Surf contest city

Mike Sciacca

Seth Matson and a few lucky surfers have just returned from a trip to

Cabo San Lucas.

Actually, those surfers were more than lucky. They showed enough

talent during the course of the 2000 Huntington Beach Pro/Am Surf Series

to become the ratings points leaders in their respective divisions, thus

earning the trip to Cabo.

Besides the free trip, the best reward for those surfers were the 4-

to 6-foot waves they surfed in Cabo.

“We had a great time,” Matson said. “The waves were great and the

weather was awesome. A good time was had by all.”

Now, it’s back to work for Matson, who diligently is putting together

the fifth event of the 2001 Huntington Beach Pro/Am Surf Series,

scheduled for this weekend at the south side of the Huntington Beach

Pier.

As the event’s director, Matson runs Orange County’s largest pro/am

surfing event.

This weekend, pro and amateur surfers from across the country will

have a chance to test their skills against California’s top surfers.

“This is our biggest event of the year,” Matson said. “July is always

a blast. With warm water and tons of people on the pier, this is an

excellent chance for some of the hottest surfers in California to

showcase their talents all weekend long.”

The series, now in its seventh season, offers competitors up to

$50,000 in prizes and giveaways. Every surfer that competes receives a

complimentary T-shirt. Surfers who make it to the final round of

competition receive a custom-made trophy and a bag of prizes.

The contests feature up to 200 professional and amateur surfers of all

ages and genders. These two-day events include the following divisions:

Super Groms’ (11 and under); Boys’ (12-14); Juniors’ (15-17); Mens’

(18-28); Masters’ (29 and up); Longboarding (Open); Womens’ (Open);

Pro/Am (Open) and XS City Airshow.

The series is sanctioned by the United States Surfing Federation, and

the top four surfers overall in October will be eligible to surf in the

USSF Championships in July 2002.

The series also offers the opportunity for pro surfers to win up to

$2,000 at all double-rated events. In addition, the first-place overall

rated surfer in the Pro/Am division will win a round-trip ticket to

Indonesia, as well as a $750 Ron Jon Surf Shop gift certificate.

Huntington Beach’s Jeff Deffenbaugh, the 2000 Pro/Am ratings winner,

currently is enjoying his spoils in Indonesia.

“Summertime is here, and the Pro/Am Surf Series is the first big

contest to be held in Huntington Beach this summer,” Matson said. “It’s

somewhat of a prelude to this month’s U.S. Open. We have a lot of the

pros coming down to our event, looking to put in a good showing in

preparation for the U.S. Open.”

Amateur surfers will compete on Saturday. They will surf in four-man

heats, with the top two waves being scored and the top two competitors

advancing. The level of competition will increase throughout the day as

the top competitors move ahead, leading up to the semifinals and finals

on Saturday afternoon.

Pro/Am and Airshow surfers (amateurs are allowed to compete against

the professionals) compete on Sunday, with the same criteria as the

amateur event. Surfing will continue all day Sunday, culminating with the

finals.

Following Sunday’s finals, an awards ceremony will be held on the

beach behind the main scaffolding. In addition, the traditional

Huntington Beach Surf Series raffle -- which includes the giveaway of a

brand new, custom ELETIC surfboard, a Hurley wetsuit, Sector 9 skate

board and much more -- will be held.

Raffle tickets are $1 and the first $30 of each raffle is donated to

the Surfrider Foundation.

Remaining Huntington Beach Pro/Am Surf Series contest dates are Aug.

11-12, Sept. 15-16 and the championship finals on Oct. 27-28.

“I encourage everybody to come out and have a great day at the beach,”

Matson added. “There should be plenty of sunshine and some great surfing

to take in.”