Joe Surf: ‘Jammin’ at the Jetty Sixties’ was a unique contest

When someone says “surf contest,� most people might think of the U.S. Open of Surfing, the big-money, sponsor-heavy competition held on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier every summer.

On the other end of the spectrum are the surf contests like the one held last weekend at the Bolsa Chica inlet.

The contest was called “Jammin’ at the Jetty Sixties,� held in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Bolsa Chica inlet, with proceeds from the contest going to the Bolsa Chica Conservancy.

And yes, there were sponsors of the event, but they did so in an effort to help the cause and should be commended. They include Quiksilver, Huntington Surf & Sport, AES, Pacific Kitchen and the State Parks of California.

Jammin’ at the Jetty Sixties was the second stop in the Triple Crown of Retro surf series. The first one held in July was “Surfside Seventies� and the final contest to be held in October is the Bud Llamas HB Eighties contest.

What made Jammin’ unique was its format. There were no elimination rounds. Everybody surfed two rounds with their best single score from each round totaled to give a final score.

And there’s more: each surfer had to bring their own original 1960s longboard on which to surf.

There were good longboard waves that day, two to three feet, with Shane Jones coming away with the contest title. Jeremy Guilmette took second place, Justin Hugron took third and T.J. Ridings was fourth.

There were also special awards given out: Best Ride went to Jones; Best Noseride went to Guilmette; Best Sixties Style went to Ridings; and Best Board went to the Chuck Dent Seal Beach era.

Since it is a three-event series, there will be an overall winner. Through the first two contests, Hugron, who won the Surfside Seventies contest, is the points leader.

SUPER SLATER

I pretty much was ready to write off Kelly Slater to retirement after this year’s World Surf League World Championship Tour.

He was ranked 19th overall in the world rankings through the first six events and besides an equal-third place finish in Fiji, wasn’t really in contention to win any contest. And besides, Slater, now 44, has been putting a lot of time into his various business ventures, most notably with his Kelly Slater Wave Co.

But then Chopes happened.

Also known as Teahupo’o on the south west coast of Tahiti, it was the site of contest No. 7 on the WCT, the Billabong Pro Tahiti, which finished up last week. Slater not only won it, he won it in record-setting fashion.

In Round 5 while matched up against Hawaii’s Keanu Asing, Slater had a perfect heat of 20 points, scoring a 10 on each of his two scoring waves. It was just the ninth time in 40 years of the WCT that a surfer has had a perfect heat, and Slater has three of them.

Slater still had work to do, but ultimately worked his way into the final, where he beat Hawaii’s John John Florence. It was Slater’s first contest victory in 21/2 years, when he also beat Florence in the final, that one at Pipeline in Hawaii in 2013.

“When I look back that will for sure be one of the best wins I have ever had,� Slater told worldsurfleague.com. “To have John John in the final is a dream for me. It is no secret that I am towards the tail-end of my career. John John and Gabriel [Medina] are on their way up and those guys are just monsters.

“John John is all of ours’ favorite surfer, so I want to see how many heats I can get with him before I am done and to have him out here where he and Gabriel are the favorites. This is a really special time for me. I am stoked.�

The contest win moved Slater up to No. 8 in the world rankings while Florence’s second-place finish moved him up to No. 1.

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JOE HAAKENSON is a Huntington Beach-based sports writer and editor. He may be reached at [email protected].