Many NSSA fans still recall the year that Clay Marzo brought the tail-blow mainstream, nailing a perfect heat total in the 2005 Open Mens final and ushering in an era of fins free scoring rides. It was a game-changing performance — and in 2009, it happened again. Last year it was Santa Barbara’s Lakey Peterson who put on a defining display at Lowers, launching a frontside punt in the Open Womens final to the tune of a 9.0 and her first National title — all in her first year contesting that division. The move was given top billing by media and industry pundits, who heaped buzz onto the 14-year-old, knowing that they had just witnessed the future. Now, Lakey is a year older and a year sharper — but so is her competition. She’ll need to bring that same level of explosiveness to the 2010 Nationals if she wants a repeat of last year’s fairytale ending, and Huntington Beach could be just the place for it. What the HB Pier lacks in Lowers’ long,running walls, it makes up for in wedgy peaks and ramping sections — just the kind she’ll need to go big. Lakey’s first-place finish in the Open Womens Southwest conference this year shows she’s still on top of her game, and when the horn blows in Huntington, we’ll all get to see what she’s been working on.
