won first, Ellen Shields took second and Bethany Yellis came in third in the women’s division.

Yellis, 21, of Kennebunk, said surfing on a long board she borrowed from Ron Aromando was a challenge.

“It is really different with such a heavy board, but it was really fun,” she said. “This is how they did it in the 1960s.” 

Shields of Kennebunk started surfing four to five years ago. She said it was hard to adjust to a different board, but she wanted to participate to support the wrestling team.

“The youth wrestling is a small program with an unbelievable percentage of wins. They are off the chart,” Ron Aromando said. 

Ron Aromando has been coaching the team for two years after being assistant coach for one year, and said the team is made up of children from kindergarten through sixth grade. 

After the cost of the trophies and T-shirts, Ron Aromando said the event raised nearly $300 from registration fees, and he plans on holding the long board classic again next year.