With the 2010 US Open of SurfingNike (with Hurley, Nike 6.0, and Converse) is presenting what is likely one of the most spectacularly produced action sports events so far. Every single detail of the 2010 US Open of Surfing looks right. From the layout of the village, to the music stage, the four live webcasts, the iPhone app, and the Converse mini-park everything is well designed, attractive and functional.
For more of what we’re talking about click here for the photo gallery from the Village, the Surfing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and the Converse Coastal Carnage.
[Update Saturday August 7, 2010: Yesterday, the OC Register updated its story regarding “arrests” at the US Open to reflect the following. “About 94 misdemeanor citations were issued Wednesday during the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, police officials said. . . Four people near the pier and six from the beach and downtown area were also arrested and booked, police spokesman Lt. Russell Reinhart said.]
Huntington Beach Police are apparently being proactive when it comes to crowd management at the US Open of Surfing.
On Wednesday, August 4, 2010 they reportedly arrested 26 cited 94 people “near the pier” in only five hours according to a story in the OC Register.
“We didn’t have a riot or anything, there were just (several) people at the beach,” he said Thursday. . . Lt. Russell Reinhart said the police expect activity at the pier to get “much busier” as the weekend approaches. . . “This happens every year for this surfing contest event,” he said.
They’re not going to let another Op Pro riot go down on their watch. No, sir.
In the round of 48 the US Open of Surfing has finally entered the portion of the contest where we begin recognizing some names. And yes, that makes watching the heats more enjoyable.
Earlier, in the round of 96, Dane Reynolds busted out the highest score of the contest so far in a heat against Nathan Hedge, Rodrigo Dornelles, and David Weare.
Apparently, Dane’s “inverted frontside 360 air on a closeout section, earning a near-perfect 9.87 out of 10 for the single maneuver.” Can’t complain about that.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Reynolds said. “I just rode this board for the first time yesterday and had a fun session on it so I was a little more confident than normal out there. When the first set came through and I didn’t get anything I was kind of worried. It was so grey out there I couldn’t see anything. I was on that wave and thought I was going to do turns but then I saw it was closing out, so it was kind of a hail Mary.”
Watch all this and more from the largest surfing event in the world as the US Open of Surfing continues in Huntington Beach, California all weekend long.
It seems that having an iPhone app has now become one of the check-off items for every well run event. Many, like the US Open of Surfing, are discovering that simply having the app doesn’t mean that the proper info is being distributed on the right channels.
On the surface the free US Open of Surfing app (click here to download it) has everything that an event app should. The opening screen features the following menu: Live, Schedule, News, Videos, Photos, Results, Media, and Shop. Under each of those is another slew of sub menus.
If the movie is even half as good as the poster it will be well worth the trip to Encinitas, California’s world famous La Paloma Theater on Friday July 30, 2010.
With Andy Irons, Andrew Doheny, Fergal Smith, Wade Goodall, and Eric it can’t be bad.
After getting hit and injured by another surfer’s loose board Harry Stoehr of Virginia Beach, Virginia is now suing the owner of the board, Nathaniel Lundstrom for $75,000 saying the injury required getting stitches, paying medical bills and missed time at work, according to a story on HamptonRoads.com.
[Stoehr] contends that Lundstrom was negligent because he was surfing without a leash, which is required by Virginia Beach city code. . . He is seeking $75,000 in damages, plus attorneys’ and experts’ fees. Lundstrom did not respond to a note left at his Virginia Beach home asking for comment on the case. . . Virginia Beach has long had a leash law on the books.
Seems like a it’s going to be a big headache for everyone involved.
Clayton Schulz, a baseball player for the University of North Florida was bitten by a shark while surfing near Jacksonville, Florida’s Seventh Street on Friday July 23. 2010, according to a story on New4jax.com.
“I was hopping back on my board and I felt something grab my foot. All I really feel is teeth,” Schulz said. “It took me a second to kind of process everything, and I yelled to the other guy out there — there was another guy who was out a little bit farther — and I yelled to him, ‘Hey, man, I just got bit.'” . . Schulz was taken to Baptist Beaches Medical Center then flown to Shands. He said doctors put more than 400 stitches in his left foot to repair the damage.
Biologists were quick to point out that the chances of dying from a shark attack are 1 in 3,748,067. But we always wonder what the chances of dying are after being bitten by a shark. That seems like a more relevant metric for surfers.
In our continuing series of local news vs. action sports we present Newport Beach’s Andrew Doheny as he sarcastically decimates the bubble heads on Fox LA’s Good Morning LA via Skype. Nice work, Mr. Doheny.
On Friday, August 6, 2010 Ian “Kanga” Cairns, Stephanie Gilmore (pictured right), and Huntington Beach legend Randy Lewis will join a select crew of surfings greatest names including Laird Hamilton, Mike Doyle, Jack O’Neill, Robert August, Greg Noll, Jericho Poppler, Kelly Slater, Lisa Andersen, Martin Potter, Al Merrick, Shaun Tomson and Rob Machado.
The ceremony begins at 10 AM on August 6, 2010 and is open to the public. Get there early if you want to sit down. Follow the jump for more info. [click to continue…]
