No Fear Grom Britton Galland Wins NSSA Northwest Opener
The beautiful beachfront community of Pacifica was the setting for opening day of the Northwest Conference 2008-09 season. For the second consecutive year, the season opener returned to the fun beach break peaks of Linda Mar Beach. Valuable five-star rated points were on offer in the season opener. The Northwest Conference Open Season event #1 at Pacifica is the first of six events on the 2008-09 contest schedule.
Heading into this contest, Britt Galland had never won a NSSA event. He had never even made a final. But the 16-year-old from North San Diego County, committed to Northwest Conference Open Men’s competition this season in order to experience the different venues outside of the Southwest region. The move paid off. At Pacifica’s chilly 2-3 foot Linda Mar sandbar, Galland was in top form from round one and continually gained momentum winning every heat en route his first ever NSSA triumph. Pitted against the local Norcal talent, Galland was able to adapt to the colder climate and water temps. In the 25-minute final, Galland matched up with Santa Cruz up and comers John Wilson and Anthony Dunn, and 13-year-old Kadin Panesi who lives a “bike ride away” from Linda Mar. In the final minutes, it was clear that Galland and Wilson were battling for first position. With Wilson in striking distance, Galland locked in a solid 6.0 score on a right which turned out to be the key. He was intent on taking his first win and it showed as he held on for an 11.0-9.5 victory over Wilson.
“It’s the first time I’ve made an Open Men’s final so it’s good to win,” Galland said. “The final is a longer 25-minute heat, so my strategy was to get a couple back up scores and then wait for the sets. I got a pretty good right which gave me the score I needed to win.” Galland hopes his breakout victory will be pivotal in giving him extra motivation for the more challenging and intense Southwest events. “This win is definitely a confidence booster for me so hopefully it will help when I go back to the Southwest so I can get some results there also,” Galland said. The waves here are mostly rights and I’ve been struggling with my frontside. But I went to El Salvador this summer to work on my frontside and trained with Doug Silva who helped me out a lot.”
Galland will collect 2,000 points and vault to the top of the Northwest Open Men’s ratings as he continues his campaign into the next event at Morro Bay. “I’ve never surfed Morro Bay and most places on the Northwest schedule so I’m gearing up to compete in new places,” Galland said. “I’m also looking forward to surfing Steamers and Pleasure Point. Those are such fun waves.”
