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OCEANSIDE -- The World Bodysurfing Championships have turned into an annual family reunion of sorts for the Casinelli family. Brothers Patrick and Tim grew up duking it out on the waves of the
Leucadia coastline, where their father, Mike, served as a lifeguard. Although the three have gone their separate ways
over the years, they still manage to return to the Oceanside Pier to participate in the annual competition. This year's edition marks the 17th time the brothers have competed in the event.
"We lived at the beach and they just sort of picked it up," said Mike, who won
his heat in the Men's 55-64 division to earn a spot in today's semifinals. "The kinds of things they can do have gone way beyond me. They do have some competition going, which is good, but I stay neutral. It's great every year, like a little family reunion for us. Doing well does make them happy, that's for sure, but we enjoy it and that's the important thing."
Both Tim and Patrick battled a strong rip current at the Oceanside Pier to
advance to the semifinals of the 25-34 division. After a slow start, Tim cruised past the competition in his heat with 83 points, while Patrick had to edge out Brian Vazquez of Seal Beach by a score of 76-75 to win his heat.
"Tim was scaring me for a while," Patrick said. "When I went down to get ready
for my heat he had only two waves, but he is a good finisher. The rip is really sucking right now, so this is basically a swimming meet at this point."
Tim, 31, traditionally has been
more successful than his older brother. He has won eight division titles at the championships and was crowned the Grand Champion in 1982 and 1987.
"When we were growing up bodysurfing
I used to beat him almost every time," said
Tim, who resides in Encinitas. "So if I beat him I don't really brag, but if he beats me I get salt rubbed in the wounds, that's for sure. But if he gets a good heat he can beat me easily."
Despite moving to Cleveland seven years ago, Patrick has had more success against Tim in recent years. In their first finals meeting at the 1997 World
Championships, Patrick finished ahead of Tim in third place.
In the finals of the Carlsbad International Bodysurfing and Bodyboarding
Championships last weekend, Patrick squeaked by Tim in the 27-33 division by a score of 74.5 to 73. However, Tim once again got in the last word by finishing as the Grand Champion at the competition.
"He's a pretty good bodysurfer for living in Cleveland," said Tim, who referred to his brother as "the Cleveland Flash."
Said Patrick: "Tim's definitely the
better surfer of the two of us, but occasionally I'll luck out, or if I don't, I tell the judges I'm Tim. He amazes me when he is out there, but it gets hard when your younger brother kicks
your butt every year."
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