Local company to sponsor surf event

A Costa Mesa surfing company has signed on to sponsor one of the largest surfing contests on the United States mainland.

Hurley International has agreed to be the presenting sponsor for the 2006 Boost Mobile Pro at Lower Trestles in South Orange County. The event is the eighth leg of the prestigious World Championship Tour and one of the most popular surf contests in the U.S. behind the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach and the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing in Hawaii. Last year’s Boost Mobile Pro winner Kelly Slater went on to win his seventh world title on the tour, considered to be the premier competitive surfing series in the world.

Hurley is expected to spend $1 million on the event, which transforms San Onofre State Park into a surfing village capable of holding 10,000 to 20,000 people a day.

“It’s a huge venture, and it’s one of the biggest yearly projects the company gets behind,” said Mark Fewell, senior director of media and business development for Boost Mobile. “It takes 10 to 11 months of planning and we have a core team of 10 to 12 people who work on it.”

Fewell said Hurley’s role as presenting sponsor adds “core” credibility to the event ? a crucial component for any contest in the tight-knit surfing industry.

For Hurley, the move marks an attempt to break into the competitive surfing world after years sponsoring mostly “soul surfers” who shun contests for more exotic surf trips and photo sessions.

“Hurley is synonymous with American surfing, and until this point, they haven’t ventured into this type of arena,” said Dave Prodan of the Assn. of Surfing Professionals, the governing body that sanctions World Championship Tour events.

Hurley just added several competitive surfers to its team including Brett Simpson, who won the Van’s Pro event in Huntington Beach over the weekend.

Hurley’s participation in the Boost Mobile Pro also signifies the increasing popularity of the tour, Prodan said.

“If you look at the tour 10 years ago, it didn’t necessarily have the best surfing in world,” he said. “Now you continually hear people say it’s the best.”

One of California’s best surfers, Rob Machado, is also expected to reemerge from professional retirement to participate in the event. Chief executive Bob Hurley said Machado was instrumental in picking up the event and will be a major player in developing the contest.

Whether he surfs on one of Hurley’s wild card spots is yet to be determined.