Tide Goes Against Surf Competitions

Over the objections of some residents, Newport Beach council members voted unanimously Tuesday to limit to eight the number of surf contests held annually along the city’s most popular stretch of shoreline.

Though the city’s competitive surfing scene is far smaller than that of neighboring Huntington Beach, which hosts international contests, Newport Beach has seen the number of competition requests double to 14 this year from seven in 1997.

Councilman Tod W. Ridgeway said the city hopes to balance surfers’ beach access with the rights of residents, some of whom have complained that contestants are noisy, careless and use backyards as toilets.

“We have about 7 miles of oceanfront, Huntington has 10 to 11 miles, and they don’t have residential adjacent,” Ridgeway said.

Also, he said, the city is responsible for crowd control during a competition and for cleaning up litter afterward, another reason to set limits.

Police Sgt. Mike McDermott said the situation is not critical yet. “Calls are about illegally parked cars, not alcohol,” he said, but officials wanted to act before problems arise.

Under the ordinance approved Tuesday, competitions are banned on Memorial Day and from June 15 through Sept. 10.

The decision was not popular in some circles. Scott Moreland, a surfing coach at Newport Harbor High School and a city surfing instructor for 30 years, said the limits are unfair and will hurt young surfers, many of whom go on to semiprofessional status after competing locally.

“It’s nice to have the contests in your own backyard,” Moreland said. “When you’re surfing your own break, you tend to do better. These contests inspire confidence, discipline and responsibility.”

Said Duke Edukas, co-owner of Surfside Sports, which sponsors several annual contests: “The beach is our baseball field. It’s that much a part of kids’ lives here. It will really hurt the kids in our community. It’s a healthy lifestyle and keeps kids out of trouble.”

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Surfed Out?

Newport Beach hosts between 50 and 150 surfers per competition, which have doubled from 7 in 1997 to 14 this year. Some residents have complained of traffic, crowds and noise from the events.

Number of Surf Contests

1997: 7

1998: 9

1999: 7

2000: 14

2000 Surf Contests*

*--*

Month # of events # weekend days January 1 2 March 2 3 April 1 1 May 3 7 June 3 4 September 1 3 October 2 4 December 1 1

*--*

Source: City of Newport Beach

*approval pending for outstanding events