World Junior Surfing Championships

On Saturday and Sunday, October 8-9, Carolyn, Sara and I attended the 2005 World Junior Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach, California.

Young men and women, 18 and under from 27 countries participated in the competition. The games began with an Olympic-like procession of nations.

More than 300 competitors participated from Australia, Tahiti, Jamaica, Venezuela, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand and other known surfing locales. Surprisingly, they also came from Germany, Ireland, Canada, Italy, France, the UK and other unexpected places.

Hawaii entered a separate team from the US. Here the coach gives some of the younger girls words of encouragement before the competition starts.

Huntington Beach, "Surf City USA," boasts of 340 days of excellent surfing a year. On Sunday, the waves were gnarly, dude.


Competitors were divided into three groups: Boys 18 and under, Boys 16 and under, and Girls 18 and under.



Surfers are sent out in heats of 3 or 4. They have 20 minutes to catch as many waves as possible.

Points are awarded for the difficulty of the wave and the maneuvers and success in riding the wave. A score in the 7 or 8 range is considered excellent.


The totals of each surfer's three best rides are added together.

Whether boys or girls, 10 or 18, they were fantastic surfers. The competiton ends Oct 16. See the competition or final results at www.Quicksilver.com.