Lorillard & YM Magazine
Pro Surfing Tour Of America
“Tobacco is Whacko Sweepstakes”
Urban Dynamics, Inc.
Imperial Beach, CA
Event Picture Summary
May 24 – 26, 2002
The Event
* Los Angeles, CA
Imperial Beach, CA
* San Diego, CA
Attractive Venue Location
The Action
The competitors
SURF’S UP IN IMPERIAL BEACH
The Imperial Beach Pro Hosts California’s Best Surfers May 23-26
Imperial Beach, Ca (May 16, 2002) – Home to a proud surfing heritage and committed to supporting the future
of professional surfing in America, the City of Imperial Beach will be hosting the Imperial Beach Pro, the first
major city stop on the Professional Surfing Tour of America’s 2002 season May 23-26.
California’s best professional and amateur surfers will be competing in Men’s Shortboard, Women’s Shortboard
and Longboard events just north of the Imperial Beach Pier and Pier Plaza.
“We are honored to have Imperial Beach as our first major venue in 2002,” said Jeff Grell, executive producer
of the PSTA. “Imperial Beach has a great legacy in the development of modern surfing, starting with its
legendary waterman and lifeguard Dempsey Holder and the renowned big waves of Tijuana Sloughs. ‘IB’ is a
perfect example of the classic Southern California beach town, and the PSTA is excited to keep that tradition
strong.”
The public is encouraged to attend all events. Surfing trials begin at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 23 and
continue to the finals on Sunday, May 26. The awards ceremony will be at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The contest format
features heats of four surfers with the top two advancing. Heats run continuously from approximately 8:00 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m. every day. Top competitors scheduled to appear include 2001 PSTA Tour Champions Ryan
Simmons (Seal Beach, CA), Julia Christian (Carlsbad, CA), and Josh Mohr (Huntington Beach, CA). Each will
don special Paul Mitchell Black Jerseys signifying the number one ranking in their respective divisions.
“Bringing professional surfing back to Imperial Beach is something that our city has wanted for several years
now,” said Barry Johnson, city manager for the City of Imperial Beach. “We have a beautiful coastline and some
of the best waves in California --- add clean beaches and we have a best location to start the Pro Surf Tour.”
The PSTA fills a vital space in professional surfing in the United States, not only by helping to fulfill the dreams
of young surfers who are seeking success on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, but
also by serving as a tour unto its own. The PSTA provides a strong competitive venue for surfers throughout the
United States without leaving American shores.
Official product sponsors include the New Subaru Baja, Paul Mitchell Salon Haircare, Balance Bar, Amtrak’s
Pacific Surfliner (1-800-USA-RAIL), Tobacco is Whacko – Anti- Smoking, YM Magazine, Lorrilard, and the
Outdoor Life Network. Industry sponsors include Surf One, Mountain High Resort, Sticky Bumps, Transworld
Surf Magazine, Peak Sunscreen, and Surf Quest Media.
The Imperial Beach Pro is scheduled to air on Outdoor Life Network on July 1 at 8:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Fans
can access Outdoor Life Network TV air dates and times for their specific region by checking out
www.prosurfingtour.com
The PR
IMPERIAL BEACH WELCOMES RETURN OF PRO SURFING
IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. - After a long hiatus, professional surfing returned to the powerful and underrated beach break of Imperial Beach, mainland America's southwestern-most beach town and
the first stop on the Professional Surfing Tour of America's (PSTA) 2002 season, the Imperial Beach Pro.
This year’s event picks up where the Bud Surf Tour left off in 1994, when Chris Gallagher won an Association of Surfing Professionals’ World Qualifying Series event here. Due to its location in
extreme southern San Diego County, separated from Mexico only by the Tijuana River National Wildlife Refuge, Imperial Beach has never enjoyed the glow of the surfing spotlight like the urban
surfing centers of Orange and North San Diego counties. But I.B. does enjoy consistent, uncrowded surf all year round, thanks to a coastline open to south, west, and northwest swells--the perfect
venue for many of America's finest pro surfers, including PSTA 2001 season champions Ryan Simmons (Men's Shortboard), Julia Christian (Women's) and Josh Mohr (Longboard).
Also on hand on Day 1 of the Men's Shortboard qualifying rounds were former US Surfing Champions Dino Andino, Mike Parsons, and Jeff Hurley, 2001 PSTA Men's Shortboard runner-up Bron
Huessenstamm, along with top competitors Chris Drummy, Sean Hayes, Jason Senn, Jeff Deffenbaugh, Dave Pinto, Micah Byrne, Benji Severson, Dane Reynolds and Imperial Beach's top native
surfing son, Kyle Knox. "This is a return to our surfing heritage," exclaimed Imperial Beach City Manager Barry Johnson, checking the action from the pier. "I.B. has been a surfing town since the
1930s, and we've been to working on having pro surfing return for about three years now. We're stoked to have the PSTA here.“ Clean, chest- to head-high peaks and warm, sunny skies greeted
surfers competing just north of the Imperial Beach Pier. Unseasonable water temperature measuring a chilly 53 degrees F. the day before warmed up a few degrees for the start of the contest.
