The waves of the world

Top teen surfers storm Huntington Beach for the International Surfing Assn. World Junior Surfing Championships.Claudio Barbuzza shot a quick glance toward the shoreline and surveyed the surf, then turned to one of his surfers to offer him some advice.

His tone was even, his message -- delivered in his native tongue, Italian -- firm and direct.

“The Italian team is very excited to be here,” said Barbuzza, coach of the delegation that has come to Surf City to compete at the 2005 Quiksilver International Surfing Assn. World Junior Surfing Championships at the Huntington Beach Pier.

The championships, which began with ceremonies last Saturday, continue today, Friday and Saturday and conclude with finals competition Sunday.

Competition is being held in boys’ under-18 and under-16 divisions, girls’ under-18, and a tag-team event.

As a few of the Italian surfers were preparing for their heats Sunday, Barbuzza, whose English was nearly as fluent as his Italian, stood back and took in the scene.

It was very different, he said, from the surf along their home coast, from beaches in Sardinia to those near Rome and Toscana.

“This is the first time the Italian team has competed in the world junior championships,” said Barbuzza, now in his third year as head coach of his country’s junior team. “The type of waves here are very powerful, not like the ones we see back home.

“This is a very nice experience for our team and for the culture of the sport. We’re very glad to be here.”

The world’s most prestigious junior surfing contest was launched Saturday when more than 250 athletes representing 27 countries marched in the Parade of Nations.

Preceded by the Huntington Beach High School marching band and wearing their team uniforms, athletes marched down the pier, their country’s flags blowing proudly in the autumn breeze.

After parading down to the stage at Pier Plaza, they took part in the Sands of the World ceremony.

Two representatives from each of the 27 teams poured sand from one of their country’s beaches into a specially designed box, creating layers of colored and textured sand. The ceremony symbolized unity and a fraternal spirit.

The team from New Zealand got the crowd revved up with its performance of the country’s traditional haka dance, a war dance in which the words are shouted loudly, accompanied by arm actions and foot-stamping.

Welcoming speeches were given by Fernando Aguerre, president of the International Surfing Assn., Mike Gerard, executive director of Surfing America, and Huntington Beach Mayor Jill Hardy.

Hardy received a special proclamation presented by Surfing America, which proclaimed Huntington Beach the official home of the USA Surf Team.

“This is one of the most amazing events to come to Huntington Beach and one of the coolest events I’ve gotten to go to as mayor,” Hardy said. “Thank you to the ISA and Surfing America for all of their hard work to bring it here.”

Stefan Corbin, 16, and Niall Thomas, 15, two of the surfers from Barbados, walked through the competition site Sunday, carrying their country’s flag. Thomas finished third in his heat Sunday, and Corbin hit the water for his heat on Monday.

“We like it a lot here, although we have had to adjust to the water,” said Corbin, noting that the water temperature was much colder than in Barbados.

“We never use wetsuits back home, just baggy shorts,” he said.

“We’re enjoying all of this. It’s great to see all these countries and all the different athletes.”

The 27 countries participating at the world junior championships are Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hawaii, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Tahiti, United Kingdom, the U.S. and Venezuela.

Surfing begins daily at 8 a.m., and live scoring and streaming video can be seen at www.quiksilver.com/isa.

“There’s nothing like seeing the flags, the colors, the teams and the camaraderie,” Fernando Aguerre said. “We have the best junior surfers from every country here together, and there’s nothing else like it.”20051013io82hiknKENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT(LA)Competitors take part in the Parade of Nations to open the 2005 Quiksilver International Surfing Assn. World Junior Surfing Championships on the pier Saturday. 20051013io82keknKENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT(LA)Members of the U.S. team run a gauntlet of adoring fans as they exit the stage Saturday during opening ceremonies for the international surfing competition. 20051013io82jdknKENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT(LA)Australian Jess Hickson drapes herself in her nation’s flag during the opening ceremonies for the 2005 Quiksilver International Surfing Assn. junior surfing contest on Sunday.