Story by Tyler Stover of FloridaToday.com

Surfing fans finally got what they were waiting for as Kelly Slater made his highly-anticipated appearance on the waves during the final day of the Slater Brothers Surfing Invitational in Cocoa Beach, FL.  Slater teamed up with Saturday’s shortboard champion, C.J. Hobgood, to win the “Surfing with the Stars” competition. Slater and Hobgood teamed up with Corey Howell and Sam Duggan, two local youths who were the top fundraisers to for the World Skin Cancer Foundation.

“The event went really well this year,” Slater said. “The waves might not have been great quality, but the surf was definitely bigger than we’ve had for this event in the past. The crowd seemed really stoked, and I was glad that we were able to bring a lot of big names to the event for them. It’s good to be home in front of all of these local fans, and I always enjoy catching up with my friends in the area.”

Slater’s upcoming plans include a trip to France along with skateboarding legend Tony Hawk for a Quiksilver four-year celebration. After that, he will spend most of the winter in Hawaii.

Two of the fundraiser winners, Frankie Naumann and Sam Duggan, were thrilled to compete alongside their favorite surfers.

“It was a really fun experience,” said Naumann. “They are cool guys. We’re not great surfers, but they let us play around in the waves and have a good time.”

Duggan added, “It was really cool getting to meet the stars. The waves were tough, but it was fun once I found a good one.”

As the Surfing with the Stars event wrapped up, Benji Weatherly, Todd Holland, Sean Slater, and several others joined Kelly Slater in the water for an “Expression Session.” The session was a non-competitive event in which the stars were able to put on one last show for the spectators.

2001 ASP World Champion Hobgood, a Melbourne resident, enjoyed his time at the event.

“The event is a competition, but there’s no real pressure,” said Hobgood. “This is all for charity, and all of my winnings will go right back to charity as well. The Surfing with the Stars competition is a great idea, it’s a nice chance for these kids to surf with us and just hang out. This is a vacation for me, and it has been great to be home and see my family.”

Sean Slater was thrilled with the results from this year’s event.

“We want to keep building this event each year, especially the Surfing with the Stars, since it turned out to be such a great fundraiser and a fun time for the kids. Every year, I want to try to surprise people with something big that they haven’t seen before, and I will aim for that again next year.”

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