It was 6:30 morning on Saturday October 22 when South Bay High School Surf League Director John Joseph walked out on the Hermosa Beach Pier to check the waves for the short board event of The Kick-Off Surfing Classic. The fog was thick like a scary werewolf movie set in the eerie bogs ofEngland. John couldn’t see the surf from the beach, so he looked from the pier where he was able to see a couple teenage grommets pick up a shoulder-high set. John turned and said “The contest is on.”
This year’s Kick Off Classic was the largest event in South Bay Surf league history. Thirteen schools and 263 students competed over the two weekends. The shortboard, girls and bodyboading contests were held atTorranceBeachon Saturday, October 15.
Judging a contest with six-man heats can be hard on a clear day because the wet jerseys look the same. The orange looks like dark yellow or a faded red and a faded yellow look white — not to mention confusion over a long sleeve jersey, called the camel, if an extra surfer advances.
But John knew if he postponed it’s hard to reschedule. It was lucky for everyone the fog thinned by the time of the first heat.
John had three areas going at the same time. The waves were so small it would have been hard to surf on long boards, but these surf rats were tearing it up on tiny short boards. I told fellow Kevin Holmes that I didn’t know how they did it. He just smiled and said “It’s easy. You just have to weigh 85 pounds.”
It stayed glassy throughout the contest, becoming shallow, more lined up and increasingly difficult to find a wave that held up for a few turns. Nonetheless, Mira Costa’s Wyatt Boyd’s made a backside blast, followed by 360 on the following wave in the semi-mMain. Costa’s Codee Stamis and Joe Marin smacked the lips down the line racking up the points but Peninsula’s Kevin Pieper got the longest two lefts, hitting the lip into the pier to win the heat for a spot in the finals.
There was only one big area for the finals and none of the six surfers had a clue as to where to catch a decent wave. For some reason, no one tried the rights off the pier, those the highest scores of the day were on those rights. The first three-wave set rolled through and everyone hit the lip and caught a rail or pearled at the bottom leading to more confusion. I felt sorry for them having been there myself. Mira Costa’s Noah Collins went further south to pick up the next set. He found a left and went spanking the lip down the line into the pier.
Costa’s Wyatt Boyd settled into some big front-side and backside coasters while his brother Jared slid into some beautiful floaters. Costa’s Codee Stamis looked hot hitting the lip on a few rights and finished with a big 360. South Torrance’s Ricky Robinson andPeninsula’s Kevin Pieper surfed well, smacking the lip but couldn’t get the long rides they found in their semi-main. Noah Collins picked up another high scoring left hitting the lip harder than the first time to win it.
When it was over Mira Costa had claimed four of the top six spots.
Noah Collins ran up the beach all smiles. I asked him what it was like. Noah said, “It was all right but inconsistent and hard to surf. I was glad I practiced all week after school when it wasn’t any good. I was ready for it and it paid off.”
Results: Noah Collins, Mira Costa, Codee Stamis, Mira Costa, Wyatt Boyd, Mira Costa; Kevin Piper Peninsula; Brad Boyd, Mira Cost and Riley Robinson, South Torrance. ER
