Virginia Beach Surfing
 

East Coast Surfing Championships

Surfing has been woven into the fabric of who we are in Virginia Beach. In the century that has followed since James’s first ride, Virginia Beach has become the home of the esteemed East Coast Surfing Championships (ECSC), the longest continuously-running surf contest in the world, and produced a host of well-known wave riders. The best of the best compete at ECSC, including more than 200 of the world’s top professional male and female surfers, as well as an estimated 300 amateur surfers. In addition to the competition, visitors may enjoy food and drink concessions and live music on the beach. To plan your trip, check out our surfer's guide to ECSC weekend.

Surf Report & Forecast

Whether you’re a surfing grommet or a seasoned waverider, the waters of Va Beach are prime for surfers of all experience levels.  Whether you’re looking to get in the water or simply relax on the beach and take in the show, you’ll want to go where the locals go to the jetties at 1st Street and Croatan Beach at the Oceanfront, Croatan Pendleton, and the Little Island Pier in Sandbridge. The swell changes depending on the season and weather, and scoping out the ideal conditions in Virginia Beach has become an art form in its own right. As many of our resident wave-riders will tell you, riding the perfect wave here comes at the cost of patience, tenacity and a little bit of luck – and that’s just how we like it. Enjoy more beginner friendly waves in our Summer Season, where many of our local shops provide lessons to even the youngest of surfers to get up and going in the water. Come during our Fall through Spring season, where you can either enjoy the show of surfers or catch a few more advanced waves for yourself.

Surf Shops and Rentals

From ECSC and Logstradamus, to a large selection of surf shops popping up over the years, the surfing scene here has grown into a favorite pastime of locals and visitors alike. Local surfing legends, Pete Smith and Bob Holland Jr. opened Smith and Holland Surf Shop on 19th Street, the first surf shop of its kind in the state of Virginia. A few years later, fellow local star, Bob White, opened Wave Riding Vehicles (WRV), which remains one of the top board manufacturers on the East Coast.

In addition to WRV, local surf shops like Coastal Edge, 17th Street, Surf & Adventure Co. Pungo Board House, and VB Surf Sessions offer everything you need, from equipment rentals to surfing lessons and camps, that will have you upright and in the water in no time. You can even experience the thrill of shaping your own board with the one-on-one guidance of an experienced shaper like Make and Ride Surf Exchange, who does their shaping out of a storage-unit-turned-shape-shack. Here, you can be a part of every step of the surfboard shaping process – from the foam blank to your shaped-up new ride. You design it; you use the tools; and you bring your vision to life. There’s no better way to become one with your board than by being the driving force behind its creation.