VENTURA : Cold Water Surfers Plunge Into Contest

So what if the U. S. Cold Water Body Surfing Championships didn’t garner any national attention? Saturday’s event in Ventura--which attracted competitors from Santa Cruz to San Diego--went on without all the pageantry of big-time surfboard competitions.

And so what if nary a corporate brewing sponsor was on hand to inflate Goliath-sized beer-can balloons or stuff the event’s prize-money coffers. In fact, there wasn’t any prize money. And beyond the 70 competitors, a few friends and family members, there weren’t many spectators either.

Never mind.

The spirited bunch of surfers began competing at 6:30 a.m. in the goose-bump-raising, 55-degree waters near the South Jetty of Ventura Harbor.

Hosted by the Ventura-based South Jetty Swells Body Surfing Assn., the 15th annual championship is one of half a dozen similar events held each year in California. Though the circuit’s legion of competitors is small, they are passionate about their sport.

“The crowd is sort of small, but everybody up and down the coast is like a big family,” said Bill Dohn of Ventura, a member of the South Jetty Swells group, who organized this year’s championship. “We don’t have a professional tour, but we see a lot of familiar faces.”

One of those faces belonged to 65-year-old Jerry Cunningham of Manhattan Beach, a retired director of the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches. He was the oldest surfer in Saturday’s competition. Competing in the 55-and-over division, Cunningham left the waters after his final round with warmth on his mind. “I had fun--and that’s what this is all about--but now it’s time to go sit in the car and turn the heater on,” Cunningham said.

Surfers were divided into seven divisions: six age groups for the males--starting with 12 to 17 years--and a single, all-age women’s division. Each group entered the water separately for two 15-minute heats, compiling points for each successfully performed maneuver.

Wearing wet suits as protection against the frigid ocean, competitors skimmed the water’s surface, twisting and turning, at times diving below the water, performing moves such as the “Outrigger,” the “Dolphin,” “Spinners,” the “Sub” and the little-performed “Nixon.”

In the “Nixon,” the surfer rides the wave chest first with arms held straight out, both hands flashing the peace sign and cheeks puffed out.

“That one is for showing off,” said competitor Tish Denevan, 36, of Santa Cruz. David Ford, 18, of Ojai, won in the 18-to-24 age group. Mike Karcis of Ventura beat out the competition in the 25-to-34 age category.

John Shearer, 37, of Manhattan Beach, who won in the 35-to-44 age group, went on to claim the title of grand champion in a final showdown against all the division winners.