U.S. Open of Surfing is a go: what to know about the event’s new dates and format
The buzz on the beach from surf lovers on the sand. The world’s best surfers flying high above the waves, battling it out on the south side of the famed Huntington Beach Pier.
Ready or not, the U.S. Open of Surfing is back.
Long considered one of the largest action-sports festivals in the world, the U.S. Open of Surfing is scheduled to hit the sand and surf in September, organizers announced Wednesday, July 7. But it’s unclear whether the event will have its big festival footprint as it did in previous years.
“I’m beyond excited. It feels kind of like Huntington’s baby,” said Surf City resident and surf photographer Michael Latham, who has been going to the event for the past two decades. “We have the air show and all the other events, but the U.S. Open – to me, that’s Huntington Beach.”
The new dates for this year’s event are Sept. 20 to 26.
The festival and surf contest, like other mega-events that draw big crowds, were canceled last year and organizers waited until now to release details about this year’s event.
Vans, the Costa Mesa brand that has sponsored the event since 2013, has pulled out of this year’s event.
“After careful consideration, we have decided to forgo our support & sponsorship of this year’s US Open as we continue to ensure the health and safety of our employees, athletes, consumers and local community remains our top priority,” said George Pedrick, Brand Communications for Vans, in an e-mail. “As we look towards a brighter future beyond the global pandemic, we look forward to bringing the evolution of the Vans US Open of Surfing to life in 2022 alongside IMG and WSL.”
There’s no word yet from IMG, which has put on the event for years, on a new sponsor or the festival footprint, which typically includes BMX and skate competitions and demos, and booths for promotions and merchandise.
The event will be held later in the year than usual, with the U.S. Open of Surfing typically held from late July into the first week of August.
The surf contest will be part of a new “Challenger Series,” one of four events that bring together the world’s best on the World Championship Tour (or CT) and surfers on the Qualifying Series, the sport’s minor leagues, to battle it out on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.
The series, which starts in Huntington Beach before heading to Portugal, France and Hawaii, is “the ultimate battleground for surfers to showcase their talents for the chance to qualify for the following season of the elite-level Championship Tour (CT),” the World Surf League said in its announcement.
All of the events, including Huntington Beach, are subject to change due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“The health and safety of our athletes, staff, and the local community are of the utmost importance and the WSL has a robust set of procedures in place to keep everyone safe,” the announcement reads. “These plans are unique to each event and include measures like testing for athletes and essential staff, masks and strict physical distancing measures, temperature checks, and minimal personnel on-site.”
Latham, a nurse who has seen coronavirus hospital admissions decline dramatically in recent months, said he feels comfortable with crowds coming back to Huntington Beach, because the outdoors, in the sun, is the best place to hang out.
“That’s the one place everyone has been safe,” he said. “I know it looks like a lot of people are on the sand, but when it’s 90 degrees on the beach, no one is that close to anyone else, despite what it looks like.”
One of his favorite sights is the umbrellas stacked on the sand, and he loves talking to visitors from around the world. But the best part, he said, is seeing top-notch surfing during competition and in practice for the big event.
“I love you can get up in the morning and see the best surfers in the world practicing,” he said, comparing it to watching your favorite football team practice in the pre-season. “You don’t get to get that close to the athletes in any other sport… Everybody is out there, the whole industry is out there surfing. Especially as a photographer, I don’t even know where to point my camera.”
By the end of the week, Latham typically feels burnt out, picking up trash from his lawn and ready for the tourists to go home. But he’s got a new appreciation for the event after it was canceled in 2020.
“I will never complain about it again – just bring it back,” he said with a chuckle.
The event will come on the heels of the new World Surf League Finals held just south of San Clemente, with the top five male and female competitors fighting for a world championship in a one-day event (with a waiting period of Sept. 9 to 17 to ensure good waves).
The Challenger Series events are similar to the six-star format for the Qualifying Series, allowing up-and-coming surfers a chance to earn points to make it onto the next year’s World Tour and also giving top World Tour surfers a safety net if they are in danger of falling out of the top rankings.
The competition field will include 96 men and 64 women – including 34 men and 17 women from the Championship Tour, 58 men and 44 women allocated by the WSL regions, two men’s and women’s World Junior wildcards, and two men’s and one women’s wildcards. Any unused CT spots will become wildcards.
There will be plenty of local surfers to cheer on, like World Tour stand-outs Kolohe Andino and Caroline Marks, who live in San Clemente, or Huntington Beach favorite and two-time U.S. Open champion Kanoa Igarashi, who are all preparing to compete at surfing’s debut in the Tokyo Olympics. Other competitors include Santa Ana surfer Courtney Conlogue, who has previously won the event, and San Clemente’s Griffin Colapinto.
“I’m ecstatic to hear that the world’s best surfers will be back in town for the US Open, at a time that should provide the best waves HB has to offer,” said local surfer Louis Rice. “I love everything about the US Open – the excitement, the many social events, hosting surfers from around the world. I’m looking forward to another great event.”