Peers to the pier

Of all the contests held in exotic locales all over the globe, nothing seems to get surfers fired up like competing at the Huntington Beach Pier.

And of all the worldwide contests, this one draws a top-notch crowd, three Laguna Beach surfers agreed.

“That’s one thing that makes the U.S. Open cool,” Laguna’s Brad Burdick said. “There’s a huge crowd on hand and it gets all of us pumped up. It’s great to have something like this just down the road. Unlike traveling for a competition, I get to sleep in my own bed, which is great.”

North America’s highest-rated qualifying event, the $185,000 Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill, begins today with early-round trials at the pier and runs through to the championship finals on July 30.

The U.S. Open of Surfing anchors the 2006 Bank of the West Beach Games. The men’s and women’s divisions are six-star World Qualifying Series events and 500 world-class surfers are expected to compete in Surf City.

The U.S. Open of Surfing was originally held at the pier in 1959.

Four Laguna Beach surfers ? Burdick, Bron Heussenstamm, Mike Todd and veteran Pat O’Connell, who retired last year ? are set to compete.

“This is a great event,” Heussenstamm said. “One of the great things about it is that you are surfing in front of huge crowds. Huntington, the Gold Coast in Australia and Biarritz in the south of France, are the contests that draw the largest crowds. It’s awesome.”

In addition to the surfing, the Beach Games will attract international competitors in skateboarding, BMX, FMX and the Karch Kiraly Invitational, a beach volleyball tournament. The various competitions will be set up in an interactive lifestyle festival that James Leitz, executive promoter of the event and vice president of International Management Group Action Sports, said covers 12 acres around the pier.

Last year, the event drew nearly 400,000 spectators over nine days, including 100,000 for the surfing finals.

“The competitions will be incredible once again,” Leitz said. “The surfing pros who compete always seem to be the top-tiered guys, and the skateboarding, BMX and FMX competitions continue to grow.”

One hundred vendor booths, a teen fashion show Thursday and an “intriguing” line-up of live music, with the music stage being set up north of the pier and project out to the water, Leitz said.

“Everything that makes the beach great is happening in one spot,” Leitz said. “There really is something to do and a lot of fun to be had for all ages. For the athletes, this will be the largest crowd they’ll compete in front of. For them, it’s a high.”

The gem of the games, the surfing, offers competition in five divisions: men’s, women’s, junior men’s, junior women’s and longboard. Athletes from the U.S., Australia, Brazil, France, Japan and South Africa are schedule to compete.

The $125,000 Honda U.S. Open men’s division is the mainland’s highest-rated World Qualifying Series event and includes the largest field of competitors. Andy Irons won last year’s men’s title and will defend it against the likes of Timmy Reyes of Huntington Beach, Cory Lopez (Florida), Rob Machado (Cardiff), C.J. Hobgood* (Florida) and Sunny Garcia (Hawaii).

Julia Christian of Carlsbad had the thrill of winning last year’s women’s division, what she called the “biggest win of my career” and her first six-star World Qualifying Series event. She’ll be looking to repeat this year as the $30,00 Honda U.S. Open women’s division champion against a field that includes Holly Beck (Palos Verdes), Sofia Mulanovich (Peru) and Pauline Menczer (Australia).

Heussenstamm, 26, first competed at the U.S. Open when he was 18 years old. This will be his seventh time in the men’s competition. He said he will surf his first heat either Tuesday or Wednesday.

A recent USC graduate with a business degree, Heussenstamm went to work in investment banking but found it wasn’t his forte. He quit the job July 10.

“I quit that Monday and have been surfing every day since,” he said with a chuckle.

For Todd, the U.S. Open offers the Laguna resident the chance to earn valuable points on the World Qualifying Series tour. The 25-year-old, who first surfed the contest when he was a junior in high school, turned in a couple of top-notch efforts (fifth- and ninth-place) in two world-qualifying events held in Brazil in February.

Todd, who is in Florida this week as part of an East Coast World Qualifying Series tour swing, said he also will surf his first heat either Tuesday or Wednesday.

“I’m looking forward to adding some points to my resume and getting my rating up,” he said.

Burdick, 20, will compete in the $10,000 Lost Pro Junior, which is the nation’s largest junior event with 120 competitors and features the world’s top 19-and-under athletes. Past winners who have won this event and gone on to stardom at the professional level include Irons and Kelly Slater. Hank Gaskell of Hawaii won last year’s event.

Burdick, a 2204 graduate of Laguna Beach High, said he also is an alternate for the men’s event.

The top 19-and-under junior women surfers in the world will be showcased in the inaugural $10,000 Target Women’s Junior Pro. Nikkita Robb of South Africa is the division’s defending champion.

The competition figures to be fierce once again in the $10,000 O’Neill U.S. Open of Longboarding. California’s Joel Tudor won last year’s event and will be pushed by such standouts in the sport as fellow Californians Colin McPhillips (San Clemente) and Geoff Moysa. cpt.21-spsurfing-heuss-CPhotoInfoPU1T42F920060721i1lckjkfCredit: Caption: (LA)Laguna’s Bron Heussenstamm competes in the opening rounds two years ago. cpt.21-spsurfing-oconn-CPhotoInfoPU1T42EF20060721i1mq15kfCredit: PHOTOS BY DON LEACH / COASTLINE PILOT Caption: (LA)Pat O’Connell goes vertical during the U.S. Open of Surfing in 2004.