DUCT TAPE 19 from San Onofre Surf Co. on Vimeo.
The US Open of Surfing comes up around the same time every year right in the middle of summer. Throngs of people head to Huntington Beach to marvel at pros and amateurs. It’s an exciting combination of skating, surfing and free stuff, from dawn to dusk- the scene can be quite a sensory over load.
The initial heats had their challenges- high tide kicked off the event with pretty few waves, which became even more difficult later with afternoon onshore winds.
Summer Richley stood out with her impeccable style and poise on the nose, making it to the next round. Avalon Gall also shredded her way into the semis.
Kevin Skvarna also pulled out some incredible tricks to get himself through the quarters, semis and land a spot in the final!
Every heat was so stacked it could have been a final. With the likes of Andy Nieblas, David Arganda, Troy Mothershead, Justin Quintal, Alex Knost, Tom Payne, Zach Flores, Kani Stewart… I think you get the point. Newly added to the Duct Tape event (and surfing incredibly well!) were Ian Gottron and Alek Rockrise, holding their own in the four man heats. Gottron made a semi-final finish.
The women were truly awe-inspiring. The quarters and semis were pretty jumbled up conditions, but that didn’t stop them from posting stylish tens and displaying impressive flow. Most of the invitees were California-based (Erin Ashley, Jen Smith, Hallie Rohr, Makala Smith, Karina Rozunko and Mele Saili to name a few), but the Hawaiians prevailed with Kelis Kaleeopa, Honolua Blomfield, along with first-timers Kirra Seale and Haley Otto. These girls killed it. The waves by Finals Day were much bigger and heavier, but that didn’t stop these ladies from shooting the pier, nose riding on huge faces and doing massive floaters.
The Men’s Final followed it up with some jaw-dropping waves, every wave was head high or overhead. The heat was super closely matched however in the end, Justin Quintal (no stranger to winning a Duct Tape) had the biggest and most impressive. Justin, Andy, Kevin and Troy definitely put on a great show for us all.