This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Good Vibrations Felt at Laguna Surf Contest

The 11th annual Laguna Beach Spring Surfabout brought together surfers in seven divisions, but everyone from the community to the competitors were the big winners.

By Mariam Jehangir

Many in the Laguna community kicked off the long Memorial Day weekend by gathering at Thalia Beach Saturday for a day of competitive surfing at the 11th Annual Spring Surfabout.

The competition, sponsored by Laguna Surf and Sport Shop, had operated on-and-off under various names for decades in Laguna until some locals decided to revive it more than a decade ago.

Find out what's happening in Laguna Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One of the organizers of the event, Jason Watson, explained that he and friend Steven Chew took the reins 11 years ago and renamed the competition, “The Spring Fever Surfabout.” The initial idea was to allow for movement of the contest if the conditions were better elsewhere, but Watson said Thalia has become a cherished and valuable spot due to the consistency of its swells and popularity in the local surfing community.

Since its revival, the Surfabout has grown quite a reputation and following in the community. As Watson put it, “Once you’ve done it one time, unless you’re outta town, you’re back here next year.”

Find out what's happening in Laguna Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The contest, which began at 9 a.m. and finished at 5:20 p.m. with an award ceremony that wrapped up around 7:30, had seven different divisions: elementary; Thurston, which is Laguna’s only middle school; high school; age 19-34; age 35-and-older; professionals; and girls. All contestants were Laguna Beach residents.

While this may be a competitive event in nature, underneath all of that the event serves as a means to bring the community together.

Throughout the day the organizers, spectators, competitors, their friends and families, and even other surfers who weren’t part of the contest greeted each other with hugs, chatted among themselves, joked around, cheered on the surfers and even trash-talked each other a little bit.

Many in the crowd cited this aspect of the competition as the most valuable.

“Well, I think it’s great that they do these community events. It’s fun for the kids to all come down together, be part of a contest, have fun and have a little competition,” commented Peter Nielson, father of Penn Nielson, one of the competitors in the Thurston Division. Penn was a first-timer in this competition, although he had previously done a few other surfing competitions.

A regular, Noah Garret, from the high school division, who works at Laguna Surf and Sport and has competed in the Surfabout multiple times, echoed Nielson’s feelings.

“It means a lot to me because it brings the community together and we all get to enjoy surfing together on our favorite break,” he said.

As for the way the day unfolded, the first surfers--the elementary division--went out first when the conditions were not very favorable. However, as the day progressed the conditions improved considerably. Daniel Madrigal, a surfer in the pro-division who later placed as runner-up, said it was a fortunate day and that the conditions provided for a fun time.

This fun time included music, a live Mariachi band that entertained and aroused the crowd during the finals, a seemingly endless supply of refreshing drinks provided by Laguna Surf and Sport and a high level of energy level throughout the day.

The day culminated at the awards ceremony at a nearby restaurant, where the winners were announced. All who placed were given gifts that ranged from brand-name sporting goods from different sponsors to plaques, money and trophies.

The winners were:

Women’s Division - Alisa Cairns

Elementary Division - Bobby Gavin

Thurston Division - Dante Madrigal

High School Division - Adam Redding-Kaufman

Adult (19-34) Division - Alex “Goggles” Mattingley

Legends (35+) Division - Chad Mitchell

Pro Division - Hans Hagen, whose winning trophy will be displayed at the Laguna Surf and Sport shop along with his name all year.

In the words of pro-finalist Eric “Frog” Nelson, The Spring Surfabout “is a day when boys become men and the men can act as kids.”

But let’s not forget the great women surfers, too. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?