It’s anybody’s game

Mike Sciacca

Considered to be the most significant surf competition in the world,

the Honda Element U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill is the

biggest World Qualifying Series surfing competition in North America.

The 2003 U.S. Open Men’s event title is up for grabs and features

a field of outstanding surfers both from around the world and right

here in Huntington Beach.

The event, which began in 1959 as the U.S. Championships, has

grown on the international stage into the sport’s premiere event.

Names like Corky Carroll and David Nuuhiwa set the tone in the

1960s for competitors today.

Each year the men’s competition features standout performances but

the 1996 U.S. Open is widely considered to be one of the best

competition’s ever staged.

That year, Kelly Slater edged out Shane Beschen in a dramatic

showdown that went to the final buzzer.

Beschen is back once again to compete for supremacy and part of a

field that boasts the likes of Rob Machado and Andy Irons.

A look at some of the competitors in the 2003 U.S. Open men’s

competition:

KALANI ROBB

Surfing on a borrowed board, the Hawaiian sensation scored a

wire-to-wire victory last summer to claim his first U.S. Open of

Surfing crown and the $10,000 top prize that accompanied the title.

Known for his quick speed and maneuverability in the water, Kalani

Robb, 26, regularly won National Scholastic Surfing Assn.

championships while working his way from an amateur to the

professional ranks.

Robb, who hails from Oahu’s North Shore, has a reputation for

being a gambler and risk-taker when it comes to competition.

He received a hero’s welcome Sunday from the staff at the Hilton

Waterfront Beach Resort upon his arrival in Huntington Beach for the

2003 Philips Fusion.

CORY LOPEZ

Cory Lopez’s win at the 2001 Billabong Pro -- his first World

Championship Tour victory -- showed the surfing world that he can win

any contest he enters.

The native Floridian, 26, with a goofy-foot stance, said he

prefers to surf glassy barrels, barrels, he said, that “let you do an

air at the end.”

Lopez, a Team O’Neill rider, followed in the footsteps of his

successful brother, Shea, into the world of surfing. He has been

labeled a daredevil when it come to the sport and became known for

his extreme surfing and ability to gain incredible speed on a wave.

He said he’s anxious to make waves in Surf City.

“I love Huntington Beach,” he said. “The huge crowds, the great

competition -- it’s just a great venue for a great surfing event. I’m

ready to go.”

His brother, Shea, won the U.S. Open in 1999.

BRETT SIMPSON

The future looks bright for Surf City’s own Brett Simpson, a

standout in both junior and open division amateur competitions in

National Scholastic Surfing Assn. events.

Currently ranked No. 2 on the NSSA circuit, Simpson scored a

perfect 10 in his heat in the Open Mens Division on the fifth day of

the recent championships.

Simpson was a sensation at last summer’s U.S. Open, winning his

first five heats to advance to the round of 128 on his first excursion in the men’s event.

“It just seems like yesterday,” he said of last July’s

performance. “It was an incredible feeling to begin my first Open

with those wins. It gives me a lot of confidence heading into this

year’s event. It’s going to be a great competition.”

Simpson recently returned from Indonesia where he did a photo

shoot with seven other NSSA athletes for Surfing magazine.

The 18-year-old, who graduated in June from Huntington Beach High,

is the son of former Los Angeles Rams safety, Bill Simpson.

He will compete in both the U.S. Open Men’s and Pro Junior

competitions.

“I’m pretty confident,” Simpson said of his first heat, which he

will surf Friday morning. “I know I can do well again.”

BRANDON TIPTON

Brandon Tipton reached the professional ranks after graduating

from Huntington Beach High in 1999.

The 22-year-old will be competing in his third U.S. Open Men’s

event and has two Pro Junior appearances to his credit.

His best finish was fourth at the 2001 Pro Junior.

“It’s exciting to have the world’s biggest surfing event right

here in my backyard,” he said. “I definitely know the wave here and I

will try to use that to my advantage.”

“Tippy,” as he is called by friends, won the 1999 National

Scholastic Surfing Assn.’s Explorer Season in 1999 and, during his

senior year at Huntington Beach High, was the MVP of the Sunset

League and won the league’s All-Star tournament.

He is currently in his first year doing the World Qualifying

Series with hopes of landing a Top 44 ranking -- which would qualify

him for the World Championship Tour.

Heading into the U.S. Open, Tipton said he’s ranked No. 110.

“I’m just now getting my feet wet, so to speak, and chasing the

points on the WQS,” he said. “But I’m stoked for the U.S. Open.

“I think to be successful I’ll need to be patient and have good

wave selection. I can’t get too excited, just take it heat by heat.

That’s my game plan.”

TIMMY REYES

Edison High graduate Timmy Reyes began surfing Huntington Beach as

a young boy and continues to surf the city he calls home.

Reyes entered several amateur contests and went on to win several

National Scholastic Surfing Assn. individual championships.

He as been a strong contender since joining the World Qualifying

Series two years ago.

At the 2002 Newcastle Pro held in Australia, he placed seventh

among the world surfing champions.

The 21-year-old competed is a rider for Team O’Neill.

Last year, Reyes, whom fellow competitors say has a natural

talent, competed at the U.S. Open despite a hernia operation.