Story by Hillard Grossman photos courtesy of Jeff King

 

There were lots of adjectives to describe Beckham McCart’s historic USA Surfing national championship Saturday, but “mind-blowing” probably led the way.
 
The 15-year-old Indialantic resident carved his name into East Coast surfing lore by winning the U-16 title at Lower Trestles, Calif., defeating 12-year-old phenom King Nicol of nearby San Clemente, and the son of former pro surfer Yadin Nicol, by a score of 16.83-15.50.
 
“Trust me, I still can’t believe it,” McCart said. “Having my family all there … it’s absolutely mind-blowing.”
 
The national title was the first for a Brevard County surfer since the days when a young CJ Hobgood captured National Scholastic Surfing Association honors and when fellow Satellite Beach surfer Adam Wickwire brought home rare double national junior crowns.
 
“That’s so cool,” said McCart, who celebrated with a Florida flag draped around him among a crowd of California champions in the other divisions and later feasted on a well-deserved enchilada dinner with family and friends. “The most important thing is believing in yourself.”
 

In the final, McCart opened with a fist-pumping 8.83 score, unleashing a huge vertical snap and quickly adding another spraying carve on one of his Lost surfboards from his primary sponsor, Catalyst Surf Shop in Melbourne Beach.

“I knew that was going to be a good score,”he said. “I was fired up because I just knew I was going to win.”
Shortly after, he reeled off an 8.0 ride and it looked like it was a done deal. But, Nicol, who also had won the U-12 and U-14 national titles, rallied with 7.9 and 7.6 rides, but they weren’t enough to complete the trifecta.
McCart had barely survived his opening-round, four-surfer heat at the start of the six-day contest, placing second by .10 to advance.
“It was such a blessing just seeing that … so amazing,” McCart said. “It really shows God had plans for me, to make it like that.”
In the quarterfinals, there was even more magic from McCart, who scored an 8.0 on a “left bomb set” with less than two minutes remaining in the heat to slip past Finn McCarty of San Clemente and move from third to second after requiring a 7.8 score to advance.
“Every single heat was literally like a final,” said McCart, who relieved some of that daily pressure by playing golf in San Diego.
It’s already been an amazing summer for McCart, who was the first Brevard County boy selected to Surfing America’s World Juniors Team USA, which competed in the recent International Surfing Association World Junior Games in El Salvador, where USA grabbed fourth place and the copper medal. McCart charged through to the sixth round of the repechage (second-chance bracket) and finished 17th in the world among his age group.
“I’m super proud of him; he puts in a lot of hard work, a lot of cross training in the gym(s) with high-intensity fitness that helps him (achieve) those dynamic maneuvers,” said his father Jaden, once an NSSA points winner in the Southeast District when he was 17. “He’s a great kid. When he’s not surfing, he’s taking care of his homework or hanging out with his little brother (Aris, 7) and teaching him what he knows.”
Next up on McCart’s schedule is returning home after a month of training in California to watch the July 4 fireworks off the Indian River, then celebrate his 16th birthday on July 16 with twin sister Daya, also an accomplished surfer who qualified for the USA Surf Team in the U-14 category two years ago. Both plan to compete in the Rip Curl Grom Search in New Smyrna Beach in August.

“Don’t ever stop working,” McCart said, upon being asked what has gotten him this far. “The work will get you where you need to be. All you can do is believe in yourself and work as hard as you can and as bad as you want, and it’ll happen.”

Highlights of the Nationals are available on an official 2024 USA Surfing Championships YouTube video.