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One of the
biggest annual competitions
in California is held each summer. It is the US
Open of Surfing. The contest has traditionally been held in
Huntington Beach
(HB). This event is part of the World Qualifying
Series (WQS)
that is coordinated by the Association of Surfing
Professionals. The
event attracts some of the world's best surfers and always
produces epic action.
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More
about Huntington Beach |
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Along a developing
section
of Pacific Coast Highway you will find Huntington
Beach.
Huntington Beach is located in Orange County,
California. HB is
also known as Surf City. The typical
summer daytime temperatures range from 69-81 degrees
Fahrenheit.
The typical summer water temperatures range from 67-71
degrees. Huntington
Beach has long been home to one of the world's biggest
surfing
competition: The US Open of Surfing. No
surprise, as Huntington Beach has produced a
recognizable surf
subculture and industry. Huntington Beach is
not only home to many professional surfers but is
a magnet for professional skateboarders and
snowboarders.
Naturally the US Open also features Moto, skateboarding and
snowboarding
exhibitions. This world class event is held on the
South Side of the Huntington Beach
Pier.
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Soul Bowl
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Skate Park |
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ASP North
America
is one of the seven branches of ASP International and is
hosting this
particular contest. ASP has a direct presence in
South Africa,
Australia, Japan, Europe, Hawaii, North America and South
America.
The ASP claims a 31-year history of surfing tours.
There is a rating system
to classify the level of each WQS event. Each event has a
star rating ranging
from 1 star to 6 stars. 6 star events, like the US
Open in Huntington
Beach, are the largest and have bigger
prizes. The US Open has attracted sponsors
and exhibitors such as Honda, O'Neill, Ralph's, Verizon,
and Paul
Mitchell over the years. In the 2008 event, the value
in available
prizes will equal $195,000.00 . This event and the
entire WQS can
provide a doorway into the World Tour. The top 15
gain a spot on
the World Tour. The World Tour is reserved for
the world's best surfers. |
ASP WQS Judges Booth
2008
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Hordes of
surfers come from around the globe to prove themselves at
The US Open.
During the series, each contender definitely has only one
thing on their
mind: to make the top of the World Qualifying
Series. The judges are
looking to choose one winner. Winners have to impress the
judges with a unique style, and have the potential
to be consistent. There is an official Judging
Criteria,
used on the World Tour, that even WQS contenders should
strive for.
The criteria states: "A surfer must perform radical
controlled maneuvers
in the critical section of a wave with Speed, Power and
Flow to maximize
scoring potential. Innovative / Progressive surfing as well
as Variety
of Repertoire ( maneuvers ),will be taken into
consideration when
rewarding points for waves ridden. The surfer who executes
this criteria
with the maximum Degree of Difficulty and Commitment on the
waves shall
be rewarded with the higher scores." |
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This year, numbers
of qualified
men and women joined together in Huntington Beach to
compete in areas
such as short board, long board, and juniors. The
roll call
included Cory Lopez, Shane Beschen, Taylor Knox, Sunny
Garcia, Brett
Simpson, Timmy Reyes, Roy Powers, and Nathaniel Curran. The
contest ran from July 21,
2008 through July 27, 2008. Unfortunately we did not
see CJ
Hobgood or Dane Reynolds back this year. Their
successes at last
year's US Open helped to catapult them into the World
Tour. There were
approximately 200,000 visitors in attendance for the
weekend of the
finals. |
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The competition was fierce from the start. The waves
ranged from two to
five feet high with overcast to sunny skies for the
duration of the
contest. The waves
had some "push" and
workable "sections".
It would also be accurate to say that there was a strong
south current
and the waves were a bit "wall-y".
Conditions that HB locals are
accustomed to. The surfers had to put in some
work to get the
right waves but the payoffs were spectacular. There were a
number of cutting edge performances. The aerial
maneuvers really
impressed the crowd. |
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As the week progressed, the process of elimination reduced the
number of surfers
remaining in the competition. There are hundreds of competitors in
the contest
making the outcome hard to predict. The 2008 US Open
ultimately gave way
to Upsets. In the Women's division, favorites Sally
Fitzgibbons and Stephanie Gilmore made it to the semi-finals only
to
get shut down. Malia Manuel prevailed in the end and
made history.
Malia, 14 years old, is the youngest girl to win the US Open.
The Women's
2nd place runner up, Coco Ho also made history as one of the
youngest finalists.
Coco is 17 years old. Malia and Coco both represent
Hawaii.
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The contest
yielded many
aerial attacks although most of these maneuvers seemed
to come out of the Pro Junior
division. Tanner Gudauskas (San Clemente, CA)
claimed victory over the juniors. The Pro Junior final had 4
competitors in the Heat.
Tanner beat out Julian Wilson, Chris Salisbury, and Nat
Young. "I tried my hardest and fortunately the cards went my way.
All of the boys were surfing insane all week and they’re some of my
favorite surfers, so I was just stoked to be in the heat.” Tanner
said.
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Tanner Gudauskas US
Open Junior Pro Winner
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Tanner Going Right and
Spraying |
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By Sunday morning
July 27, 2008, on the last day
of the competition, the
Men's WQS portion of the contest also sent favorites
home. The day
began with 16 surfers remaining in the men's
competition. As each
Heat ended the number of competitors dwindled.
Amongst the losses
were Cory Lopez, Dane Gudauskas, Roy Powers, and Brett
Simpson.
Brett Simpson's fate was revealed in the last 10 seconds of
the
Semi-Final Heat, when Tim Boal caught his winning
wave. The crowd
thickened as
the end of the competition approached.
By 1:30pm all but two surfers had been
eliminated. |
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Tim Boal Throwing Tail
in the finals
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Nathaniel Curran get
his fins out of the water in the finals |
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Tim Boal
(Hossegor, FRA) and
Nathaniel Curran (Oxnard, CA) entered the
final heat. The wave's conditions were deteriorating
with
increasing afternoon winds. Wave size had also
decreased to a 1-3
foot range. The wave conditions did not seem to
affect the
finalists appetites for victory. Nathaniel (Nate)
claimed a major
victory after beating out Tim. Nate also jumped to
the number 1
ranked position in the World Qualifying Series 2008
season. |
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Nate Curran WQS
Winner
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Nate with a strong cut
back in the Finals |
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Sources |
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Trade Federation Info Team on-site
www.aspworldtour.com and
media feed.
ASP North America
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Domaille Blogs: Extreme
Sports
Trade Federation Article: The US Open Of Surfing, published July
2007
Trade Federation Article: The Progression Of
Competitive Surfing, published September 2007
Special thanks to Kristen from MKM for the on-site support
Images and Photos by RPM Photography and Philip Dominguez |
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This article is sponsored by: |
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