National Surf League | The Game

Times have changed in Santa Cruz. There used to be this crazy anti-contest propaganda car that would show up at contests at Steamer Lane, all graffitied up with comments about how contests and magazines were the downfall of surfing civilization. Sure, the Coldwater Classic went on and everyone had fun and whatnot, but there was always this anti-authoritarian trip happening in the background. Not so much anymore.

Maybe it’s Gerlach’s new "Game" format, pitting teams vs. teams, so people always have something to cheer for (or yell at), but Saturday’s event, the Santa Cruz Stomriders vs. the San Diego Sea Lions, saw all smiles and sunshine lining West Cliff Drive, with nary a protester in sight.

Don’t worry, though — there was no shortage of Santa Cruz weirdness. From the jogging juggler, to the bongo drum-players to the to the man dressed in a gorilla suit to the confused bodyboarder who paddled out with a Mexican wrestling mask — in trunks — during a San Diego heat. He was "escorted" out of the lineup by a very patient Anthony Tashnick, and walked up West Cliff afterwards shouting obscenities at everyone and shaking his wrestling mask. "That’s what happens when cousins marry", was one comment.

But mostly, the action was in the water. The surf was, according to Ger, "the best surf ever seen for a Game". Rippable, overhead waves bounced through the Slot or across Indicators, just begging to be lacerated. And with four team members surfing for 20-minute Quarters, each being judged on their highest-scoring wave, the atmosphere is co-operation, not competition. You want your team member to get the best wave possible, so there’s no silly paddle-battles, hassling or vibing. It’s all fun and, well, games, which is Gerlach’s whole point. "This is not a contest, people," he kept saying. "This is a Game." Right.

So each team has a coach with a megaphone on the cliff and another coach in the lineup with a waterproof walkie-talkie, all making sure their boys get the best waves. "Big Pete, you have priority," the call came from the cliff during the second quarter. "Your last wave was a 3.7"

"Thanks for reminding me," Mel hit the water. Big Pete was pissed, yeah, but more because he didn’t want to let his boys down than any selfish reason. The next wave that reared its head didn’t stand a chance.

Meanwhile, some of audience was philosophizing in between sips of Coors Light down on the rocks. "I guess surfing’s a team sport now, eh?" The crowd answered back with a yell as Kieran Horn absolutely demolished another Slot wave. "Guess so," said the friend.

And after Santa Cruz handily beat the other three California teams earlier in the week — Orange County, Ventura, and Los Angeles, in that order — team spirit was running high on the cliffs for Saturday’s Game. So high in fact, that one Lane local actually threw a handful of tortilla chips at Rob Machado as he came up the stairs, like an irate soccer dad or something. Rob shrugged it off.

No amount of chip throwing would slow San Diego down, however; from Rob’s beautifully executed backside carves to Taylor Knox’s power turns to Benji Weatherly’s light-on-his-feet top turns (he was riding a new Salomon S-Core board), San Diego held a slight edge on Santa Cruz from the beginning. "Everyone’s really passionate about it,’ explained Taylor afterwards. "We all work really well together."

It actually came down to the final Quarter, believe it or not, in a super dramatic finish. SD stand-in Darryl Goodrum got a 4.5 in the final seconds of the top of the fourth quarter, forcing SC to really go for broke. The Stormriders were down and Kieran Horn got a 9.0 on the wave of the day; Santa Cruz were down just 2.5 points. People were cheering and ripping out their hair on the cliff. "GOOOOO!!!!" they’d yell at the slightest hint of a lump. Homer Henard bettered his score to make it a 2.25 game with like 5 minutes left. It was set up to be a Rocky Balboa finish, but alas, Ratboy fell going for it, as
did Noi K, and San Diego stopped Santa Cruz’s run, if only barely.

Kieran Horn, who hadn’t surfed a WQS event in a couple years — and is going to school AND working full time, making him one of the busier pros in the water — won the Most Radical Maneuver award for his surgical gaffs on one particularly lined-up wall. "Our coach Kalu Coletta has been having us do mock Games for the last month," Horn explained. "So we were ready. Plus, with this format, you want try tear the roof off every wave, because only one counts."

Obviously, the rest of the Stormriders understand this; they’re already up 3-1 in this year’s California Cup, while last year they went 1-4. And according to the team, they’re just getting warmed up. "Bring it on," they chanted at the end. "We’ll see you in LA."

FINAL RESULTS, ROUND ONE OF THE QUIKSILVER CALIFORNIA CUP

Santa Cruz Stormriders (97.75) over Orange County Octopus (84.5)
Santa Cruz Stormriders (97.00) over Ventura Pelicanos (90.5)
Santa Cruz Stormriders (94.25) over Los Angeles Arc Angels (75.75)
San Diego Sea Lions (102.5) over Santa Cruz Stormriders (100.25)