Over the past 10 years the Grayland Open has enjoyed great success and become a staple freeride contest in the sport of competitive freeride, particularly for rookie and Amateur riders. The model for this event has always been to bring attention to the next up and coming Rookie and Amateur freeriders. Because of this event structure, many of the once rookie and amateur freeriders have moved up the ranks in the freeride industry using their Grayland Open rankings to gain attention from sponsors, media and build their professional watercraft Resume. I don’t think that this sport or these riders get the mainstream attention that they deserve. I’ve done my best to always showcase these athletes as they compete at the Grayland Open by bringing in the well-known freeride photographers, Network television coverage, radio shows, newspapers, videographers, social media, tourism guides, drone pilots and have personally written many magazine articles published in multiple top level watercraft industry magazines. The freeride community is filled with incredibly talented athletes that are also really amazing people. I feel lucky to have found this sport and to have become a part of it. It’s amazing to me how many people have never heard of or seen what the sport of moto surf freeride is. When they first see a photo or video of a 20 foot backflip, they mostly think we are crazy daredevils with a couple screws loose. This is until they show up at an event like the Grayland Open and see how calculated and controlled each rider is in their heats (well most of them;). At this event, those people realize that this is a legitimate sport and the ability to do these tricks in a controlled way is a real thing. The comment, “this is awesome, I didn’t even know this type of thing existed!” is something I’ve heard over and over at the event. People love it.Nearly every Pro level rider from the USA started out their competitive freeride careers at the Grayland Open before moving up to the pro class and gaining confidence in their ability to compete on the IFWA world tour. Because of this, many of those top level riders have continued to attend the event, help organize, Judge, promote and help to grow the event in to what it has become. We’ve built a really great event with a fun vibe that is serious, but not so serious that it kills the beach fun weekend with friends’ vibe. It’s a good mix for a freeride event. All of this and more is what has kept us motivated to continue the event and try to expand it year after year. This event has accomplished everything and more than I ever originally envisioned for the event back in 2009. Back then I just wanted to have a place to throw down against my friends. We rode at Grayland on a regular basis and there just wasn’t any place for us to compete. We had enough riders in our group so I decided to get some help from Dayton Fedak and Nick Foster since I had never organized or even been to any Jet Ski event before. That first year, we didn’t even have a podium. We had 1 class with 18 competitors and that was it. I didn’t have a podium yet so we just stood on milk crates. As simply done as the first year was, it still sent shockwaves of excitement to riders from all over the nation. There was finally a place for riders of any skill level to compete at that wasn’t intimidating and didn’t require traveling to another country and renting a ski. The event doubled in size by the 2nd year with riders coming in from all over the nation and has continued to grow in many ways ever since. I cannot tell you how proud I am of how much joy and excitement this event has brought to so many people including myself.I want to everyone to know that the Grayland Open has always been a team effort from day one. I organize and make decisions when needed and I do a ton of planning work leading up to the event but in no way am I the sole person responsible for the success of the Grayland Open. The entire team of Westcoast Surf Riders, competitors, independent media and sponsors have been the driving force behind this event. They are not just competitors or people coming to watch or take pictures of the event. They get on the mic and announce. They judge the event. They organize the contest and keep things flowing smoothly. They give input on decisions for changes to grow the event. They put a ton of labor and voluntary time to set up and tear down the event every year which is a big task in itself. They cover the event through photos / video and promote through social media. They have even donated their own funds and loaned or built equipment to help with the event. We have an incredible crew that has learned how to put this event on and deal with any and all curve balls thrown our way. I’ve also never had an issue with getting enough volunteer help with any part of the event. We also partner with the best companies in the watercraft industry to help with hard costs, awards and product giveaways every year. The Grayland Open sponsors are so great to work with and always very supportive. There are too many volunteers, riders, media and sponsors to name individually but you all know who you are. I want to sincerely thank all of you for 10 years of amazing support and time. It’s really your event; I’m just the glue that pulls it together.With all of that said, I do have an important announcement to make. In 2019 we will be taking a break from the Grayland Open. There will not be a Grayland Open Competition this year. I announced at the award ceremony last year that I want to spend more time with my family and need to take some things off of my plate. This was not an easy decision for me at all. It’s something I’ve been contemplating for about 2 years. I spend countless hours preparing for this event and I honestly could use a break to concentrate on some personal goals. This may seem crazy considering that the event is very successful and there really are no major issues or problems. As a group, we have had lots of discussions over the past many months and even considered doing a freeride type of event similar to the Daytona Freeride to make the event much easier for a year. This just isn’t really feasible either because of the cost of permitting, insurance, 5 agency SEPA review and the requirements for potties, dumpsters etc….. It all costs money and unfortunately, just a big hang out freeride is almost as much work as a contest from the planning side. It’s a lot cheaper but would still cost around $5,000. I also looked into getting permitted to camp on the beach but that idea is a hard no with the state parks.To all of the riders that had planned to compete this year, I’m really sorry. You guys are what make this a tough decision. There is a silver lining though. While we are taking a year off, this has relieved some pressure for me and I have been working on a new opportunity for the event in 2020. This new opportunity also played into the decision to take a year off because it would mean completely rebranding the event and moving it to a new location for next year. I can’t release all of the details yet because nothing is official but I can say that we may be moving the event to a new location that is really incredible. Things are slowly falling into place to make it happen. The location is still in the northwest. I’ve ridden there many times. The surf is fantastic, the location is fantastic, it’s beautiful, the amenities and lodging incredible and this town wants our contest to be there. It has all the ingredients to be a top freeride competition location in the world. I will release some official details on the plans for 2020 once they are solid enough that I am comfortable sending that information out. I’m still working on dates, permits, marketing etc. so that will take some time starting over at a new location. I’m quite confident I can get it done. I will be looking for sponsors for this new event so any sponsors that are interested please get in contact with me at graylandopencontact@gmail.com I can provide great marketing value for your sponsorship. If you are interested in sponsoring this new freeride contest, just let me know now and I will send you out sponsorship details once I am a little farther along.Until then, I do still have a bunch of other freeride type events planned here in the northwest in 2019. I’ve attached a complete schedule for the northwest that shows all of the northwest region races, Westcoast Surf Riders events and other popular events on the west coast. Feel free to join us at any of our events and be a part of some really good times in 2019!! I’m excited for 2020 and can’t wait to see how it shakes out!Sincerely,Dan Lindgren Founder, Grayland Open Westcoast Surf Riders