Huntington Beach Rides Crest

There was a proclamation from President Clinton honoring the competitors. A U.S. Marine Corps marching band paraded down Main Street. Then came the surfers, 600 of them from three dozen nations, competing this month in the World Surfing Games.

It was a fine week for Huntington Beach, location of the games. And if surfing does become an Olympic sport--admittedly, a long shot--the community that calls itself Surf City will have gained a spot in history as the location that showed the International Olympic Committee it could be done.

The IOC sent a representative to Huntington Beach to watch the goings-on earlier this month. One much-admired touch was the Sands of the Nations. Fernando Aguerre, chairman of the International Surfing Assn. and a promoter of getting the sport into the Olympics, had a representative from each nation empty a jar of sand from a beach in the home country into a large clear container. Some sand was white; some brown; some black. Corny though it sounds, the blending of the sands worked well, promoting a sense of camaraderie among the competition.

There were a few surprises during the weeklong event. Who knew Switzerland had surfers? It’s a landlocked nation, a distant commute from an ocean. It turned out snowboarding is big in Switzerland, as are surfing-style clothes. So a few hardy souls have decided to give surfing a try. Eight people came from Switzerland to compete.

A special tribute is owed the Colombian team. U.S. Customs agents punctured the team members’ surfboards as they entered the country. “Apparently they thought that anybody from Colombia must be carrying drugs,” one team member said. Team Colombia consisted of an engineer, a music teacher, a student and an interior designer. Members had no sponsor; the manager sold his car to raise money for plane tickets. That’s dedication.

Fog briefly hampered some of the events, but not the spirits of the surfers or the tens of thousands of spectators. Huntington Beach did a good job hosting the event, which was won by the United States, followed by Brazil and Australia. The World Surfing Games should be welcomed back to Orange County any time.