Diabetes Doesn’t Keep Camacho Ashore

While most of the men and women in the U.S. Open of Surfing are trying to reach the championship finals, Kris Camacho is glad he’s able to compete.

A diabetic since he was a child, Camacho’s daily routine includes blood tests, insulin shots and surfing.

“You get used to it. You just go on with your life and do the best you can,” said Camacho, who competed Tuesday in the Op Juniors. “Surfing has been good for me. It not only keeps me active, but it helps me deal with things and my diet.”

Camacho, 19, won his first heat but failed to advance to the third round after just missing a second-place finish in what was the toughest heat of the day.

Competing in a surf contest at Salt Creek in Dana Point last year, Camacho had a few scary moments when his blood sugar dropped.

“I sometimes forget things when I get excited,” Camacho said. “I was waiting all day for my heat so I was pretty nervous and excited. Well, I forgot to eat and drink the right stuff so my blood sugar dropped. After awhile, I laid down and was getting pretty groggy. A friend of mine noticed that I wasn’t looking right so she called for help and it ended up that an ambulance had to come and take me to the hospital.”

Camacho said he was more embarrassed than worried after the incident. But it taught him about how he needs to monitor his diet more closely.

Camacho, a graduate of Calvary Chapel High School, is looking forward to turning pro after this year.

“I went to college and was taking 17 units, but school was interfering too much with my surfing so I thought it would be best to drop out of school for now,” Camacho said. “With the backing of my parents, I decided to give professional surfing a shot. I figure I’ll give it a couple of years and make a decision then.”

Some of the county surfers who advanced to the third round of the juniors were Danny Nichols and Ryan Turner of Huntington Beach and Chris Ward and Michael Losness of San Clemente. Losness won the men’s open of the National Scholastic Surfing Assn.’s last month at Lower Trestles.

In the third round of the men’s trials, Brad Dougherty of Newport Beach, Maikai Makena of Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach’s Jessie Evans, Ben Will and Bron Heussenstamm advanced to the fourth round.

In the first round of the Wahine trials, Sunny Glasser of San Clemente and Alison Arvizu of Huntington Beach advanced to the second round. Arvizu also is a standout tennis player and has just finished her freshman year at Iowa State, where she was attending on a tennis scholarship.

Notes

The absence of former world champion Derek Ho turned out to be a misunderstanding. “He wasn’t really entered in the U.S. Open,” said his mother, Joeine Ho. “He’s actually here [in Huntington Beach] and he’ll be surfing the Op Pro next week.” Ho injured his knee surfing last year and required reconstructive surgery. Ho has been slowly getting back into competition. . . . Surfing continues today with the fourth round of the men’s trials at 7 a.m. and finishing with the sixth round, which starts at 12:20 p.m. The second round of the Wahine trials begin at 3 p.m. and the third round of the Op Junior starts at 4:20 p.m.

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Surfing Contest

* What: U.S. Open of Surfing

* When: Today-Sunday. Surfing begins at 7 a.m. each day and ends at 5 p.m.

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

* Today’s schedule: 7 a.m.--men’s trials Round 4; 9:40--men’s trials Round 5; 12:20 p.m.--men’s trials Round 6; 3--Wahine trials Round 2; 4:20--Op Junior Round 3.

* Parking: Paid parking in lots by the pier and in the downtown area.

* Information: (714) 366-4584

* Web site: https://www.surflink.com