big breaks

Mike Sciacca

All eyes in the world of surfing are focused on Huntington Beach.

The Bank of the West Beach Games featuring the Honda U.S. Open of

Surfing Presented by O’Neill, began Saturday and will continue

through Sunday at the Huntington Beach Pier.

The U.S. Open of Surfing, the most heavily watched surfing event

in the world, is the gem among a beach games action package that

combines skateboarding and BMX competitions in the Soul Bowl, the

first King and Queen of the Beach professional volleyball tournament,

the first Freestyle Motocross Ramp to Ramp Air Show along with demos,

live concerts and an interactive lifestyle festival spread over 12

acres.

Six-hundred athletes are scheduled to compete at the beach games.

“We’re happy to host the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing and have it be

the cornerstone of the fantastic Bank of the West Beach Games,” said

James Leitz, vice president of International Management Group X

Sports, which puts on the beach games. “We’re doubly excited that the

event has been embraced by professional surfing’s elite and we have

such a quality field this year.”

This weekend, the surf industry will be in Surf City for the U.S.

Open final rounds of competition in men’s and women’s divisions,

longboarding and the Lost Pro Junior.

The climax to the competition comes Sunday with the men’s final.

Cory Lopez of Florida is back to defend his men’s title.

Australia’s Chelsea Georgeson returns to defend her women’s crown.

Phenomenal crowds also are expected the pack the pier and its

surrounding areas.

Leitz said that last year’s event drew an estimated record 300,000

people.

“It’s a surfing contest on a global scale and it’s so awesome to

be able to surf it in my own backyard,” said Brett Simpson, a

professional surfer from Huntington Beach who is surfing his third

U.S. Open. “It’s sort of like having a home court advantage, just

like in basketball.”

“I’ve been all around the world and there’s not one event on the

World Qualifying Series tour as big as this one,” he said. “We have

the whole world coming to Huntington Beach.”

The men’s field is considered to be the most impressive in the

45-year history of the event.

Five-hundred of the sport’s elite surfers from around the world

are in Surf City to contend for various titles. Among this year’s

entrants are an unprecedented 40-plus combined World, U.S. Open,

World Junior and U.S. national title winners -- the most ever for

this event.

Ten former World and/or U.S. Open champions headline the 272-count

men’s draw that includes 13 of the world’s top 16 and 85 of the top

100 in the World Qualifying Series.

In addition to Lopez, former world champions Andy Irons of Hawaii,

Kelly Slater of Florida, C.J. Hobgood of Florida, Mark Occhilupo of

Australia, Derek Ho of Hawaii and Tom Curren of California are in

contention for the men’s title, as are several outstanding local

surfers.

A record 136 men are listed as alternates.

Joining Georgeson in the U.S. Open’s women’s field is rookie

Melanie Bartels of Hawaii, No. 1-ranked Sofia Mulanovich of Peru,

Hawaii’s Rochelle Ballard, former U.S. Open and world champion

Pauline Menczer of Australia, Aussie Serena Brooke, Holly Beck of

Palos Verdes and Julia Christian of Carlsbad.

The Honda U.S. Open of Surfing is a six-star WQS event and offers

competitors the largest point allocation of any mainland event, and

is the most critical stop on the 2004 U.S. Open of Surfing Pro

Surfing Tour.

The U.S. Open is considered North America’s original action sports

event and dates back to 1959.

Local Soul Bowl veterans scheduled to compete are Omar Hassan and

Brian Patch, who finished one-two, respectively, in last year’s

event.

Patch, though, earned enough points to become the overall Soul

Bowl champion the past three years.

All events are open to the public free of charge. The main rounds

of surfing began on Monday and run through Sunday.

Festival activities, BMX and skate competitions begin today.

Volleyball and the live music will get underway Friday and Saturday,

and freestyle motocross demos run three times daily on Friday through

Sunday.