On Crest of a Wave Rave

While thousands of people marveled at the professional surfers gliding over Huntington Beach’s waves and others cheered at the extreme bikers and skaters performing aerial tricks on specially built ramps, Brandon Lawson was feeling like a surfer without getting his feet wet.

Lawson, 24, clutched a joystick and stared at a digital screen where he simulated the art of surfing, immersed in a virtual-reality video game. His purple Michael Jordan basketball jersey stood out in Philips’ Digital Beach, a trench of high technology that is a feature of this year’s Philip’s U.S. Open of surfing.

“I felt like I was really surfing,” Lawson said soon after he was wiped out by a virtual wave.

Outside, on the real beach, the ambience was even more surreal. Surfing’s top competitors walked Huntington Beach’s coastal streets with their hair still wet, toting boards in each hand. Scantily clad extreme-sports fans showed off a collage of tattoos and body piercings.

Folk singers, accompanied by guitars, competed with strident punk music on loudspeakers. And masses huddled around the sponsors’ booths, scuffling over free sunglasses and skateboards. More than 20,000 people visited the open Saturday.

The organizers of the annual surfing event strove to be different. This year’s motto: “When action sports, music and technology collide,” said Mike Kingsbury, public relations director for Philips Fusion.

“We combined the history and tradition of surfing with the popularity of extreme sports,” said James Leitz, vice president of IMG X Sports.

Collisions during the event were more than symbolic. About 11:30 a.m., a woman lost control of her car and knocked over a concrete post meant to keep vehicles away from the pier’s pedestrian entrance. No one was hurt. A collision in the skating bowl during the Best Trick competition took 36-year-old skating star Mike Smith out of the contest with a knee injury.

The skating event featured riders in various categories and ranging in age from 24 to 45. It included skaters from countries such as Cuba and Brazil.

“We try to honor the guys from all ages who have been skating for a long time,” said Don Bostick, president of World Cup Skating, which organized the skating event.

While the skaters tried to match each other’s tricks, extreme BMX cyclists sprang from ramps behind the skating competition. The air became part of the stage and the surfing moves were emulated on wheels.

“Surfing is the grandfather of many of the extreme sports,” Leitz said about the similarities in the various open-air events.

Leitz said the organization of this year’s event was more demanding than in years past. The number of sponsors has grown, as have the expectations of the people who swarm to Huntington Beach to view surfing’s premier contest each year.

As the surfing competition concludes today, finesse and experience become more important for the competitors, many of whom view the open as a contest for prestige.

For surfing fan Wes Williams, 19, the greatest expectation was that the event would be “fun.”

U.S. Open defending champion Rob Machado had a message for the crowd: “Thanks for loving the sport and being a part of the surfing world.”