The RC’s Katin Pro/Am Team Challenge presented by Jack’s kicked off under sunny skies and perfect, glassy conditions which maintained throughout the day at the North Side of the Huntington Beach Pier. Big winners for the day included Micah Byrne, Mike Losness and Rob Machado, who claimed the top individual heat scores for the day, respectively. The top four teams to finish the day and emerge as the leading contenders for the team title tomorrow include Darkride Skates, Fox, Hurley and Reef.
“The event really came together,” says Katin Marketing Director Scott Waring. “Nancy brought a lot of spirit to the event. . .glassy conditions all day and high performance surfing. We had a lot of 8s and 9s. When you have those kinds of scores you know the caliber of surfing is at a pretty high level. Everyone is relaxed, enjoying themselves, and not racing after points. They're just cheering on their buddies and having a good time.”
The Darkride team featuring an all-local Huntington Beach contingent of surfers, ironically representing a skateboard brand, saw a near-perfect finish with three first-places and one second-place for a total of 15 points. The unlikely leaders have a team comprised of Micah Byrne, Brandon Tipton, Teddy Navarro and Jesse Evans.
In Heat 7, Micah Byrne claimed the high heat total of the day, 17.93 points out of a possible 20, with three huge frontside turns in the pocket on one of the biggest sets of the day earning four points for the Darkride team. He’ll kick off the day tomorrow in Heat 3 of Round 2 against Eric Geiselman (Fox), Mike Hoisington (O’Quinn) and Austin Ware (Reef).
In Heat 8, Teddy Navarro claimed second with a heat total of 15.43 points, behind the heat winner and second-highest heat total earner of the day with a 17.73, Mike Losness (Reef). Both Jesse Evans in Heat 14 and Brandon Tipton in Heat 15 finished first to secure four more points each and the lead for the Darkride team.
“This is pretty much as good as it gets out here,” says Brandon Tipton, of the Darkride team after securing a solid 15.50 heat total.
Rob Machado made an unexpected appearance in the event today replacing Pat O’Connell in Heat 10 on behalf of Hurley. With a standout performance, Machado nailed two big backside maneuvers and a backside 360 carve earning a solid 8.93. He took the heat win with the third-highest heat total of the day, a 17.26 out of a possible 20. He will face off in Heat 6 of Round 2 tomorrow against Logan Strock (Quiksilver), Kolohe Andino (WSA Prime) and Jason Miller (Surfline).
Young local Kolohe Andino, who was on fire today surfing beyond his years in epic conditions, advanced through Heat 12, is excited to face Machado tomorrow. “I got lucky and got some good waves,” says Andino. “It's pumping. The swell is really producing all over. I have Rob in my next heat tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that.”
The highest wave score of the day, a near-perfect 9.80, came from Jesse Merle-Jones (Fox) for a succession of three massive backside hits in Heat 14. His heat total, a 16.53, wasn’t quite enough to override Jesse Evans (Darkride), who finished first with a heat total of 16.87. Both will re-unite in Heat 9 of Round 2 tomorrow against Nick Rozsa (Reef), a clear standout in Heat 16 today, and Hunter Heverly (Katin).
Based on the individual performances of each of their athletes, the Fox, Hurley and Reef teams came out on top, tied up with 14 points each, just behind Darkride with 15 points. Points are allotted to each individual surfer in each heat; 4 pts for first, 3 pts for second, 2 pts for third and 1 pt for first.
Tomorrow brings the conclusion of the legendary RC’s Katin Pro/Am Team Challenge Presented by Jack’s at the north side of the Huntington Beach Pier. Round 2 will reconvene beginning with Heat 3 at 8 a.m. The Quarterfinals will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by the Semifinals at 12:15 p.m. and the Final at 1:20 p.m. The Awards Ceremony will take place at 2:30 p.m. at Fred’s Mexican Caf.
The RC’s Katin Pro/Am Team Challenge Presented by Jack’s will pay out more than $20,000 in cash and prizes to the top teams and individuals at the end of competition on Wednesday. Featuring an open-draw format of four-man teams, team results will be determined by the placement of individual competitors.
The RC’s Katin Pro/Am Team Challenge Presented by Jack’s is being webcast live for both days of competition with hosts Dave Stanfield and PT Townend featuring live scoring, special guests, online giveaways, instant replays, highlight video clips, and more.
Special thanks to RC’s Katin Pro/Am Team Challenge Presented by Jack’s sponsors including Katin, RC Surfboards, Jack’s, Surfing Magazine, WaveWatch.com, Taco Surf, Fred’s Mexican Caf, Future Fins, Nu-Foam and Oceanaire Sportswear.
WaveWatch.com Forecast for Wed. Jan. 21
Wednesday the WNW swell (285-300) will continue to push through. It may lose a bit of consistency and power as the swell periods drop slightly, but overall it will be very similar to Tuesday. Expect surf mostly in the chest-shoulder high range with some shoulder-head high waves on the bigger sets. Conditions will be clean in the morning with mostly light and variable winds, even light offshore for the dawn patrol. Look for some building onshore NW winds 10-12 knots by the afternoon. Increasing cloudiness and S-SE winds move in late in the evening. www.WaveWatch.com
About Katin
Kanvas by Katin was founded in 1959 by Nancy Katin in Surfside, Calif., when she and her husband Walter transformed a canvas boat cover business into one of the nation’s first surfwear brands, specializing in high quality surf trunks. Currently enjoying a resurgence in interest, today the Katin brand is carried in surf shops and specialty stores throughout the U.S. and worldwide. More information is available at www.katinusa.com and www.katinsurf.com.
About RC Surfboards
Robert Cirac (aka “RC”) originally founded RC Surfboards in Huntington Beach in 1969. With a solid surfing background and a talent for shaping, he quickly became the go-to guy for many top California surfers. Pursuing a need for adventure, he left RC’s to travel the world and venture into many different business endeavors, but 25 years later he returned to the surf industry as a shaper and owner of RC Surfboards and Nu Foam, one of the main surfboard blanks manufacturers and distributors in the world. He has since begun giving back through the RC Surfing Foundation where he plans to build a fund to help the less fortunate young surf lover, either with a dream to become a pro surfer or a master of shaping boards.
About Jack’s
Jack's Surfboards reached a milestone in 2007 celebrating it's 50th year in business. Since 1957, Jack's has built a reputation as an icon in surf retail. It has been the place to go for surf fans around the world to find the newest surf products and clothing labels. Offering a huge selection of surfboards, wetsuits, skateboards, snowboards, apparel and accessories, Jack's is Orange County's premier surf shop.