Ready to air it out

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT BEACH -- It’s a different kind of surfing and a different kind

of contest. One where surfers can only score if they leave the water.

This year the fourth stop on the Vans Surfing Magazine Airshow Series,

sponsored by Body Glove is at 54th Street in Newport Beach.

But if you look up expecting to see planes, you’ll miss the air show.

“In the airshow we only judge ATL, which means ‘above the lip.’ It’s

unique and totally different,” said Darren Brilhart, director of the

series. “We only score on aerials.”

Aerial surfing is when the surfer actually catches air at the top of

the wave before dropping back into the it.

Originally scheduled to begin on Thursday, contest organizers made use

of three days of the allotted five-day waiting period, holding off on the

contest until Sunday as they scanned the horizon for better waves.

Despite the wimpy wave conditions expected to be sticking around on

Sunday, especially compared to those they enjoyed on the last three stops

in Santa Cruz, Salt Creek and Costa Rica, it looks more promising than

today, Brilhart said.

“We had great waves [for the last three contests],” he said. “We’re

kind of stuck, but I believe we’re going to get enough waves. There’s a

south swell coming and a wind swell from the north.”

Although the airshow doesn’t pull in the mainstream pros such as Kelly

Slater or Tom Curren, in its fourth year the tour boasts the big names in

aerial surfing.

“The names are a little different -- Jason Collins, Randy Welch, Dave

Post, who is a local from Newport Beach, Christian Fletcher who is a

pioneer of aerial surfing,” Brilhart said. “He started doing airs before

anyone did in surf contests. I remember the judges didn’t know how to

score him.”

But now there is a contest just for that brand of surfer. And this

stop alone has an $8,000 purse, with $3,000 going to the top scoring

surfer, $1,500 for second and $1,000 for third, with the rest of the

money broken down through the 12th ranking surfer.

Heading into this fourth stop, Welch is currently leading the pack in

rankings, including a win in Costa Rica.

The tour will be back in Newport Beach in September and then again in

October.

In late October, the eight highest-ranking surfers from the tour will

qualify for the World Championship Air competition in Pacifico Shore,

Mexico.