Three local surfers made podium appearances in WSA Girls U14 Shortboard division, Feb. 15-16 at the Huntington Beach Pier. Finalists are (L to R) 1. Alyssa Spencer; 2. Samantha Sibley, San Clemente; 3. Kirra Pinkerton, San Clemente; 4. Tiare Thompson; 5. Cameron Duby, San Juan Capistrano and Gabriella Knudson. Photo by Sheri Crummer
By Andrea Swayne
With only two contests left in the Western Surfing Association regular season, the competition is heating up as surfers scramble for late series points on the hunt for season titles. For many local surfers this end of season push has been a boon to their ratings.
Event No. 7 (of nine) played out Feb. 15-16 at the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier in 2- to 4-foot surf. The contest had more than 400 entries in 24 divisions. With the West Coast Championship looming —May 10-11 at Church Beach—competitors need to ensure they had the required five contests to surf in the WCC and/or the necessary seven events to qualify for season titles. But WSA results aren’t the only thing on the line. Surfers are vying for spots in the Surfing America USA Championships in June and for the 18 and under athletes, good results could mean an invitation to the Surfing America Prime series.
“The end of the season is always fun to watch because everyone is really intense in the lineup, but on the beach we still see the usual good times and camaraderie,” said Mary Lou Drummy, WSA executive director of the San Clemente-based amateur surfing organization. “Even this late we try to keep a nice balance of intensity and good vibes at our events.”
Local surfers occupied more than a third of the podium spots, many taking home trophies in multiple divisions.
Four of the Boys U12 finalists at the Feb. 15-16 WSA event in Huntington Beach are San Clemente residents. Finalists are (L to R) 1. Kade Matson, San Clemente; 2. Jabe Swiercocki; 3. Jett Schilling, San Clemente; 4. Kai McPhillips, San Clemente; 5. Jack Stewart and 6. Hagan Johnson, San Clemente. Photo by Sheri Crummer
Double finalists from San Clemente were Cody Canzoneri (Open Men, Open Men Longboard), Kade Matson (Boys U12, U14), Kei Kobayashi (Boys U16, Open Men) and Kaimana Takayama (Jr. Longboard U18, Open Men Longboard).
Cameron Duby of San Juan Capistrano took home three trophies in Girls U14, U14 Longboard and Open Women Longboard. Triple finalists from San Clemente were: Kirra Pinkerton (Girls U12, U14 and U18), Malia Osterkamp (Girls U16, U18 and Open Women) and Samantha Sibley, who made the finals in Girls U12, U14 and Open Women.
“I’ve improved my mental game a lot and have to keep working on my technique but I feel pretty good going into the last two contests. I think I have a good shot at some titles,” Sibley said. “There’s really good competition, and the girls in U14 especially keep getting better and better. It makes me work harder. I really like surfing WSA because in the water, when it’s on, it’s on. But on the beach is where I’ve met some of my very best friends.”
Event No. 8 is set for March 1-2 in Oceanside and event No. 9 will be March 29-30 at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point. For full schedules, results and ratings, visit www.surfwsa.org.