Pro/Am evolution

Mike Sciacca

From humble beginnings it has grown into Orange County’s elite Pro/Am

surfing event.

But that metamorphosis is not yet complete, said Seth Matson creator

and director of the Huntington Beach Pro/Am Surf Series.

The series is coming up on the conclusion of its seventh year and

culminates this weekend with its two-day championship event at 1st Street

in Huntington Beach.

As this year winds down, Matson is already gearing up for the next

season and how it can be even bigger and better.

“We’re continuing to grow and anticipate bigger things in 2002,”

Matson said.

The 31-year-old local who went through the Huntington Beach school

system, attended Smith Elementary School, Dwyer Middle School and

graduated from Huntington Beach High School in 1988, debuted the series

in 1994 with Andy Williams and Everett Gesford, who are no longer with

the event. The trio started out with just three divisions of competition

-- boys, juniors and mens. But the event quickly expanded to accommodate

more local athletes who wanted to enter the competition.

There are now nine divisions of competition, with the addition of

super groms, masters, women, longboard, Pro/Am and the XS City Air Show,

which was added this past year.

In 2002 three more divisions will be added to the series, Matson said.

“We will be taking next year’s events to a completely new level,” he

said. “There will be four events held on the south side of the pier and

they will be World Qualifying Series rated, which will double the prize

money.”

The three new divisions fans can expect to see are pro longboards, pro

women and pro juniors, he said.

Each event will be televised and run from Thursday through Sunday, as

opposed to the current format of Saturday and Sunday.

“With a positive response from the city, our sponsors and the

competitors, we plan to build up a great structure for aspiring young

pros all around the world,” Matson said.

Matson has surfed since the sixth grade and was coached by Andy

Verdone at Huntington Beach High. He went on to compete in four or five

contests following graduation but the competition circuit didn’t suit

him. He calls himself more of a “soul surfer.”

“Seth was a strong surfer in high school who always wanted to do

things his way,” Verdone said. “He’s still that way and a very colorful

individual.”

Matson is quick to give credit to his sponsors, Hurley International,

Ron Jon’s Surf Shop and XSCity.com.

“I get a lot of support from them and those companies have helped this

series really take off,” Matson said. “The prizes the winners receive are

awesome.”

Ah, the prizes.

All nine divisions will crown champions this weekend. The first place

overall rated surfer in the Pro/Am division will receive a trip to

Indonesia, courtesy of Hurley International plus a $750 gift certificate

from Ron Jon’s Surf Shop. The first place overall rated surfer in the XS

City Air Show division winner will go to Hawaii, thanks to XSCity.com and

all seven amateur division winners will receive round-trip air fare to

Cabo San Lucas from the Huntington Beach Pro/Am Surf Series. The top four

overall rated amateur surfers also will win custom made trophies as well

as several other prizes.

The series certainly has come a long way since its debut seven years

ago. Matson once worked competitions put on by the Western Surfing Assn.,

which is now defunct.

“The WSA attracted a lot of surfers and in that regard it was much

like the National Scholastic Surfing Assn. competitions,” he explained.

“A couple of years after it folded I realized that there was no type of

competition for local kids to surf. It was then that we came up with the

Huntington Beach Surf Series.”

The series is United States Surfing Federation sanctioned and surfers

in the competition who finish among the top four overall rated are

eligible to surf in the United States Surfing Federation surfing

championships in July.

Jeff Deffenbaugh of the Pro/Am Division is the current ratings points

leader and is looking to wrap up another overall title and win that trip

to Indonesia. Deffenbaugh says he likes competing in the series for many

reasons.

“I grew up in this city and it’s great to have something like this in

my own backyard,” said the 28-year-old and father of two. “There is no

travel involved, I know the conditions out there and I have quite a few

friends who compete here.”

* MIKE SCIACCA is the education and sports reporter. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.