World Surfing Games Open With Sandy Tribute

They came from the North Shore of Hawaii and the jungles of Central America. Their hometowns are on islands in the South Pacific, the shores of Southern California and the Alps in Europe. But Saturday they came together to compete.

The World Surfing Games kicked off with a Marine marching band leading a parade of athletes down Main Street in Huntington Beach. The procession of about 600 competitors, whose specialties included surfing, bodyboarding, longboarding and kneeboarding, were cheered by a crowd of more than 10,000.

“I have been to a number of these ceremonies, but this is the first one for surfing,” said International Olympic Committee representative James Easton. “I must say it was different, but I was very impressed with the procedures, in particular, the Sands of the Nations. That was a brilliant move on the part of Fernando [Aguerre].”

Aguerre, chairman of the International Surfing Assn. and the driving force behind trying to get surfing into the Olympics, came up with the idea of the Sands of the Nations three months ago.

As each nation was announced, one person from the team would empty a jar of sand from that country’s respective beach into a large clear container. With the accumulation of the sand, the clear box took on a collage of white, brown and black.

The container of sand was taken to a site near the pier, where it will remain during the competition. The IOC is here to evaluate the event and the sport, which seeks to be a part of the Olympics.

Kim Hamrock, a member of the U.S. team who is from Huntington Beach, was beaming after the ceremony.

“I’m not only honored to be surfing in this contest, but it’s happening in my hometown of Huntington Beach,” Hamrock said. “To be with all these surfers from around the world, it really makes me feel that we’re all one.”

During the ceremony, Joanne Sokolski, deputy chief of protocol for Orange County, read a letter from President Clinton that welcomed surfers to Huntington Beach and wished them well.

Cory Schumacher (San Diego) and Ben Bourgeois (Wilmington, N.C.) won their opening-round heats, as did Brazil’s Tita Tavares. Competition continues today, starting at 8 a.m.