Top County Pros, Amateurs Due at Newport

Some of Orange County’s top professional and amateur surfers will compete today in an all-day surf contest at Newport Beach. The Gotcha Expression Session, which will be at 56th Street, will focus on “the soulful” aspect of the surfer’s style, said Dan Gershon of Gotcha.

Gershon said the surfers will be judged primarily on maneuvers such as bursting air (getting airborne), floaters (surfing on top of a falling wave) and cut backs (reversing surfing direction on the face of the wave).

Some of the surfers who will be competing include Matt Archbold, Chris Ward, Christian Fletcher, Mark Caffey, Richie Collins, Gavin Beschen, Jay Larsen, James Pribram and Dave Post. In addition, more than 100 amateur surfers will be competing.

The contest begins at 7 a.m. and is expected to end at 5 p.m. The contest site is on the north side of the 56th Street jetty. For more information, call (714) 479-1845.