Organizers and police hope to piggyback on success of last year’s U.S. Open of Surfing

Huntington Beach city officials and organizers of the U.S. Open of Surfing say they have found the right formula for a successful and safe surfing competition and are sticking to it — with a little fine tuning.

After a calm end to the 2014 competition, IMG Action Sports Vice President and Executive Producer James Leitz said he is sticking with the game plan he used last year. That means keeping the nine-day event focused on the sports and family activities and minimizing the amount of vendor booths.

“The plan worked great in 2014,” he said. “We’re going to be doing more of the same. We need to continue focusing on the world’s best surfers and bringing the world’s best back to Huntington Beach. We want to have appropriate sponsor displays and more family-oriented activities.”

The BMX and skateboard competitions will remain at this year’s event, but like in 2014, the bowl will not be accessible to the public.

There will be a few changes this year including an additional set of bleachers at the skate pool and a larger set of bleachers next to the pier for the surfing competition, according to an event layout map.

Leitz said they have also expanded family movie nights at Pier Plaza from two to three nights.

While there have been subtle tweaks to the layout, the overall footprint of the event area remains the same as last year. In 2013, the competition took up about 14 acres of beach space while last year’s event was scaled back to around 8 acres.

“Together with the city, we created a plan in 2014 and it worked,” Leitz said. “2015 is about further proving the plan and guaranteeing the kind of event fit for Surf City.”

Huntington Beach Police Chief Robert Handy concurred with Leitz, saying that the department is building on what they implemented last year.

“We’re trying to increase our presence up in the neighborhoods,” he said. “We’ll have motor officers again concentrating on the residential area along the beach that is affected by the Open.”

Downtown residents had put up with the alcohol-fueled disturbances that coincide with the surfing event for years, but were pushed over the edge when an unruly crowed wreaked havoc along Main Street at the end of the 2013 U.S. Open, causing about $31,000 in property damage.

During last year’s event, police tallied 152 arrests and 1,836 citations that ranged from traffic infractions to alcohol-related incidents.

Handy said there will be a greater mounted unit presence in the downtown area during this year’s event. Last year, the city contracted with the Orange County Regional Mounted Enforcement Unit and brought in a few officers on horseback to patrol the area.

The chief said there will be as many as 10 mounted units, four of which are from his department, to monitor the downtown area.

Handy said the city is planning to host a community meeting on Wednesday at the Main Street Library at 6 p.m. to inform residents of the upcoming event. Another forum is scheduled midway through the competition to gauge police effectiveness and determine if tweaks need to be made.

The U.S. Open of Surfing runs from July 25 to Aug. 2.