Wide Open

Danette Goulet

It’s his home break, but still Danny Nichols scanned the surf next to

the Huntington Beach pier and debated his plan of attack.

“See that,” the 21-year-old said, pointing to the left of where four

surfers in bright rash guards jockeyed for position close to the pilings.

“I’m going out over there.”

After a huddled conference with pro surfer Chris Gallagher, Nichols

amended his first thoughts.

“Better off trying to stay in there and power for ‘em,” Gallagher

advised. “Start it strong and finish it strong. Get speed on your belly

so you can get right into your maneuvers. Worry about your first and your

last. Throw your arms up and just make it look as gnarly as you can.”

It was no run of the mill surf session they were discussing. Nichols

was about to don an orange neon rash guard and paddle out Tuesday in the

men’s first round of the U.S. Open of Surfing.

The U.S. Open of Surfing in Surf City, a six-star World Qualifying

Event, is the largest qualifying competition in the country.

More than 300 surfers will compete for a total of $100,000 in prize money.

The surfing competition also includes the $5,000 U.S. Open of Women,

the $5,000 Billabong Junior, plus longboarding and women’s bodyboarding

events.

But it is not about the money, Nichols said.

It is about recognition and getting your name out there.

After about four years of competing professionally, that’s something

Nichols is just starting to do.

“I’m pretty much a rookie,” he said flashing a sheepish smile. “But

I’m ready for a break in.”

The event also isn’t just about surfing anymore.

Although the surf competition, with its rich and occasionallytroubled

18-year history, is the headline event, the weeklong affair has grown

over the years to include extreme sports.

In its first year of running the event, International Management Group

has taken the Open and pumped it up with the inaugural Philips Fusion, a

beach festival boasting extreme sports, music and technology.

“What we want to do is enhance the experience of spectators,” said the

vice president of IMG’s youth division James Leitz. “They can see the

best surfers in the world and the best skateboarders, in-line [skaters]

and BMXers. [We want to] create more of sports carnival. All of these

[extreme sports] crawled out of the surf.”

The Philips Fusion beach festival has three extreme venues, starting

with the $45,000 Phillips Soul Bowl, which features competition among top

skateboarders, in-line skaters and bicycle stunt riders.

Some under-30 vertical riders to look for are Bob Burnquist, Rune

Glifberg, Jake Brown and Omar Hassan.

In the Masters’ division for the over-30 crowd, skate enthusiasts can

hope to see Steve Caballero, Lance Mountain and Aaron Astorga.

Next to the “soul bowl” will be the Norelco Contour Park, which offers

the top 16 bicycle stunt riders and in-line skaters a twist in

traditional street courses and a chance at $20,000.

Finally more than 50 of the top skateboarders, including Andy

MacDonald, Geoff Rowley, Omar Hassan and Pat Channita, will enter World

War III - a “best trick” competition on a street course with unusual and

changing obstacles. They will vie for a $50,000 purse.

In addition to the extreme sports, the event includes music and

technology, with an area to burn CDs, DJs, and the Philips Concert Stage

hosting Common Sense on Friday and Ozomatli on Saturday.

“It’s been incredible,” said Aaron Pai, a co-owner of Huntington Surf

and Sport Downtown who described himself as “one of the main guys at the

store. “There’s so many more people here, especially on weekends. It’s

cool because I love surfing and love to watch all the great surfers that

are out here, but my kids love skateboarding. It was kind of cool to see

BMX. I’d only seen it on TV., so to see it live was cool.”

It’s also been great for business at HSS. It usually means about a 20%

jump in sales, he said.

“It’s always good to see the U.S. Open because it draws so many

people,” Pai said.

Those crowds mean business for more than just the surf shops.

Sales during an average week at BJ’s Pizzeria are $50,000, said

manager Gabe Halliday. This week he expects that number to leap to

$60,000.

At the Closet they have already seen an increase in foot traffic, but

no boost in sales yet, said assistant manager Ritchie Garcia.

But he does hope to see more profits coming in by the end of the week.

As an ex-employee of Jacks Surfboards, he remembers that the contest

always meant business would be hopping

Garcia also said he’s noticed a drastic increase in business since the

competitions began to branch out to include more than just surfing.

“Before, when it was just a surf contest, we only got surfers down

here -- now there are skateboarders, kids and families,” Garcia said.

But for those die-hard purest surfers, what you’re looking for can

still be found south side.

On Friday nearly 30 of the world’s top 44 pros are slated to compete,

including reigning world champion Sunny Garcia of Kauai, Hawaii;

currently top ranked C.J. Hobgood, of Satellite Beach, Fla.; and former

U.S. champions Taylor Knox of Carlsbad, Rob Machado of Cardiff and Tim

Curran of Ventura. Women include Holly Beck of Palos Verdes, Coleen

Hanley of San Clemente and Julia Christian of San Diego.

At 9 a.m. today, the city’s surfing Walk of Fame will get new members

at a ceremony at Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street.

Competitions and Philips Fusion events start daily at 7 a.m. and run

to 4 p.m. and are free to the public.