OP Quits Surfing Contest

Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp. has withdrawn its sponsorship from the classic Huntington Beach surfing contest that has worn its name for most of the past two decades.

The Irvine surf-wear maker reportedly backed out in a dispute over management of the OP Pro Am surf contest. Executives could not be reached for comment late Monday.

Ocean Pacific, one of the oldest and best-known surf-wear brands in Southern California, helped start the Huntington Beach surf contest in 1982. It dropped its sponsorship in 1996, but returned last year.

The event, which attracted 44 of the world’s top professional surfers last year, will be renamed and will be backed by Panasonic ShockWave and Irvine surf-wear maker Gotcha International L.L.P., said Ian Cairns, the contest coordinator.

The companies will pay the $800,000 sponsorship fee that Ocean Pacific had been picking up, Cairns said. The contest costs about $1.25 million a year to put on.

Cairns said Ocean Pacific offered to back the event if he would allow Petersen Publishing Co., the specialty magazine giant headquartered in Los Angeles, to take over his rights to the contest. When Cairns rejected the deal, Ocean Pacific backed out.

“They just got very into the idea, very committed to Petersen,” Cairns said. The company publishes more than 100 magazines, many aimed at a young, active readership.

Cairns said the revamped contest will run for two weeks this summer and will combine surfing with extreme sports, including skateboarding, in-line skating and biking.