47-year surfing contest comes to VB

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - On Sunday night, crews began assembling the judging platform for the East Coast Surfing Championship .

However, event organizers said they have been working for the past year to get ready for the 5-day championship.

The ECSC has been running for nearly half a century. ECSC General Manager, George Alcarez said, "It's the longest contest in the nation. Second longest in the world." It attracts professional surfers from not only the east coast, but from around the world.

The waves were tame on Monday, but with Hurricane Danielle expected to work her way up the east coast by the later part of the week, there should be some good waves for the contest. "It might even be better than last year. We had over head-high [waves] last year and we might have even better conditions this year," said Alcarez.

In addition to the waves, merchants on the resort strip said they are counting on the contest to bring in business.

"There staying here at the hotel and it's brought us a lot of good business," said Christina Rosario from the Schooner Inn.

"It's probably the biggest weekend of the year," said Mike Standing, owner of Waterman's Restaurant on the boardwalk.

The ECSC is also hosting the Miss Reef World Contest on Saturday afternoon. Virginia Beach is one of three venues in the world chosen for the Miss Reef contest. Brazil and Hawaii are the other two.

The ECSC runs until Sunday. The contest is a 47-year tradition sponsored by the Virginia Beach Jaycees.