Reigning PSTA Champion Ryan Simmons wore the customary Paul Mitchell Black Jersey signifying his status heading into the contest. Simmons advanced out of his first heat, taking second behind
hot youngster Darryl Goodrum of Leucadia. "I feel confident in the black jersey," said Simmons, "I've been surfing good and training a lot, so physically I'm there and mentally I'm strong. There was
a lot of anticipation to just get out there and get it done, to just make it through. I'll be more relaxed in the next heat and perform more instead of worrying about my scores.” Simmons recalled
surfing in Imperial Beach's last pro contest nearly a decade ago. "The town seems more modern now, there's more construction going on, and the waves are pretty much how I remember it, kind of
like Oceanside Pier. If you get the right wave, it's fun and rippable." Imperial Beach born-and-bred Kyle Knox also advanced easily out his third round heat. Knox is considered one of California's best
hopes for a career on the elite ASP World Championship Tour. Knox’s success comes despite hailing from a beach town largely ignored by the surfing media. “It seems like the hardest thing in the
world to get photographers down here,” said Knox. “You can get really good shots here all the time, and I have in the past. Growing up here, I drove so many miles to get to all the NSSA (amateur)
contests, and I thank my parents because I put so much mileage on their cars. “I.B. may seem like the far corner of the world,” Knox continued, “and no matter how much it gets publicized, it rarely
gets crowded. There’s always a lot of waves, it gets swells from every direction, and it has the problem of getting too big sometimes. A lot of the guys here are really positive about the contest.
They’re stoked to be surfing a contest in their hometown, it’s a rare treat.” Gene Harris is another Imperial Beach native who used his local knowledge to advance into the third round. Harris, 25,
was first introduced to surfing when his father, surfing pioneer Gene Harris Sr., went surfing at the pier with two-year-old Gene tucked under his arm. Father and son will be performing this weekend
in their band, the Longboard Blues Band. Gene Jr. said he was pleased pro surfing finally returned to his hometown. “The locals here are stoked because it’s bringing everybody together and it’s
making us all cheer for each other. We’re looking forward to more events here in the future because it has a good impact on I.B. I’m looking forward to going as far as I can go in pro surfing, so I’m
grabbing as much as I can get, especially here in my hometown. With the tour being here, it makes it a lot easier for us to further our surfing careers.” Today’s conditions, a mix of west wind swell
and periodic southern hemisphere groundswell, provided a glimpse of I.B. Pier’s signature lefthander coming off the pilings, caused by a permanent sandbar positioned over the wreck of a barge,
and buried pieces of the pier which was partially destroyed during the huge El Niño winter of 1982-83. For the most part, competitors fought each other for position among the series of three peaks
north of the pier, and the occasional long lefthander. A dropping tide and moderate onshore wind made surfing conditions challenging, but spectators were treated to 75-degree sunny skies, an
encouraging prelude to the three-day holiday weekend when the Southern California coast is traditionally plagued with the dreaded “June Gloom.” High heat scores of the day went to Huntington
Beach’s Micah Byrne with a 17.65, and Laguna Beach’s Bron Huessenstam, who registered a 16.75. Other notables advancing were Rip Curl’s Damea Dorsey, also an Imperial Beach native, Mike
Parsons, Dave Pinto, Brandon Tipton, and Pedro Diaz, the ever-cheerful 32-year-old Venezuelan who represents the Latin American surfing contingent along with Brazil’s Eduardo Sapienza.
Tomorrow’s (Sat., May 25) action continues with the Men’s Shortboard quarters, semis and finals, and Longboard qualifying heats. At 4 p.m. the hot San Diego alternative band Honeybucket will
perform a free concert, followed by a screening of the new surf movie, “The Rising,” at 8 p.m. under the stars next to the pier. For a complete rundown of this weekend’s Imperial Beach Pro
schedule, go to http://www.prosurfingtour.com The Imperial Beach Pro will be televised as a half-hour show on the Outdoor Life Network airing this summer.Official event product sponsors include
the new Subaru Baja, Paul Mitchell Salon Haircare, Balance Bar, Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner (1-800-USA-RAIL), YM Magazine, Lorrilard and "Tobacco is Whacko", and Outdoor Life Network. Industry
sponsors include Havaianas, Surf One, Mountain High Resort, Sticky Bumps, Transworld Surf Magazine, Cut 4 Media, Mandero Sports Products, Peak Sunscreen, and Surf Quest Media.
More PR
PSTA is offering surf industry
manufacturers a free test drive
at Oceanside, bring a tent and
a
banner and we will have a
place
for you to set up thursday thru
Sunday. Any cash
contributions
will be added to the prize
purse.
Oceanside Pier Schedule
Oceanside Men's SB results
and
heats for Friday
Oceanside longboard heats
Women's heats will post on
Friday, May 31 jg
Support brands
that
support
America's
Pro surfing
Tour.
Paul Mitchell
Subaru
Balance Bar
Havaianas
WEATHER
UPDATES
Weather Channel
Tropical update
Pacific Satellite
Mexico Satellite
www.prosurfingtour.com
The Venue TV Exposure
The Event Poster
Headquarters and Stage
The teen demographic
The 13 year old demographic at the
Tobacco is Whacko & Subaru
Booth Location 2
The entire family helps sign up their teen sons
and brothers against tobacco!
More crowd participation
at booth location 1 with our samplers
The Winners
The Successful End