SURF COUNTY, USA : SURFWATCH : A Look at How the Pros Compete

Surfers and surfing fans alike will converge on Huntington Beach next week when the best in the sport maneuver through the waves for the Op Pro Surfing Championship, one of the most prestigious stops on the Assn. of Surfing Professionals world tour. The tour offers top pros a variety of challenges, from the monstrous 15-foot waves on Hawaii’s North Shore to the one-to-five-foot sets at the Huntington Beach Pier. The Op Pro is a favorite with surfing’s elite because the pier offers one of the most consistently ridable breaks on the California coast. Below is a breakdown of the ASP’s four judging criteria and a guide to what spectators will see.

The priority buoy requires competitors to map out strategy. Surfers who paddle around the buoy first gain priority on an upcoming wave and can bump another competitor from that wave.

* Wave selection: Choice of waves is a key because it dictates the ability of the surfer to fulfill the other judging criteria. Competitors will opt for the outsider set of waves for their size, shape and potential riding distance.

* Personal style: Judges look for a surfer’s ability to choose the best waves, perform a sequence of maneuvers and ride the waves in a manner that shows personal style and fluidity.

* Maneuvers: The emphasis is on big, explosive moves that bring out the speed and power potential of the surfer. (More detailed maneuvers on graphic at far right.)

* Length of ride: Continuing into the inside section of waves is crucial in scoring. Also, the longer a surfer rides a wave, the more opportunities there are to perform scoring maneuvers.

ASP JUDGING

Judges, who come from all corners of the world, score the top four rides from a maximum of 10 waves to determine the finalists. In the final heat the best five of 15 rides are scored.

THE ANATOMY OF A WAVE

1. The winds blow across the ocean’s surface, raising ripples and then chop.

2. The fetch area, where the wind blows to raise up waves, is at or near the surface and most of the atmospheric energy is transferred to the water by frictional force.

3. After leaving the fetch area, the confused patterns organize into lines of swell.

4. As the swell nears land, the ocean bottom changes the swell’s character and it begins to slow. The shallow bottom then causes the wave to peak and break.

The size of an ocean wave (a.) is measured from the crest (b.) to the trough (c.), which is the lowest point of the wave.

OP PRO EVENT MAP

PARKING: Paid beachfront parking from Huntington to Newport; Lake Street lot east of PCH; State Beach lot northside and free side-street parking north of PCH.

The Huntington Beach Pier plays host to one of the most attended contests in the world. The legend describes the competition site: 1. public seating 2. reserved seating 3. stage 4. officials 5. competitor area 6. media area.

HUNTINGTON BEACH PIER

The Huntington Beach Pier was once one of the best places to watch the contest, but it has been closed since July, 1988, when it was ravaged by storms. An 18-month, $12.8-million project to rebuild the landmark pier will begin shortly after the finish of the Op Pro. The current pier was built in 1914. As much as 150 feet of beach and ocean on either side of the pier will be fenced off during the reconstruction.

Television cameras will record the surfing competition and ESPN will air highlights in three one-hour broadcasts--at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 13; 7 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15; and 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18.

BOARDS USED AT THE OP

Surfboards used by most competitors range from 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-8 in length, are 19 inches wide and weigh about seven pounds.

Length: 6’2” to 6’8”

Costs vary from $375 to $450, but sponsors cover board costs for most of the top pros. Some riders take as many as 10 boards to a contest, whereas some take only one.

UP CLOSE: MANEUVERS

THE CUTBACK

The cutback is a change of direction back toward the breaking section of the wave. The surfer is no longer going with the flow of the wave, he’s confronting it. The cutback is usually a setup move, leading into an off-the-lip maneuver or a slam off the foam, and the idea of combining moves is to end up in the same position on the wave as you began.

THE FLOATER

Newport Beach’s Richie Collins is credited with inventing this maneuver, an often-dangerous trip over the top of a breaking section of the wave. The surfer climbs to the top of the wave and then slides across the top of a tubed section. That’s the easy part. Maintaining balance, surviving the drop back down and turning back up into the face are the hard parts.

AERIALS

A spinoff of skateboarding, aerials are similar to the maneuvers skateboarders perform in pools or bowls. The surfer turns hard off the bottom, speeds up the face of the wave and blasts into the air, hoping to change direction while airborne and prepare for a landing. Staying on the board, of course, is the real trick.

TUBE RIDING

Tube riding requires a good sense of timing more than great athletic ability. Unless the waves are very hollow and perfectly formed, the surfer usually stalls his board and lets the breaking section of the wave catch up to him. Then it’s a matter of maintaining speed, staying tubed . . . and hoping disaster stays a few inches behind.

Design by LYNETTE JOHNSON and THOMAS PENIX / Los Angeles Times