Video Monitors, Earlier Date Urged for Surfing Contest

Huntington Beach’s Op Pro Surfing Championships, marred this year by a riot that broke out on the final day of the competition, should be held earlier in August, with video cameras focused on the crowd and no involvement by MTV, a panel decided Tuesday.

The nine-member city panel, meeting for the third and final time, drew up a list of recommendations that will be forwarded to the City Council for review, said Huntington Beach Mayor Robert P. Mandic Jr. The recommendations probably will be added to a list of about 35 restrictions already placed on the event, said Mandic, chairman of the panel.

Labor Day weekend, when the contest traditionally is held, should be abandoned in favor of a late August date, the committee decided. Mandic said that will allow school-age fans to participate without attracting the huge crowds that are normal for the Labor Day weekend. He said he didn’t think that moving the date would detract from the competition.

MTV, the cable TV music channel, held an impromptu bikini contest in violation of its agreement with the city and generally encouraged rowdiness at the event, Mandic said.

“We reviewed some tapes, and they were basically inviting people to come down and run amok,” he said.

As a result, the panel recommended that MTV not be allowed to tape future contests.

The panel generally agreed that the event should be continued despite the riot, said Councilwoman Ruth Bailey, also a member. She said that the city received more than 50 letters and phone calls from people with recommendations and that only “two or three said they didn’t want it at all.”

Another suggestion called for a battery of video cameras that would monitor all areas of the crowd during the contest. Tapes of the Aug. 31 riot have been instrumental in helping police make 36 arrests since the melee, Mandic said.

The latest suspects arrested include David Czernek, 25, and two 15-year-olds whose names weren’t released because of their ages, said Huntington Beach police spokeswoman Jo Anne Bonkowski.

Czernek, who police said has been living in his car in the downtown Huntington Beach area, was arrested Friday and charged with possession of property stolen from the city lifeguard headquarters, part of which was briefly overrun during the Aug. 31 riot.

The two juveniles were arrested at their schools Monday. One, a Huntington Beach resident, is charged with arson and rioting while the second, from Los Alamitos, was arrested on suspicion of arson, rioting, vandalism and theft.

Bonkowski said police are attempting to locate another juvenile and are investigating 10 other people.

The city may also organize a team of “monitors” to try to head off problems or report them to police. Panel member Roger Bloom said the monitors would probably be selected by the city’s Youth Board from local high schools.

Next year’s contest should eliminate everything but the surfing, Mandic added. That means such attractions as a beauty contest and skateboarding exhibition should be eliminated.