Robb Proves Even a Teenager Can Be a Successful Surfer

Richard Robb had that look on his face. The kind of look a father might have after trying to wake up his son to mow the lawn.

In Robb’s case, however, there was no lawn to be mowed, but there was a quarterfinal heat to be surfed. And his son is Kalani Robb, who is ranked fifth in the world of professional surfing.

“I tried to get him up this morning, but after so many times of trying to get him out of bed, I just gave up,” Robb said Sunday. “I finally said, ‘If he’s going to miss his heat, so be it. I’m just going to get my coffee and go.’ ”

His son made his heat on time, but he didn’t advance to the semifinals of the AirTouch Pro Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach.

Listening to Robb’s lament was former world champion Peter Townend, who also happens to be vice president of marketing for Rusty Surfboard’s and Apparel, Kalani’s main sponsor.

“Well, you know, he is still kind of young and he’s learning,” Townend said.

But the elder Robb didn’t accept any of that. He spoke like an upset dad.

“That just doesn’t work anymore,” Robb said. “I told him he should get here a couple of hours before he surfs. Check out the conditions. . . . Instead, he gets here 30 minutes before his heat. He has to get focused and start concentrating on the contest.”

At 19, Kalani Robb is the wunderkind of surfing. And as the youngest surfer on the World Championship Tour his resume reads more like that of a seasoned veteran rather than a teenager from Hawaii.

He was named the 1995 Rookie of the Year by the Assn. of Surfing Professionals, the 1994 Rookie of the Year by the Bud Surf Tour and was also named the World Junior Champion in amateur surfing. And earlier in the year, Robb was ranked second behind world champion Kelly Slater.

For Robb, it’s still hard to take in. After all, not long ago he thought being a professional surfer was getting lots of stickers.

“It was Rob Machado who was probably the most inspirational,” Robb said. “He talked to me after a surfing contest. We talked for a long time. He’s the one who told me about all the other stuff about professional surfing. He’s the one who really got me thinking hard about it.”

Robb has come a long way from those early years when he saw professional surfing as a way to have lots of fun, but he is still learning there are many facets to the sport. Such as interviews.

“Yeah, I said some things that I shouldn’t have said,” Robb said about a recent magazine article. “It was about my sponsors. I got into a lot of trouble about that.”

“He’s learning,” Townend said, smiling. “And Richard is right about Kalani. He is 19, he’ll be 20 soon. Kelly Slater was a world champion when he was 20. So his age shouldn’t be a factor anymore. But beyond that, he has the potential to be one of the greats.”

Said Richard Robb: “He has to learn to be accountable for what he says or does. Hopefully he’ll learn that soon.”

Kalani Robb prides himself on being a Hawaiian surfer. For him, there’s no question that the Islands produce champions. “I don’t want to take anything away from the American surfers. I mean there’s Slater, Taylor Knox and Rob Machado, but I think, overall, the best surfers come from Hawaii.”

“This is one of the bigger contests for me,” Robb said. “I want to do really well. But I really like to come to California. I have lots of friends here, so I enjoy making the stop.”

Notes:

In addition to Kalani Robb, the world’s best surfers will be competing in the U.S. Open. In addition to world champion Kelly Slater and Lisa Andersen, some of the top men competing will be 1996 AirTouch Pro champion Kaipo Jaquias (Hawaii), Shane Beschen (San Clemente), Rob Machado (Cardiff), Sunny Garcia (Hawaii), Nathan Webster (Australia), Taylor Knox (Carlsbad) and Victor Ribas (Brazil). For the women, top Australians Layne Beachley, who won the AirTouch Pro last week, and U.S. Open defending champion Neridah Falconer; Lynette MacKenzie; Pauline Menczer and Rochelle Ballard (Hawaii).

Women will be competing in bodyboarding for the first time at the U.S. Open. . . . In longboarding, Joel Tudor, who won the AirTouch Pro last week, will be defending his U.S. Open title.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

U.S. Open Surfing

* What: U.S. Open of Surfing.

* Where: South side of the Huntington Beach Pier (Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway).

* When: Today through Sunday.

* Format: Assn. of Surfing Professionals man-on-man, with an overall purse of $150,000.

* Events: Men’s and women’s surfing, men’s and women’s bodyboarding and longboarding.

* Web site: https://www.

usopenofsurfing.com

* Cost: Free