‘Night’ Riders present ‘Light’ Riders arsenic nor’easter whips up coastal areas of Northeast Florida connected Friday

Cody Thompson, a pro-surfer from Jacksonville Beach and victor of past year's competition, joins america to speech much astir the event.

Conditions that physique precocious waves are usually a surfer’s delight, but nor’easter conditions Friday got a spot excessively unsmooth to safely tally the Red Bull Night Riders surfing contention successful Jacksonville Beach.

The lawsuit was postponed to 10 a.m. Sunday, making it the Light Riders alternatively of the Night Riders.

“The upwind is conscionable a small excessively brainsick with each the infrastructure they request to tally this event, and truly there’s nary formation for spectators to basal connected either. The tide’s been highly high, and conditions are conscionable a small excessively crazy, truthful we decided to reschedule for time morning. I deliberation it was a large call,” said Cody Thompson, a pro surfer from Jacksonville Beach who won the lawsuit past year.

The lawsuit is 1 of the East Coast’s premier surfing competitions.

Thompson said the six riders see himself and his brother, positive different surfers from Florida and the East Coast and 1 rival who flew each the mode from Indonesia.

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“There’s a fewer others who flew successful and took immoderate agelong flights to get present truthful we didn’t privation to cancel the event, truthful I’m blessed that they’re moving it,” Thompson said.

He explained that participants are towed retired into the waves astatine 30 mph down a pitchy ski, allowing them to propulsion disconnected tricks and maneuvers not typically seen successful surfing contests.

Organizers said contestants volition beryllium judged connected the champion instrumentality of their vigor by a sheet of their peers, with the victor taking location the full prize purse of $5,000.

The lawsuit kicks disconnected astatine 10 a.m. Sunday connected the northbound broadside of the Jacksonville Beach Pier.

“The action’s going to beryllium astir apt hotter than ever and it’ll beryllium a bully accidental for everyone to travel retired and spot what’s going on,” Thompson said, adding that the contention should wrapper up conscionable successful clip for everyone to drawback the commencement of the Jaguars crippled against the Buffalo Bills.

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Reports weekdays and anchors The Morning Show connected Saturdays and Sundays

A Jacksonville autochthonal and arrogant University of North Florida alum, Francine Frazier has been with News4Jax since 2014 aft spending 9 years astatine The Florida Times-Union.