Cerv Doesn’t Take Bodyboarding Competition Lying Down : He Uses a Unique Style to Put Himself Among the Best in a Sport He Pursues More for Fun Than Anything Else

In search of a simpler, safer and less expensive way to catch waves, surfer Tom Morey invented the Morey Boogie board in the early 1970s.

A few years later, 10-year-old Kevin Cerv of Leucadia received one for Christmas. He has not been the same since.

“I used to drag it across the street, across the sand and into the waves,” Cerv said. “As the years went on, I would go out further and further in the waves. I couldn’t get enough. Now I try to get out at least two to three times a day.”

At 17, Cerv began riding in the professional circuits of Morey Boogie and the Professional Surfers Assn. of America.

In the recently completed Morey Boogie season, Cerv won two titles, with three seconds and a third in seven events. His 5,792 points for the overall season title were more than 1,500 ahead of runner-up Lynn Laumann of Newport Beach. On the PSAA tour, he finished fourth in 1987 and fifth in ’86. With four events remaining this season, he is seventh.

Said Don Long, a judge for Morey Bogie: “I’ve seen the progress in his riding for the last four years, and I’ve seen the best surfers in the world for the last 25 years. I knew he was going to be a star. You can’t say that about a lot of riders.”

Today and Sunday at the Oceanside Pier, Cerv, a 20-year-old San Dieguito High graduate, will be among 27 professionals competing in the ninth annual Morey Boogie National Bodyboard Championships.

The word “competing” might be too strong for Cerv. He prefers “having fun,” and he is doing just that. His passion for the sport and the atmosphere is obvious. “I love the ocean. I love the beach. I love the waves. I love the girls on the beach. This is where it’s at.”

Kevin Cerv is the consummate bodyboarder. He has medium-length, sun-blond hair with bangs that drape to his eyebrows. He is tan and has blue eyes and a wide smile. He is 5-feet 6-inches, 155 pounds and a terror when he dons fins and polyethylene foam.

“Everybody copies everybody in bodyboarding, except for Kevin Cerv,” Long said. “He does maneuvers that nobody else can do. There are maybe a handful of guys that can do a stand-up el rollo (an upside down loop off the lip of the wave while standing). He’s the king. Nobody can do it quite the way he can or as quickly as him.”

Four-time world champion Mike Stewart of Hawaii said, “He’s definitely got a style of his own. He’s got a lot of energy that really emits in his riding.

“One of his strong points is repetition, and that he does his maneuvers really quickly. He’s a difficult competitor to ride against, especially in small waves.”

Oddly, on a board designed for lying down, Cerv has made a name for himself with his ability to ride while standing up. Said his friend, Teri Sanders, “I hear people on the beach all the time say, ‘Hey, look at that guy standing up on his bodyboard.’ ”

Cerv said that more and more of those people are recognizing him.

“The sport is definitely increasing dramatically. Three years ago there were only about half as many bodyboarders. And it’s going to continue. The sport’s going to increase. The money’s going to increase. But basically I bodyboard for the fun of it.

“My mom (Rita Cerv) got me my first bodyboard for Christmas when I was 10. She really supports me. She travels with me whenever she can. She’s 40 years old and still bodyboards. Age does not matter in this sport, because it’s safer than surfing, and the board is softer. Anyone can do it.”

But few can do it better than Cerv, or have as good a time doing it.

Notes

Bodyboarding for the national championship begins at 7 a.m. today and continues through Sunday. The $6,500 purse is the largest for a national bodyboarding event. The winner will receive $2,000, second place $1,200 and third $800, down to $75 for 12th. Other Southern Californians participating in the professional division are Mike Huseman (Vista), Matt Allaire (El Toro), Don Almeido (Canoga Park), David Cunniff (Orange), Chris Cunningham (Huntington Beach), Chris Granone (Lomita), Paul Grosveld (Laguna Niguel), Tom Prince (San Clemente), Jason Ross (Canoga Park), Cameron Steele (San Clemente) and Ron Ziebell (Long Beach). In the amateur divisions, notable contenders who hope to defend titles from last year are John Shearer in the men’s 30-and-older division, Glenda Kozlowski in the women’s open division and Jackie Fisher in AAA, the top amateur division.