A Time for Tanned Heroes : Op Pro’s Top Surfers on Display

HUNTINGTON BEACH —  For surf fan Jeanette Lomboy, hearing the public-address system announce the top competitors’ names sent chills up her back.

“First call: Marty Thomas in red and Tom Curren in green,” barked the announcer as the thought of surf hunk Tom Curren hitting the water for his heat brought an “Omigod, it’s Curren!” from Jeanette, a 13-year-old Diamond Bar resident.

“You wanna see my shirt? I spent two days getting autographs of all the surfers,” Jeanette said as she unfurled a white tank top with 25 autographs in ink. The signature of new teen-age heart throb Kelly Slater was part of her collection gathered during the Huntington Beach OP Pro surfing contest.

“Kelly is like sooooo cute!” Jeanette said.

The contest, pro surfing’s premier event, ends today with the semifinals of the men’s $80,000 competition at 10 a.m., and the finals at 12:30 p.m. Women’s events begin at 8 a.m. with semifinals, and finals at 11 a.m.

In years past, the event has weathered both riots and feminists protesting the traditional bikini contests. This year’s gloomy morning clouds, drizzle and dinky, 2-foot waves threatened to keep crowds away until sunshine broke through and bigger waves rolled in on Friday. Today’s surf is expected to have 6-foot breakers.

“On the weekend, you can expect the crowds to grow three to four times their size of what we have today,” security guard John Stevens, 23, said Friday, when an estimated 15,000 people watched the contest.

Huntington Beach Police Officer Guy Dove, who was on duty in 1986 when 40 people were injured in a riot that broke out on Labor Day weekend, said that the crowds “have been really nice.”

“I was here five years ago when they had the riot, and the crowds we have gotten for the OP since then have really been quiet,” said Dove, who patrols the beach on a three-wheeled motorcycle. He was aware of only two alcohol-related arrests at this year’s contest.

For today’s activities, Dove said that police intend to beef up patrols by having at least 30 officers on foot and riding motorcycles.

Defending champion Todd Holland from Cocoa Beach, Fla., said the competition has always been tough for the contest. Holland survived a challenge from Brazilian surfer Victor Ribas on Saturday to face Australian Barton Lynch in today’s semifinals.

“It’s the most prestigious event on the (pro) tour. I’m not surprised at guys like Ribas, because you have 50 of the top surfers in the world competing here,” Holland said.

Ribas, a 19-year-old from Rio de Janeiro, was one of the crowd’s favorites. A professional for less than two years, he knocked out Hawaiian veteran Derek Ho during a heat. The upset victory had spectators, some of them Brazilian nationals, shouting encouragement in Portuguese and cheering wildly for the young surfer.

Ribas’ victory was sweetened by the fact that he was a “trialist,” an unseeded contestant forced to compete in early heats before a chance at the top-seeded surfers.

“This represents a big victory for us Brazilians. With our two other top pro surfers out of the competition, Victor was carrying the Brazilian flag for us,” said Carlos Villela, a Brazilian who lives in San Diego and is a correspondent for the Rio de Janeiro-based Now Surfing Magazine.

Although the national pastime in Brazil is soccer, more than 1 million people surf, Villela said.

At a nearby T-shirt booth, junior lifeguards spent a busy afternoon selling official OP contest shirts for $15, and posters and programs for $2 each. This year, $1 from each T-shirt sold will be donated to help send 17 Huntington Beach junior guards to Australia for an international championship during the Christmas holidays, according to shirt salesman, Blaine Morgan, 14, of Huntington Beach.

Matt Wright, 14, of San Diego, joined two of his teen-age friends who planted themselves outside the contestants’ gate. Each of the young surfers--”grommets” in surfing lingo--was armed with a pen, a camera and a piece of paper to collect autographs from the stars.

Matt said that his two friends cherished their autographs from Kelly Slater. But his favorite surfer is Richie Collins.

“I like Richie because he has a competitive style and he likes to talk to the kids, you know, the young grommets like us,” Matt explained. “He signed his autograph and he asked when was the last time I surfed and how did I do. He remembers what it was like when he was a grommet.”