‘World-Class’ Surf Open Is Trouble-Free : Recreation: Contest softens the memory of July 4 melee, riot at 1986 Op Pro, officials say.

As the U.S. Open of Surfing drew to a close Sunday, organizers were calling the inaugural event that attracted more than 130,000 spectators to the city pier a success that helped rewrite history.

“I believe that this contest will (dispel) the bad image that surfing has had here since the violence in 1986,” said Graham Cassidy, executive director of the Huntington Beach-based Assn. of Surfing Professionals, which coordinates surfing’s world tour.

Lifeguards and police reported no trouble related to the weeklong contest, which followed on the heels of the 13th Annual Op Pro Surfing Championship. City officials had been anxious over possible violence after a July 4 melee downtown that ended in more than 100 arrests. Organizers were especially concerned about security, remembering Labor Day in 1986, when a riot erupted after an Op Pro surfing contest.

Neither city officials nor promoters wanted another blot on surfing’s reputation in the debut of the U.S. Open of Surfing, a bigger event than the Op Pro.

“We wanted this event to be of world-class caliber and safe enough so people could bring their families,” said Don Meek, an executive for Prime Ticket Network, which produced the U.S. Open.

Although Meek said he was “a little disappointed” with the paid attendance, he declared the event a success because it came off smoothly and attracted worldwide attention.

About 175 journalists and representatives from 70 media outlets, covered it. They included Sports Illustrated, TV Guide, MTV Sports and “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” which featured former world champion Kelly Slater.

“Media coverage was just excellent,” said Huntington Beach lifeguard Capt. Bill Richardson. “I think I saw more Page 1 photos of surfers than I saw soccer players from the recent World Cup.”

For Alison Trebby, a 13-year-old from Nantucket, Mass., who spent Sunday in the grandstand with her twin, Alex, and cousin, James Stephenson, 18, of Irvine, it was a chance to root for Slater, a pro surfer and teen-age hunk from Florida, who finished second in the contest to San Clemente’s Shane Beschen.

“It’s my first visit to the West Coast,” Trebby said, her eyes trailing a young man in a tank top with a four-foot brown-and-black pet snake draped around his neck and shoulders. “Hmmmm. Things are slower in Nantucket.”

All three enjoyed free grandstand tickets from a KROQ radio booth and other giveaways at a beach expo behind the grandstand, including such items as a music tape of the surfing movie “Endless Summer II” and issues of Rolling Stone and Surfing magazines.

“This has been fun,” Stephenson said. “I brought them to the beach because (Alex) surfs in Nantucket and he had heard about this contest from reading his surfing magazines.”

Bob Coyle, 37, an insurance broker from Huntington Beach, said he doesn’t surf or body board.

“Why am I here? Well, you can only watch a lot of golf on TV today,” said Coyle, who joined his friend, Jeff Morin, 33, sitting in the stands. Instead of TV, they watched several female sunbathers clad in tiny swimsuits. “Hey, the day is beautiful. And, part of the attraction is the nice view you get here at the beach in many respects.”

Dean Harrell, 23, and Dena Greco, 21, who are from Monroe, Conn., said they decided to vacation in Southern California during the U.S. Open of Surfing.

“Dean used to live in Australia and body board and he really wanted to see this,” Greco said.

They were part of a large crowd Sunday that reminded a few city officials of the huge crowds the Op Pro surfing contest attracted in the mid-1980s. Then, crowds of more than 300,000 during five days of competition were routine, with 60,000 on the weekends, Richardson said .

“We had a great crowd for today’s surfing contest,” he said. “We’ve had no problems that we know of related to this event. Some minor things downtown. But we couldn’t be more pleased with the U.S. Open of Surfing.”

“It’s really boosted business in downtown Huntington Beach,” said Mike Abdelmuti, owner of Jack’s Surfboards. “Personally, business is 30% higher than normal. We wish we had this every single year.”

Abdelmuti’s best sellers were U.S. Open of Surfing souvenir sweat shirts at $31.95 and T-shirts at $14.95.

Steve Hawk, editor of the San Clemente-based Surfer Magazine, praised the U.S. Open as an “unprecedented, organizational success.”

But Hawk wished the finals were being held in better surf. While Huntington Beach has consistent surf, afternoon winds alter and degrade wave conditions.

“From a purist’s point of view, they should have held this event where the best waves in Southern California are, and that’s at Trestles” in northern San Diego County, Hawk said. “But sponsors always need to get the parking lot full (to make money) and you can’t get a lot of people at Trestles. I give Don Meek all the credit. It’s been a great event; everything has run like clockwork.”

The beach expo was interesting, Richardson said. And, he noted, this tented conglomeration of about 60 retailers hawking everything from T-shirts to music tapes added another dimension. “Instead of people getting bored sitting in the stands during a break in the action,” Richardson said, “they could just cruise in the expo area, pick up things for free. It helps keep people busy and entertained.”

Has surfing finally paid up for the ’86 riot?

“That riot,” Cassidy said, “has been like a sin that we’ve had to pay penance for. This was an inaugural event, and it drew the die-hards, those who follow surfing. With Prime Ticket, we have a five-year agreement to hold the event in Huntington Beach. I think the huge crowds are going to be back.”

Times correspondent Martin Miller contributed to this report.

* KEY MANEUVERING

Shane Beschen of San Clemente wins U.S. Open contest. C1