Day two of the Katin Surf Shop Seal Beach Surfing Championship dawned with warmer temperatures and an offshore breeze – good conditions to exhibit the best surfing in Seal Beach. The vaunted prize at the end of the day? Bragging rights as the best in the city – plus the satisfaction of helping charities in need.

A couple hundred locals from Seal Beach and nearby Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos and Long Beach gathered to support their friends and family for round two of the annual competition. Although the numbers weren’t in, event director and Seal Beach Lifeguard Alex Parton believes the contest brought around 120 competitors - up 20 from last year. Put on by the Seal Beach Lifeguard Association, the Championship raises money through admission fees and donations from local businesses for charity.

On Sunday, the offshore breeze switched direction at about 2 p.m. and the surf changed from clean conditions and slower, fatter waves at high tide to an onshore breeze that increased chop. Masters Shortboard, Masters Longboard, Seniors, and Womens categories were subject to the change in conditions.

 “I’ll just have to get lucky,” said Melanie Bouse as she looked out at the increasingly intermittent sets of waves. Luck and skill were on her side as Bouse ended the day as the women’s champion.

Bouse starting competing in the Championship when she worked for Harbour Surfboards and befriended the other women who compete each year. Unless they meet by chance out on the waves, Bouse said she looks forward to the annual contest to see them again.

Bouse is like most of the surfers in the contest. They don’t shuffle away after their set is over: they stay for the day to watch friends and neighbors catch the next big wave.

“The first day had a little shorter competition than last year, but it’s been picking up,” said Katie Shea, a lifeguard who volunteered for the weekend. “Everyone’s worked to hard to put it together.”

Day one saw opening bouts from each event category: Menahune for ages 11 and under, Grom for 12 to 14, Juniors from 15 to 17, Men’s Shortboard and Longboard are open to any age, Womens open to any age, Masters Shortboard and Longboard 35 to 50, and Seniors 50 and up.

Each surfer is judged on the top two rides out of ten possible per 15-minute set (20 minutes for finals). However, most won’t waste energy trying to go for all ten, said 10-year surf judge Barry Deffenbaugh. The rides are judged on “speed, power, and flow” for shortboards, and the best nose riding for longboards. Although a professional judge in his own right, having judged the US Tour, Deffenbaugh is also the coach for the Huntington Beach High School Surf Team and a board shaper. He ended the weekend taking third place in the Masters Shortboard competition behind notables Chas Wickwire and Chad Wells.

The Katin Championship has its roots in the annual Seal Beach surfing competition that lasted through the 70s and went on hiatus in 1982. The championship was resurrected as the Surfliner Championship in 1999 by local lifeguards Jason Shook, Russ Campbell and Mike Sosenko as well as local community members Sean Collins, Mike Erspamer and Wickwire. Most of these local icons came back to this year’s Championship, as they do every year.

Erspamer said he loves the camaraderie of the community that pulls together for good cause. However, he lamented his final run of the day. “It’s hard to ride a wave when you get no waves,” he said.

“All the sponsors – Shaun Collins, Surfline, Rich Harbor, Bruce Jones … they’re still around and participate every year,” added Espamer. “When the economy’s been bad, they’ve always been there for us.”

Russ Campbell was a lifeguard for Seal Beach for eight years until 1999before leaving to start his own screenprinting shop in Gardena, www.vintagecotton.com. Since helping found the surfing championship, Campbell has attended every year with his family and donated t-shirts or printing for the raffle. He also designed this year’s logo to boot.

The contest drew younger icons, too – like champion surfer Ryan Simmons, who manned a microphone with partner Chad Wells at the announcer’s table giving streaming commentary throughout the day’s 18 events. Simmons grew up in Seal Beach and went to Los Alamitos High School before surfing professionally from 1993-2003, winning the US Tour twice and was ranked 49^th in the world in 2000.

Like Erspamer, Campbell and Simmons, most of the participants know each other through old friends. Chas Wickwire is now a professional board shaper, and donated one of the five boards from local shapers that were raffled off. Wickwire has been friends with Robert Salazar since college, and Salazar’s 11-year-old son Ryan competed in the Championship.

In the Salazar family, surfing is not just passed down, it’s shared To prepare for the championship, Robert and Ryan caught waves during the weekend and twice a week before school. In all, Robert believes the family missed four or five weekends of surfing during the last year.

The Katin Championship usually raises between $2500-$3000 from entry money and donations from local businesses to be split between the Surfrider Foundation and a lucky charity. Although the charity has not been chosen yet, Parton and colleagues will have a brief discussion and name the charity by Monday.

Parton is also interested in organizing to establish a Seal Beach Surfing Hall of Fame, but that project is still in early stages.

Katin Surf Shop Seal Beach Surfing Championship Winners

Women: 

1. Mel Bouse
   connie Hurst
2. Blythe Bejan
3. Angelita Noche

 Seniors

1. Pat Schlick
2. Tres Focht
3. Terry Carmadella
4. Michael Barrett

 Master Longboard

1. Tres Focht
2. Tim Whallen
3. Mark Burke
4. Todd Stockwell

 Masters Shortboard

1. Chas Wickwire
2. Chad Wells
3. Barry Deffenbaugh
4. Troy Bertrand

 Mens Longboard Final

1. TJ Ridings
2. Brock Jones
3. Aaron Garrett
4. Daniel Hernandez

 Juniors

1. Justin Davis
2. Davis Freud
3. Kirk Weissinger
4. Hunter Barrett

Menehunes

1. Sam Wickwire
2. Ryan Salazar
3. Jack Berg
4. Cameron Stockwell

 Mens Shortboard Open

1. Kyle Mcgeary
2. Alex Gullett
3. Kirk Weissinger
4. Chas Wickwire

 Grom

1. Davis Freud
2. Tyler Killeen
3. Kirk Weissinger
4. Jacob Baker