All Ages Compete in International Surf Festival

A surprised Noah Collins, 13, was soaked with water by his friends' water bottles in a champagne-esque victory shower, after being announced the victor of the boy's shortboard 15-and-under surfing championship division at the International Surf Festival Saturday.

The festival was held on the southside of the Hermosa Beach pier this weekend. 

"I surfed all right out there, it's pretty small," Collins said of his surfing and the wave size early on in the contest, before taking control of the competition.  "It's kind of disappointing—it's super hard to do stuff [high scoring manuevers]."  

Despite his qualms with the surf size and quality, Collins was glad to be spending another day at the beach.  

"I just love surfing and it's really fun," he said.

The festival's international competition has been held in the South Bay since 1962. Originally, surfers flocked to the Redondo Beach breakwater, located at Herondo Street, for the event. The event was then discontinued in the early 1980s. 

In the late 1980s the competition remerged and has been held at the Hermosa Beach pier ever since, according to John Joseph, who organizes the International Surf Festival surfing championships. 

During the three-day run of the festival this weekend, a total of 4,000 competitors are expected.  Spectators have been projected to average 40,000 per day this year taking all events into consideration, Joseph said.

Four thousand competitors are expected, and spectators have been projected to average 40,000 per day this year, Joseph said.

These visitors enjoyed watching Quiksilver team rider Kelly Zaun master the tightly contested junior men's shortboard competition division. 

Additionally, competitors in the 46-and-up masters longboard and junior men's longboard divisions featured intricate footwork and "nose rides" on long surfboards that glide more easily over small surf.

"It's awesome to see the younger generations of really good surfers just coming up and doing what I did when I was younger, surfing in every competition possible," said Zaun, a rising star in the surf industry.  "It's awesome to see how much talent is still in the South Bay."