Surfing with the juniors

The Quiksilver International Surfing Assn. World Junior Surfing Championships is going big time in Surf City this week on the south side of the Huntington Pier.

Surfers from 27 countries are competing. They are from Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Equador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Tahiti, the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Venezuela. And Hawaii has a team of its own.

The surf has been up since the start of the event last Sunday. There’ve been three- to seven-foot-plus waves with good shape and killer glassy conditions.

The International Surfing Assn. was founded back in 1964, and the juniors division was started in 1980. This competition of goodwill brings all the countries together for a big surf-out.

So far the U.S. squad in the 18-and-under division has been led by the ripping of San Clemente’s Tanner Gudauskas and Dane Ward and Oxnard’s Nick Rozsa. The three are keeping the team up in the standings.

The Aussies have a tough team too, with Thomas Wimmer ripping up some heats. The Hawaiians have a great team with Mason Ho, Casey Brown and Dustin Payne putting in some outstanding performances.

Japan’s Toru Hayashi and Tahiti’s Heiari Williams have won heats as well.

In the boys’ 16-and-under division, in the early goings, standouts for the U.S. squad have been Jeff Lukasik and Hunter Heverly. Impressive surfing has been turned in by the Australians David Carr and Jamie Skilling, plus South Africa’s Kyle Beach, Japan’s Kento Takashi and the ripping Hawaiian’s Clay Marzo, Tonino Benson and “The Lone” Granger Larsen.

In the 18-and-under girls’ division, the U.S. team had a great opening round, with all advancing. Newport Beach’s Erica Hosseini, East Coasters Karina Petroni and Connie Arias and Santa Ana’s Courtney Conlogue are all tearing it up.

Other standouts in the 16-and-under division were Hawaii’s Co Co Ho and Carissa Moore and Australian Stephine Gilmore.

The United States team is being coached by former world champ Peter Townend, originally form Australia but living here in H.B. for some years. He knows his stuff and could bring home a medal or two in this tough competition of the world’s best.

The International Surfing Assn. is led by Brazilian Fernando Aguerre, a likable guy who knows how to run a good show -- he has been reelected five times. The group’s membership includes the national governing bodies of more than 50 countries on six continents and is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

Could be a future world champ out there competing this week, with the finals this weekend and another swell forecast. It sounds good.

Sad news: Larry “Flame” Moore, 57, legendary photo editor for Surfing magazine for an incredible thirty years, passed away last Monday of brain cancer.

Flame, who got his nickname because of his bright red hair, was a top-notch photographer in the Orange County area for years and will be greatly missed.

One of his favorite places to shoot was Salt Creek, where he put numerous surfers on the cover of the mag, a prestigious place to be.

There’s an National Scholastic Surfing Association Explorer Season at Oceanside this weekend, and a few of the locals will try to make some finals.

See ya, Fig over and out.

* RICK FIGNETTI is an nine-time West Coast champion, has announced the U.S. Open of Surfing the last 12 years and has been the KROQ-FM surfologist for the last 18 years, doing morning surf reports. He owns a surf shop on Main Street. You can reach him at (714) 536-1058.

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