All photos
The South Bay Scholastic Surfing Association’s Annual Kick-Off Classic commenced on the south side of the Hermosa Beach Pier last Saturday, bringing out all of the top high school surfers in the area. The surf stayed in the two to three foot range with morning jazzy and glassy conditions.
“It was a fun day that was very contestable,” said Chris Wells, head judge. “With the changing of the tides, the surf got a bit dumpy by noon and by the finals onshore — making it a challenge.”
A lot of new faces and names were seen advancing throughout the event.
“The contestant was a future testament to this year, youth,” said Dickie O’Reilly, league director. “There were a lot of freshmen and sophomores in the semis and finals division — pretty cool!”
O’Reilly took the helm of SBSSA three years ago. Five years ago, the South Bay Boardrider’s Club launched. As Wells noted, both contest series have nurtured youth surf talent locally.
“Many of these freshman and sophomores grew up surfing the SBSSA, starting from micro-grom, being mentored and coached along the way,” said Wells. “The relationship between the SBSSA and the SBBC, guiding our kids, is something the powerhouse high school surf teams and communities up and down the coast have been doing for over a decade. The future looks good for the South Bay surf scene.”
In the bodyboard final, Jared Martinez carried the North High flag as the highest placing Saxon. He finished 3rd with a killer el rollo. Mira Costa teammates Cooper Garner and Luc Jacquemetton battled for the rebounding right off the pier. Jacquemetton won with a 360 with Garner finishing second.
The boys and girls under 19 were two divisions of the Hermosa Beach Hotdogger Championship longboard contest — held three weeks prior at the same location — that stood out. The local longboard community is continually growing, honoring surfing’s past while simultaneously advancing. This was again in evidence Saturday.
Alicia Stephan of PV High has been improving every contest she’s surfed. In the SBSSA girls longboard division she placed 3rd with a solid right and a killer bottom turn. Redondo Union’s Kelly Haraka’s practice ground is the south side of Redondo Beach Pier and her performance shows it. Haraka placed second. Mira Costa’s Amelie Vergnolle won the division with great command of her Dan Cobley shape.
“Amelie has a 50/50 style of noseridering and turns,” said Wells, adding “She also took some gas on the lower tide during the semis.”
Bran Sprokkereef from South High rounds off a stellar longboard team that’ll give Mira Costa a run for the money. Sprokkereef took to the hotdoggin’ style for second place. Andrew Neal of Mira Costa, a frequent finalist who won 2014 Allstar Meet longboard division as a sophomore, knows how to dangle a few toes of the nose. He hung ten for victory. Redondo’s Joe Dean was one of the new names making his first appearance in the finalist circle, placing third.
The women’s shortboard finals included an onslaught of fresh blood. Freshmen Devin Gracin of Redondo Union grew up across the hall from local surf legend Mike Purpus’ and her style shows. She’s aggressive out in the water, and has picked up Purp’s patent cutback. She placed second. Mira Costa’s Charlotte Sabrina pulls hard on her guitar licks (she recently played Fox’s Good Day LA at Catalina Coffee and Cafe in Redondo Beach) and into barrels. Sabrina took home 3rd. Mira Costa’s Kyra Williams reinforced her school’s dominance by winning the division with an astonishing backhand.
The competition in the men’s shortboard was as tight as possible.
“The judges were blown away this year, and it’s only the first competition,” said Wells. “It was all about getting multiple hits and maneuvers for the high scores.”
Rodney Buck of PV placed third with his lip bouncing antics. Chris Stimpfl of South and Cody Purcell of Mira Costa have been going at for years and faced off again.
“Chris surfed the entire contest very well with equal power and finesse,” said Wells. “Cody, however, got the best of the exchange in the final — blowing his tail out to a tailslide on a set right for an eight.”
Purcell won with a great secondary score while Stimpfl took second.
