Beach Games Crowds in Huntington Beach

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There's a mass of people at the US Open of Surfing and Beach Games final days that fall on a Saturday an Sunday in Huntington Beach, California.  Free stuff is given away such as plastic bags, Frisbees, posters with autographs and small stuff, plus a few drawings for skateboards and other items. With over 100,000 estimated people crowding into one small area, there's lots of dust, sand and people moving every which way. It really is a festive, fun atmosphere if you like crowds. But if you don't like them, you should not go there.

Competitors' home countries: U.S., Australia,  Brazil,  France, Great Britain, Japan,  New Zealand, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Africa and Spain.

 

A typical day at the US Open includes this basic schedule that's been used more or less in recent years. Please be sure to check the calendar of events for updates.

 US Open Surf City / Surfers competing / Womens competition / Target Womens Junior Pro /   Event / Surfboard World Record

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HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – Surf, sun, boards and bikes all converge at the famed Huntington Beach Pier. California’s quintessential action sport and lifestyle festival showcases professional surfing, skateboarding, BMX, FMX and beach volleyball competitions along with live music amid America’s largest ocean-front exposition. Attendance is expected to record of 500,000 spectators.

With a colorful history dating back to 1959, the U.S. Open of Surfing boasts North America’s only six-star World Qualifying Series-rated men’s and women’s events. The addition of an all-new women’s junior pro (ages 19 and under) compliments the existing men’s junior pro and longboarding divisions, and star-studded expression session. Cash prizes totaling $185,000 are on the line for what has been described as the  world’s largest professional surfing competition. 

Prior event champions include Andy Irons, Kelly Slater, Cory Lopez, Sunny Garcia and Rob Machado. Against the backdrop of 12 acres of action-packed activities for all ages, Freestyle Moto-Cross (FMX) fuels the Bank of the West Beach Games for the second consecutive year, electrifying crowds with daredevil double-seat grabs, cliffhangers and gravity-defying backflips. A custom-built course, within a stones throw of the Pacific Ocean, allows spectators to be within a few feet of top FMX stars, which included Brian Deegan and Tommy Clowers in ’04. A slew of BMX superheroes and skateboard stars battle in The Bank of the West Soul Bowl, a unique action sports competition apparatus that combines the core or “soulful” elements and history of pool riding with the freestyle and modern attributes of half-pipe competition.

Thousands of spectators will watch bands, surfing contests, bowl games, and participate in a variety of interactive sports and products areas.

Past bands include Hoobastank, Lit and Ozomatli. IMG Marketing has held the contract and promoted the event in recent years.