Surfing Rides Again : Seal Beach’s New Attitude Revives Its Championship

It’s surf city again for Seal Beach with the return this weekend of the Seal Beach Surfing Championships--the first since 1978.

After 21 years, the tide has turned in the city, where a new appreciation for the sport by local officials has allowed the event to return. In fact, Seal Beach’s city manager, a council member, the city attorney and U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) will compete in the event’s “City Heat” division, designated for officials only.

“A new generation . . . has brought back the energy,” said a barefoot and wetsuit-donned City Councilman Shawn Boyd, 30.

Boyd was born about the time surfing competitions in Seal Beach were beginning to wind down.

According to former world and U.S. champion surfer Jericho Poppler, 47, city officials over the last two decades “didn’t want the ‘sleazy’ beach surfer types anymore” and consequently discouraged early morning surfing and loitering. The competition continued until city concern over liability in the late 1970s stopped it altogether.

“That’s when people would go out and swim, scratch themselves and sue the city,” said longtime surfer and event organizer Sean Collins. “The city was just guilty of being cautious.”

Lamenting the loss, Collins--a world-renowned wave forecaster--got some friends together and started plotting to resurrect the event. The group was able to absolve the city of its liability with its own insurance coverage, and the surf has been up ever since.

Credit that and a recent resurgence of interest in the sport for this weekend’s turnout of some 260 competitors, from school-aged kids on up. Admission to the event, held on the north side of the Seal Beach pier, is free.

Poppler--pregnant with her fifth child--will surf today, while others, like grandparents Carole and Marvin Westmoreland, will cheer on their grandson, Matthew, 12, in the finals.

Young or old, surfers can wipe out.

“There’s a lot of guys out here losing,” said Collins, who won the event in 1974. “And they’re stoked. Win or lose, everyone’s happy.”

Local merchants were also smiling Saturday.

Nick Zampino--long-time owner of Nick’s, a popular eatery along Main Street--was still serving a late lunch rush Saturday afternoon. “It should have been back a long time ago,” he said from behind his busy register. “Somebody was really asleep at the wheel. It’s really good for business.”

Other restaurants like O’Malley’s on Main and Walt’s Wharf are hoping the event will bring new faces to the area.

“You might not see the customers today, but you might later after they discover Seal Beach,” said John Ryan, of Walt’s Wharf--home of the famous oak-grilled artichoke appetizer.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the local Interval House for Battered Women, The Surfrider Foundation and the Seal Beach Lifeguard Assn.

After near-perfect conditions Saturday--with 4- to 6-foot swells--weather could be a factor for today’s event. But Collins isn’t concerned. “If it’s raining, it won’t matter. The guys are wet anyway.”