Time to get moving

When it comes to sports in the summer, there’s two ways to experience them ? watching or doing. Fortunately, there are plenty of options for those who want to do either along the coast.

For the participant, several leagues are offered in Huntington Beach at the City Gym and Pool and Edison and Murdy Community Centers in adult and youth volleyball; slo-pitch softball; boys’ summer baseball; girls’ summer softball; pee wee T-ball; and junior and flag football. Newport Beach and Costa Mesa offer leagues in softball, volleyball, lawn bowling, indoor volleyball, basketball and flag football.

Newport Beach offers an unusual option for volleyball players with the Endless Summer Indoor Tournament. Participants play on six-person teams, getting a new team each week and earning points based on how their team does. The league starts Aug. 29.

Laguna Beach-sponsored beach volleyball tournaments take place throughout the summer. The Men’s AAA Open runs June 17 and 18 at Main Beach. The Women’s AAA Open takes place on July 22. Both are California Beach Volleyball Assn. sponsored events.

Boys and girls tournaments in Laguna are played on July 20, July 27 and Aug. 3.

For the spectator, surfing contests dominate the local calendar, and Huntington Beach is home to the world’s largest professional surfing competition, the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing. It’s the feature event of the Bank of the West Beach Games that also includes BMX, FMX and beach volleyball competitions. The games, which will attract more than 500 athletes and 500,000 spectators to the area just south of the pier, runs July 24 to 30.

The California Classic, in its fifth year as a contest tour, makes the second stop in its series in Surf City from June 16-18. The longboard surfing championship series is primarily open to professional level men and women and will be held at 315 Pacific Coast Highway.

The HB Pro/Am Surf Series, which features professional surfers competing for prize money, will hold series events the weekend of July 8-9, Aug. 12-13 and Sept. 23-24 at the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.

The Western Surfing Assn., which offers amateur competitions to West Coast surfers, will hold events on July 9, July 14 and July 21 at Pacific Coast Highway and Goldenwest Street. Top association competitors can earn coveted spots in the Surfing America USA Championships/Team Trials.

Laguna’s 48th annual Brooks Street Surf Classic begins June 24. There are divisions for all surfers ? as long as they are Laguna residents ? up to a pro/am competition.

The Starfish Surf Series, designed for kids, will hold its next series event on July 15 at Pacific Coast Highway and Ninth Street in Surf City. The event is free for kids and space is available on a “first come, first surf” basis.

More than 1,000 junior lifeguards and lifeguards from around the country will converge in Surf City for the United States Lifeguards Assn. Lifeguard Nationals on Aug. 10-12. Junior and adult lifeguards will take part in various ocean and beach competitions.

The Surf Invasion Tour makes its first stop of the year in Huntington Beach on Aug. 26-27. The event consists of an open men’s surf contest and an air show contest. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners.

Boardfest ‘06, a surf-inspired festival for girls, will be held Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-4, at the south side of the pier. The event will feature music; fashion; interactive exhibits; professional and amateur competitions; beginning and intermediate surfing and skateboarding clinics; and live bands.

On land, the Surf City 5K and Expo will start the festivities that surround the annual Fourth of July parade down Main Street.

The Surf City Summer Showcase is a softball tournament that will feature female teams from around the country competing for prizes. The tournament will be held from July 20-23 at the Huntington Central Park Sports Complex.

Orange County’s longest- running road race, the Distance Derby, will run for the 52nd time on Aug. 19. The derby starts and finishes at the Huntington Beach Pier Plaza Amphitheater.

An event that will go to the dogs is the Dachshund Races at Old World Village on June 25 and July 9.

Central Park West is home to the Huntington Beach Disc Golf Tournament, which is held on the first Saturday of each month throughout the year.

In the Newport-Mesa area, one of the highlights of the summer is the Newport Beach Breakers season. The World Team Tennis entry plays its matches at the Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach and often faces some of the top names in professional tennis.

Pete Sampras, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, will make his lone area appearance for the Breakers in a July 10 match. In addition, John McEnroe will appear July 25 when McEnroe’s New York Sportimes come to town.

Those who like playing tennis instead of watching it have a number of options. Junior players have three summer tournaments to play in. The Costa Mesa Tennis Center will hold its junior satellite tournament July 1-2 and 8-9 and its Summer Junior Classic from July 24-28. The Costa Mesa Tennis Academy has its summer junior novice tournament Aug. 19-20.

In Laguna Beach, there are tennis camps and lessons that run throughout the summer. The city runs programs for youths, teens and adults of all skill levels.

Some of the top golfers in the area will take part in the Costa Mesa City Championships, scheduled for Aug. 5-6 at Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club. PGA Tour pros such as Mark O’Meara and Scott Simpson are among the list of past winners.

The area’s elite golfers will do battle in the annual Jones Cup, set for Aug. 24 at Mesa Verde Country Club. The event includes the men’s, women’s and senior club champions from Mesa Verde, Big Canyon, Santa Ana and Newport Beach country clubs, along with pros from each club, in a one-day competition for local bragging rights.

Sailors have options too this summer, with many of the area’s clubs playing host to events. Balboa Yacht Club will put on the Senior Sabot Nationals on June 10-11 and then greet the Governor’s Cup U.S. International Match Racing Championships from July 17-22. The Newport Ocean Sailing Assn., which puts on the Newport-to- Ensenada Race in the spring, will have its Commodore’s Appreciation Races on July 16, bringing in boats from around Southern California.

The Newport Harbor Yacht Club’s annual Flight of the Lasers is always a popular event. This year’s races are scheduled for July 30 in Newport Harbor.CENTER PHOTO BY MARK C. DUSTIN; FILE PHOTOS(LA)Grace Blum participates in a Laguna Beach Lawn Bowling Assn. match; South Coast Tritons’ Justin Tanamachi makes a run during flag football; Debbie Albright chips out of the sand during the Jones Cup. dpt.14-sac-kidsurf-kt-BPhotoInfo5R1RUURE20060614im0bkzncPHOTO BY KENT TREPTOW(LA)Christopher Vensand rides a wave during a session of the Newport Surf Camp. dpt.14-sac-vollball-mcd-BPhotoInfoA01RTES320060614il4yganc(LA)dpt.14-sac-5krun-dz-BPhotoInfoA01RTEU420060614ij6hnnknNo Captiondpt.14-sac-dachshund-mc-BPhotoInfoA01RTDT420060614hhdoeukf(LA)dpt.14-sac-sunglasses-2-BPhotoInfo5R1RV4CR20060614j0tbnmnc(LA)dpt.14-sac-flagfoot-mcd-BPhotoInfoA01RTF4420060614io7yz2knNo Captiondpt.14-lawnbowling-dz-BPhotoInfoA01RTFGA20060614iwx0szkn(LA)dpt.14-sac-jonescup2mcd-BPhotoInfo5R1RUUSO20060614ilwt35nc(LA)