The US Open of Surfing, Huntington Beach, California

July 16, 2008 - The hot summer days of late July annually bring to Huntington Beach, California many of the top professional and amateur surfers from around the world for the Honda US Open of Surfing competition and festival. One of the premiere surfing events in the world, the Honda US Open of Surfing also brings thousands of visitors to the Huntington Beach Pier every year. In addition, the sand surrounding the Honda US Open stadium grows into a mini tent city with numerous displays, vendors, and extreme sporting events. For ten days the downtown Huntington Beach area becomes one giant beach party.

The history of the US Open of Surfing began in 1959 when it was called the United States Surfing Championship. After 1973, the contest was renamed the OP Pro. In 1994, the contest became known as the US Open of Surfing and is the largest surfing contest in the world. The event draws about 600 competitors from all over the world and more than 400,000 spectators every year.

Several surfing events are held each year during the Honda US Open of Surfing. On land, the Surfing Hall of Fame inducts its new members during a special ceremony held in front of Huntington Surf & Sport on Main St. Past inductees include: Corky Carroll, Kelly Slater, Jack O'Neill, David Nuuhiwa, and Rob Machado. In the water, the event consists of five separate contests: men's ASP WQS 6-star qualifying series, women's ASP WQS qualifying series, men's Pro Junior, women's Super-girl Pro Junior, and the ASP Long-boarding competition. Top surfers from all over the world competing in the 2008 Honda US Open of Surfing include former world champion Sunny Garcia and world tour stars Chris Ward, Tim Reyes, and Taylor Knox.

The surfing competition begins on Friday, July 18, 2008 with qualifying rounds for the men and junior's divisions. The current WQS point standings determine which qualifying round each surfer will surf. Surfers with higher standings will be seeded into higher qualifying rounds and thus will surf less qualifying rounds than surfers with fewer points. Each qualifying round consists of sixteen twenty minute heats of four surfers all competing for the top total wave scores. Two surfers with the highest wave scores in each heat advance to the next round. In the quarterfinals, the format changes to one-on-one, two man competition. The winners move on to the head-to-head semi finals culminating with the championship final round.

Every qualifying heat features four surfers; each wearing a red, white, yellow, or black jersey over their wetsuit. The judges identify the surfers by the color of their jersey and award wave scores to the respective colored jersey. The event announcer and the contest's heat schedule provide surfers' names for the colors in each heat.

The first round of qualifying consists of the first sixteen heats of the event and features surfers who have not accumulated sufficient points to qualify for higher rounds. Many notable surfers are in the first round of the 2008 Honda US Open. Top American surfers: Jeff Hurley, Tom Rezvan, and Hawaiian surfer Derek Ho are just a few of the first round entries. Andrew Doheny, Chase Newsome, Riley Metcalf, and Willie Safreed are some of the young, local talents entered in the first round. The top eight surfers from the 96 qualifiers will move on to the first round of the big show: the 2008 Honda US Open of Surfing.

All of the competing surfers have a repertoire of moves on the waves that will dazzle the eyes of the spectators. Traditionally, wave size this time of year is very unpredictable in Huntington Beach. For the past few years the average wave size during the US Open of Surfing has been rather dismal. Despite frequent poor wave conditions, most competitors still manage to display their best maneuvers. Former world champion Sunny Garcia always finds a way to make his powerful cuts off the face of a wave. Many surfers like Shane Beschen and Dane Reynolds always manage to find waves suitable for spectacular aerial acrobatics. Veterans like Richie Collins, the Lopez brothers, Chris Drummy, and World Tour stars Tim Reyes and Nathan Hedge always put on extraordinary shows whether the waves are large or small.

The sand in front of the US Open stadium provides an ideal place to enjoy the beach and watch the competition. From the beach, all the action in the water is easily viewed with or without binoculars. If bleacher seats are preferred, the contest area is surrounded by massive bleacher seat structures. There is no charge for seating. For a different perspective, some people prefer viewing the event from the Huntington Beach Pier. The view from the pier brings the spectators into the water with the surfers and the waves break under the viewer's feet.

The best viewing of the surfing action is during the first five days of the contest. During this time the beach is not very crowded and spectators can easily view the competition close-up. Beginning on Wednesday (the sixth day), many activities surrounding the surfing event start to happen. Also, many famous surfers from around the world begin to arrive. By Thursday, the entire Huntington Beach Pier area comes alive and most activities of the beach festival are in full swing. Visitors and spectators now crowd the beach every day. On the final Saturday and Sunday of the event, the Huntington Beach Pier and the beach area surrounding the competition look like Fenway Park during a Red Sox's World Series game. The excitement and volume of the surfing fans are equally as intense.

The US Open of Surfing is the premiere surfing contest on the West Coast each year. In addition to watching the world's best surfers in action, the activities surrounding the event provide entertainment for all ages. The City of Huntington Beach is best known for surf and sand however, the US Open of Surfing Festival is another major reason why many visitors flock to Huntington Beach each year. Just a short drive from Los Angeles, San Diego, and other nearby cities, the US Open of Surfing Festival is an inexpensive way to enjoy ten days of fun in the sun, sand, and surf.

Sources

http://www.surfline.com/surfnews/surfwire.cfm?id=16821

http://www.aspworldtour.com/2008/

http://www.hsssurf.com/hall/

http://www.surfersvillage.com/surfing/35082/news.htm

http://www.hbsurfcity.com/history/history1.htm

http://beach.freedomblogging.com/2007/07/25/line-up-of-events-for-us-open-of-surfing/http://www.go211.com/u/usopensurfing2008/blogs/2764