Shredding SoCal

The Poly Surf team began their first year in the Sea View League with two competitions last week against Millikan and Los Alamitos.

In surfing competitions there are eight heats in which six surfers all compete in individually. The heats include four short boards in the boy’s section, one short board in the girl’s section, one long board for both divisions, and a body board heat. The home team wears red, blue, and yellow rash guard jerseys, while the away team wears orange, green, and white jerseys.

For those who may not be aware of how surfing competitions are judged, surfers compete in a heat for 15 minutes. In the time span, surfers can catch as many waves as they want, but only the top two surfers are scored. The level of surf skill is scored out of ten based on the quality of wave the surfer catches, how well the surfer rides it, and how many turns they can carry out.

The Poly Surf team commenced their first event against Millikan last Monday, October 12, at Poly’s home break in Bolsa Chica in front of tower 23. The waves on Monday proved to be a complication as they reached levels that were a couple feet above the surfer’s heads. Although the Jackrabbits lost the competition to Millikan, Poly surfers were determined to showcase their talents against Los Alamitos.

The next competition against Los Alamitos took place the next day on October 13 in Sunset Beach. This event proved to be a better round for the Jackrabbits as the competitions progressed. Los Alamitos started off by winning the first heat in the boy’s short board with a 12-9 lead leaving the Jackrabbits in second, fourth, and sixth place. Los Alamitos continued to gain higher status than the Jackrabbits in each heat until heat five of one of the boy’s short board division. Poly sophomore Ryan Love, placed first place, which raised Poly’s score by six points in that heat. Senior Chad King placed third, adding an additional four points to Poly’s score. The scores helped the Jackrabbits earn their first win in a heat. Despite this victory, Los Alamitos was still able to surf their way to the top and win the competition.

Fortunately, the two losses are not putting a dent in the Jackrabbit’s determination to get an overall win in the next competition. Senior surfer Zac Cervana hopes to “pick better waves to get the best score” for the Jackrabbits’ next competition in the Sea View League.