Rip a cutback then call timeout: X Games goes surfing

By RYAN PEARSON
Associated Press Writer

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) Surfers caught air, ripped sick cutbacks then called timeout. They dodged cameramen in fins during 18-minute quarters and ate watermelon at halftime.

Leave it to the X Games to turn the decades-old solo sport of surfing into a quirky new made-for-television contest.

The competition kicked off its latest celebration of skateboarding, motorcycling and other extreme sports by throwing surfing into the mix, pitting East Coast surfers against those from the West Coast in a ``grudge match'' that mixed a basketball-styled format with front-side reverses and slashes.

``It's a totally different way to surf a contest,'' said Kelly Slater, the six-time world champion who lent his star power to the competition.

Over 10,000 people crowded the sun-drenched Huntington Beach Pier, sprawled on the beach and waded into the ocean to watch the three-hour contest that also included well-known professional surfers Rob Machado and Cory Lopez, as well as 17-year-old phenom Dane Reynolds.

Coaches swapped riders from a beach tent ``dugout.'' Normally chill Florida surfers talked trash with Southern California rivals during lulls in the action.

``We're screaming at the judges, yelling at the other team. The West-side fans are on that side, they're screaming at us,'' said Slater, 31. ``That's good stuff.''

Slater's East Coast team roused the typically laid-back Southern California beachgoers with several aerials in the second quarter, and won the matchup 209 points to 188.2.

Nature forced creativity. It took extra effort to pull tricks on the slow-moving 2- to 3-foot swells.

``I wouldn't classify it as extreme,'' Slater said at halftime, gesturing to the puny waves. ``But it's difficult.''

Each team had four surfers in the water and was alotted three timeouts per quarter allowing riders an opportunity to wait out frequent lulls in the waves. Each surfer's top two rides per quarter were judged on a ten-point scale and all scores were combined for the team.

Fans praised the format and surfing's inclusion in the increasingly popular X Games. Some suggested holding the contest next year in Hawaii's far larger pipelines.

``Is this extreme enough? It could be, but this isn't,'' said 25-year-old Serela Kay of Princeton, N.J., dipping her feet in the surf.

The format dubbed ``The Game'' was created by pro surfer Brad Gerlach, a Southern California native. Gerlach said he hoped to make the sport more accessible to fans by folding elements of pro hockey, football and basketball into a surf competition.

``We just tried to design things to where, if you understand football, you can understand this,'' he said.

The first ``The Game'' matchup in November last year pitted Orange County surfers against San Diego surfers. Saturday's contest was the first time pros tried it.

On The Net:

X Games: http://expn.go.com/expn/summerx/2003/index

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)