June 15th, South Side Manhattan Beach Pier

All Photos by David Perkins of  perkandpearl.com

With the spikers chasing a predictable rubber ball in in their domain of a 60-foot x 30-foot rectangle at the head of the Manhattan Beach pier, surfers’ took to the unpredictable surf and necessary subjective scoring for the Alpinestars’ contest, “The Foamball.” A rising tide lent to a little more consistency to the knee to chest sized waves and better shape as the water filled in. But the prevailing south wind, like bad hangover breath, refused to go away.

“The day was full of action as surfers enjoyed the summertime waves,” said one of the Event Directors and Alpinestars’ Athlete Relations, Nick Smith, “We were blessed with fun, contestable conditions that held up throughout the entire event.”

In the Surf Chick’s division, Frankie Seely placed second by sitting off to the south and picking off the lefts into the pier with backside snaps. Although surfing great throughout the event, fourth place finisher Aloha Lopez just couldn’t find an open face.

With the high tide, the insiders that had a bit better shaped earlier in the morning were nonexistent and the medium sets were a bit soft. Malia Ward from San Clemente was lightening fast and paddled for every ripple but just couldn’t find the set waves. With fan fare on the pier cheering her on, Natalie Anzivino used her local knowledge to dominate the field for first place. She rode the waves all the way to shore, connecting lines with a series of hits to get into the next section and would end with a radical coaster on the inside.

The under 12-year old division, respectfully named “the Snot-rockets,” placed the prepubescent, pint size surfers in waves sized up for some of the divisions competitors — head-high. Eli Hanneman, the smallest contestant in the event, used his statue to his advantage by finding the littlest crevices for lightening fast snaps to win the heat.

Tony Nunez, who followed Hannenman in the next heat had the backside whack of the heat for second place. Joey Samuelian took third by connecting to the inside shorebreak, where the wave would reform. Fourth place finisher Hayden Millar, rode the same type of waves but couldn’t find the extra push to the shorepound, ending a few waves with a look of disgust.

Hanneman and Nunez both stayed in the water to surf in the Grommets (12-18) final. With the right off the pier starting to open up, Hanneman took advantage with slashes off the top and round house cutbacks into the inside to win the division and a sweet, new surfboard. Nunez followed with second place by pulling a huge floater. Third place finisher Mile Serafica surfed conservatively on the lefts, but the wave were mushing out.

Cody Young surfed the most radically and pulled some of the hottest moves. For the final, the fourth place finisher tried sticking a grab rail slashing 360 but just couldn’t turn the last 90 degrees.

The “dreamers” Open Men’s division was a free for all, connecting all generations in the quest for the $500 prize. Fourth place finisher Eri Silva, with his “I heart Alana Blanchard” sticker on the bottom of his board, got skunked in the most inconsistent heat of the day. Of course, this had to be the final of the main division. Gen Asano had a vertical “12 o’clock” blast, timing the crumbly mushburger perfectly for third place. Second place finisher Cody Young’s taste for innovation paid off as he scored the highest wave of the heat with a  huge hit off the lip. Winning the contest and leaving with a pocket of fresh five hundred dollar bills was Aryn Farris, who squeezed the utter and milked each wave, top to bottom, inside to outside.

“Big thanks to Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, Carver Skateboards, cBob Shoemaker for the killer Body Surfing Handplanes made from repurposed Skateboard decks glassed with Super Sap, Beach Bikes coming through huge, GTI Surfboards for throwing down & Row Apparel for their quality work,” Smith said. “Wouldn’t have been the same without the help of these South Bay companies!”

Kudos to Alpinestars for throwing a stellar, smoothly executed contest with a good size showing of spectators and choosing the picturesque Manhattan Beach Pier as  the contest site. If only the county would wake up and allow more events of this type.

“The Alpinestars crew was stoked at all the talent and thanks everybody who came out to show their support,” he said. “We look forward to next time when the FOAM BALL returns!”

Results, in order of finish

Dreamers: Aryn Farris, Cody Young, Gen Asano, Eri Silva.

Surf Chicks: Natalie Anzivino, Frankie Seely, Malia Ward, Aloha Lopez

Grommets: Eli Hanneman, Tony Nunez, Miles Serafica, Cody Young

Snot Rockets: Eli Hanneman, Tony Nunez, Joey Samuelian, Hayden Millar