More surf contests headed for Huntington Beach Pier area

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- A group of residents, surfers and city officials

agreed to open the shore around Huntington Beach Pier to more aquatic

contests and highlight local competitions.

The Citizen’s Surfing Advisory Committee -- an informal collection of

marine safety officials, promoters and surfers -- agreed Nov. 1 that more

competitions are needed at the pier to serve local youth and provide an

outlet for Surf City’s professional surfers.

The committee approved the addition of two more pier-sidecontests for

the Huntington Beach Pro/Am Surf Series, which will double the series’

number of events at the pier.

“I’m really happy because two years ago we were able to have five

events at the pier, and I see this as a way of getting some of those

back,” said Seth Matson, who started the event six years ago.

With more contests, the series will get an extra event each six-month

period, and the local competition will help support city surfers, Matson

said.

The schedules for the surf series and other contests were cut back two

years ago when local surfers complained that promoters were holding too

many competitions at the pier. That year, marine safety officials said

there were 55 events at the pier that kept out recreational surfers.

At that time, promoters, residents and city officials met to create an

event policy to limit pier-side surfing competitions to once a month on

the south side of the pier.

“There should be some due consideration for the adult surfers in this

community who work Monday through Friday,” said resident Gerry Catarina

during the Nov. 1 meeting. “The weekends are the only days we have to go

to the beach, and we don’t want any more closures for competitions.”

During competitions, the water around the pier is closed for about 250

yards between Lifeguard Tower No. 3 and the pier, although it can be

less, depending on the event.

Steve Seim, the city’s marine safety division chief who presided over

the committee meeting, said the surf series’ additional competitions will

fit into the 1998 surf contest policy because the National Scholastic

Surfing Assn. uses only four of its six allocated pier contests per year.

“What it means next year is two extra events, totaling four days of

water closures for competing surfers,” Seim said, adding that the purpose

of annual committee meetings is to find a compromise. “Our policy also

allows us to give priority to events put on by and for Huntington Beach

residents, which Seth is.”

Some surfing officials said that while there were too many events

before the policy went into effect, 12 annual events may be too few. Seim

said it may take a few years to refine the policy.