Huntington Beach to Host Surfing Doubleheader Feb. 8-10

Shoe City Pro and Toyota USA Surfing Prime Series 

Huntington Beach, Calif. (February 7, 2018) – Surf City will host a surfing doubleheader this week starting with Friday’s USA Surfing sanctioned, Shoe City Pro, and ending with the Toyota USA Surfing’s Prime Series presented by Got Milk? More than 100 of the best under 18 surfers from across the nation are registered to compete in the Prime Series, with a handful taking on the all-ages Shoe City Pro. Both competitions will co-locate and share top judges, computer scoring and announcers. The heat draws and schedules are posted here.
 
Surf City is the sixth of nine stops in the elite, cross-country Prime Series competition. You can check out the results from the fifth stop at Santa Cruz's Steamer Lane here. The invite-only Prime Series is a competition among surfers who placed highest in regional competitions held by USA Surfing’s affiliate organizations – the Western Surfing Association, Eastern Surfing Association, National Scholastic Surfing Association and Texas Gulf Surfing Association. 
 
USA Surfing’s Prime Series was created to bridge the gap young surfers experience when making the jump to the bigger leagues of surfing, including a position on the USA Surfing national teams, the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series, the WSL Championship Tour and potentially the Olympic Games. The Prime format provides surfers with an experience similar to WSL pro events with professional WSL/ISA judges and announcers, four-person heats using priority, computer scoring live on the STACT App and instant replay for the judges. Participation and wins at each Prime Series event earn points that cumulatively determine national rankings and a chance to compete at national championships for positions on the national USA Surfing teams.
 
USA Surfing CEO Greg Cruse said he is stoked to have a new partner -- RISE Brewing Co. in Huntington Beach to support the Prime Series. RISE will provide its signature nitro cold-brewed coffee and rad gear. “RISE Brewing Co. is such a smart, progressive crew making big waves in the market,” Cruse said. “Our surfers like the drink and it tastes amazing.”
 
RISE Brewing Co. co-founder Jarrett McGovern said he looks forward to watching USA Surfing’s elite athletes bring their best to Surf City, USA. "RISE Brewing Co. is proud to support those who are dedicated, passionate and fearless in their relentless pursuit to ride the perfect wave,” McGovern said.
 
Several current WSL pro surfers honed their competitive skills through USA Surfing’s Prime Series, which celebrates its 10thanniversary this year.Sixteen-year-old Caroline Marks, currently ranked No. 6 in the WSL, qualified for the Championship Tour while still competing in the Prime Series. Other greats include No. 2 Lakey Peterson, 2018 US Open champions Courtney Conlogue and Kanoa Igarashi, Conner Coffin, Kolohe Andino, and Griffin Colapinto.
 
The U.S. is developing a strong pipeline of talent that is becoming the envy of the world. “These are the athletes that show great promise for future Olympic Games -- 2024 in Paris and 2028 in Los Angeles,” Cruse said. 
 
The Toyota USA Surfing Prime Series continues in venues across the country including: 

• March 9 – 12, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event and East Coast Junior Team Training – New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
• March 30 – 31, 2019 - USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – Church San Onofre State Beach, CA
• May 4 – 5, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – West Coast location TBD

 
The series culminates with USA Surfing Championships in June – the pinnacle competition with 250 of the nation’s top surfers competing for national titles and spots on the USA Surfing team at one of the world’s best surf breaks – Lower Trestles.  
 
Contact: becky (at) usasurfing (dot) org
USA Surfing is the National Governing Body for surfing in the United States, recognized by the International Surfing Association (ISA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). USA Surfing’s mission is to promote and grow the sport of surfing and support United States athletes of all backgrounds to achieve sustained competitive excellence in Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American competition. USA Surfing will oversee and support America’s Olympic team as surfing makes its debut in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and surfing and stand-up paddleboarding athletes compete in the 2019 Pan American Games.