US OPEN of Surfing Film Festival

Surfing America introduced the new USA Amateur Surf Team in Huntington Beach, California on December 2, 2004 at the world-famous Huntington Beach Pier.  The team, which went to Tahiti for International Surfing Association's (ISA) Quiksilver Junior World Championships included Bethany Hamilton, the promising 14-year-old surfer from Hanalei, Hawaii, who was attacked by a shark in October 2003 and lost her left arm. 

Another Surf Series organized by Jeff and Barry Deffenbaugh is worth checking out. It includes over $20,000 in prizes and six categories such as Longboard, Masters and Super Groms.

Surfing America was formed as a Huntington Beach-based National Governing Body for surfing competitions for young amateurs. The City of Huntington Beach hosts over 50 days of surfing competitions, not including high school surfing meets that include teams from Edison High School, Huntington Beach High School, Marina High School, Edison High School and Dwyer Middle School.

Huntington Beach hosts so many meets and competitions, in fact, that local surfers met with the City event planners several years ago requesting that the City limit rather than expand the number of competition days. Some of the world's great surfing professionals such as Timmy Turner come from Huntington Beach and use the area north and south of the Huntington Beach Pier for daily practice when not on the road.

Numerous organizations compete in Huntington Beach with nearly every demographic represented. Groups include: HB Wahines, a recently-formed club of ladies and girls who meet regularly to surf; HB Longboard Club is a loose-knit group comprised primarily of those growing up on longboard surfboards; HB Surf Series is a competition for amateur surfers from groms to seniors owned and operated by two Huntington Beach surfing pro brothers, Jeff and Barry Deffenbaugh; Christian Surfers United States and Black Surfing Association are but a few represented in local waters. Other larger organizations include NSA (National Surfing Association); NSSA (National Scholastic Surfing Association); WSA (Western Surfing Association which is changing from USSF-United States Surfing Federation with WRSA or Western Region Surfing Association); NSA (National Surfing League); and ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) with its World Tour. The list of groups and events is daunting, especially for newcomers or casual observers trying to understand competitive surfing.

The recently-formed Surfing America runs the North America Regional Office of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) from its Huntington Beach headquarters and administers the domestic pro surfing events that qualify pro athletes to ASP’s World Championship Tour. Huntington Beach hosts a stop on this world tour event, US Open of Surfing and Beach Games. Stops in the World Championship Tour series are rated with one to six stars.

Organizers of Surfing America designed an athletic development program from the bottom up, creating a framework, selecting teams from the best surfers in the nation and raising sponsorship money to pay for their expenses. Through creation of training standards and endorsement of surf schools, camps and recreation programs, the expressed goal is to build the ultimate USA Surf Team.

Hoping to host a 2005 World Junior Surfing Championships and 2006 World Surfing Games in Huntington Beach, the organizers have made necessary allies for funding and support with industry giants Billabong, Body Glove, O’Neill, OP, Quiksilver, Reef and Rip Curl. From a historical perspective Huntington Beach receives large crowds for surfing events when tied to other sports and entertainment such as skateboarding, BMX and concerts. In recent years, the crown jewel US Open of Surfing has provided a mixed bag with lackluster wave heights and shapes. Unlike Hawaii's Sunset Beach where the waves alone can carry spectator interest, Huntington Beach finds its greatest success in multi-faceted events with Surf Villages, demo booth giveaways and arenas with a variety of sports occurring simultaneously.

Huntington Beach has become known as Surf City as much for its lifestyle of casual, laid-back living and surf-friendly policies that permit wet feet and boards to be parked at local restaurants and shops. Some businesses along the California coast excuse tardiness or absence due to great surfing conditions and jokingly refer to the boardroom as the place where surfboards are kept. Huntington Beach's Surf City is possibly USA's best mainland moniker for the spirit Hawaiians know and love. They call it "Aloha."

Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum, 411 Olive Avenue, Huntington Beach, California 92648  Phone: 714-960-3483

Pictured above is a Surfing Museum volunteer holding a skim board next to the Duke Shrine. On the left is a board with autographs from well known artists such as surf music great Dick Dale. 

Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum contains collections of surfing memorabilia and the culture surrounding this time honored sport believed to be imported to Huntington Beach and California nearly a century ago. Duke Kahanamoku, the Father of Surfing, frequented Huntington Beach, California from Hawaii, introducing surfboards and surfing to the local audience. 

Surfing has taken off and grown into a multi-billion dollar sports industry with products, competitions and clothing. There are over 50 surfing competitions each year in Huntington Beach, plus a Surfing Walk of Fame, Surfers' Hall of Fame and public art honoring surfing.

The Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum is considered one of the best internationally and receives visitors from around the world. The museum is very affordable and includes rotating exhibits (one of our all-time favorites is an electric surfboard.) 

When visiting Huntington Beach, stop by the downtown museum just off Main Street at Olive. The shop contains great surfing items and CDs.  You will not be sorry you made the effort to check it out and discover the heritage, the culture and the current vibe of surfing in California and the world.

Shrine to Duke: The International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach, California, built a shrine to honor the Father of Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku. A statue which used to stand at the base of the Huntington Beach Pier has been relocated and sits inside the museum entrance, surrounded by tropical flowers. Beneath a life-size bust of Duke's smiling face is a plaque. Here is what it says:

DUKE KAHANAMOKU -OLYMPIC SWIMMER, PUBLIC SERVANT, GOOD WILL AMBASSADOR OF THE STATE OF HAWAII, AND CONSIDERED  BY MANY TO BE FATHER OF THE UNITED STATE SURFING MOVEMENT, IN THE EARLY 20'S, THE DUKE SURFED UNDER THIS VERY PIER. SOME FIFTY YEARS LATER HE RETURNED TO THIS COMMUNITY TO HELP PROMOTE THE UNITED STATES SURFBOARD
CHAMPIONSHIPS. FOR FIVE CONSECUTIVE YEARS UNTIL HIS DEATH, THE CHAMPIONSHIPS WERE DEDICATED IN HONOR OF THIS  MAN'S GREAT CONTRIBUTION TO THE SPORT OF SURFING. THE CITIZENS OF HUNTINGTON BEACH HAVE ERECTED THIS MONUMENT AS A TRIBUTE TO THE CHAMPION OF CHAMPION SURFERS. THE IMAGE HE CREATED, THE PRINCIPLE OF FAIR PLAY, AND GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP HE ADVOCATED SHOULD BE  PRESERVED FOR ALL TIME. ALTHOUGH MORTAL MAN HAS LOST THIS RARE HUMAN BEING, HE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED FOR HIS LOVE.  ALOHA
 

Natalie Kotsch, museum founder stands with a collection of boards which include the one-of-a-kind electric surfboard (bottom left.) Spanning over 100 years of surfing history, a scale model collection showcases some of the significant changes in surfboard design from the centuries-old hardwood boards of the Hawaiian Islands to the innovative balsa and foam shapes of the mid-20th Century.