Taking a historic ride

Mike Sciacca

The crowd and competitors were psyched, the swells were sometimes

swell and through it all, one thing became certain Saturday: the

legacy of a rich surfing culture and heritage here in Huntington

Beach gained some added luster.

At 11 a.m. that day, the first live telecast of a surf contest in

the history of the sport was broadcast from Surf City, as ESPN and

ABC Sports carried coverage of The Game, the surfing competition that

was part of the 2004 X Games X action sports package.

A year after its inception, The Game, which pitted an all-star

team from the East Coast against one from the West Coast, came back

bigger and better than its predecessor, also held at Huntington

Beach.

The results, however, were the same, as the East Coast posted a

97.03-90.02 victory.

Fans and spectators jammed the grandstands, the beachfront on the

south side of the pier and the top of the pier to watch the big

event, which came one week after the U.S. Open of Surfing. The

turnout was a big improvement over the inaugural “The Game.”

“We had a bigger crowd, more participants and it turned out to be

an incredible success, really,” said Jeff Cutler, vice president of

the National Surf League, which created The Game.Cutler was relieved

to see things run smoothly on Saturday.

“At our dress rehearsal on Friday, we had everything in place,

from cameras to the competitors, but we weren’t quite ‘on’,” he said.

“That’s what dress rehearsals are for, because by the time we went on

the air Saturday, everything fell into place.”

The Game format features a team concept and is played over a

standard four quarters.

Each quarter allowed a team -- composed of four surfers per

quarter -- a 12-minute heat, the use of two-minute timeout periods

and a five-minute paddle out at the outset of each quarter.

Each surfer was scored on his single best wave, as opposed to last

year’s best two-wave score.

New this year was the implementation of four cameras -- one on

each surfer in the water.

Also new, Cutler said, was having two surfers per heat “miked” for

sound, which added another layer to the competition.

Back again was the “Fly Cam,” which was hoisted high over the

surfers and traveled by cable from the south lifeguard tower on

shore, to the main lifeguard tower on the pier. It was used to catch

the action from above.

Also back was the use of a jumbo big-screen television, posted

under the lifeguard tower on the pier, which gave live updates.

The East Coast team was made up of 2004 U.S. Open men’s winner Taj

Burrow, 2003 U.S. Open men’s winner Cory Lopez, brothers Damien and

C.J. Hobgood, Dean Randazzo, six-time world champion Kelly Slater,

Asher Nolan, Aaron Cormican, Peter Mendia and Bryan Hewitson.

The West Coast squad was composed of Andy Irons, Shane Beschen,

Jason “Ratboy” Collins, Taylor Knox, Mike Losness, Pat O’Connell,

Dane Reynolds, Tim Curran, Rob Machado and Nate Yeomans.

The competitors seemed to thrive on the team concept, but the

first quarter swells favored the East Coast, which surfed first. The

West Coast surfers experienced a lull in their half of the first

quarter.

“This year it was a pure competition, but it was a bit

frustrating,” said O’Connell, one of the Orange County surfers on the

West Coast team. “It’s the age-old thing where it’s not always an

even playing field. They got the early swells, and we didn’t.”

O’Connell participated in last year’s game and said the second

time around was even better -- despite another West Coast loss and

lack of support by Mother Nature.

“This was definitely twice as good,” he said. “Things went more

quickly and smoothly, which made it fast and exciting for not only

us, but for the crowd as well. And, without a doubt, it’s great to be

part of making history with the first televised surf event.”

Kyle LaPane, 26, of Dallas, and his girlfriend, Emily Moynihan,

20, of Tulsa, were vacationing in Southern California and came to

Surf City Saturday specifically to see “The Game.” The couple was

among the throng standing and sitting along the beachfront south of

the pier.

“We definitely wanted to come out here to see this,” said LaPane,

who grew up in Placentia and said that Machado was his favorite

surfer. “Growing up out here, I’d come to the beach here in

Huntington. I think this game is an awesome idea and it’s great to

see so many people come out here and support surfing.”

Moynihan, who said that Slater was her favorite surfer, said she

watched last year’s event on a tape delay.

“I think the team format makes it pretty easy to understand and it

makes it interesting and exciting to watch,” she said. “Having

watched it on TV last year, I now have a better understanding of

what’s going on out here. It’s great to see it live.”