Event Leads into Independence Day Weekend in Surf City USAT
Huntington Beach, Calif., June 15, 2005 - The second annual Surfing America USA Championships presented by SIMA will bring top amateur surfers from across the United States to Huntington Beach, California, June 27-July 2, to compete for a USA championship title and the chance to represent the United States as part of the 2005 USA Surf Team.
Hosted by Surfing America, the National Governing Body (NGB) for the sport of surfing in the United States, and presented by the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA), the contest will draw 360 of the best amateur athletes in America from five regional member organizations: Eastern Surfing Association (ESA), Hawaii Amateur Surfing Association (HASA), National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA), Texas Gulf Surfing Association (TGSA) and Western Surfing Association (WSA). The athletes will compete in nine categories: open men's, open women's, boys under 18, girls under 18, boys under 16, girls under 16, boys under 14, open long board and open body board for USA championships titles and 36 coveted spots on the official USA Surf Team that will represent the United States at the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Junior Championships hosted by Surfing America in Huntington Beach in October 2005.
"What better time and place to celebrate the best up-and-coming surf talent in the United States than leading up to Independence Day in Surf City USATM," said Mike Gerard, executive director of Surfing America. "Our goal at Surfing America is to advance competitive surfing in the U.S., so we'd like to express our extreme gratitude to SIMA, our member organizations, industry sponsors and partners as well as the City of Huntington Beach for an unprecedented collaboration to help us build momentum for growth right here in our own back yard. "
"SIMA sees the USA Championships as a tremendous platform for the surf industry to show their collective support of the development of young competitive surfers in America," said Dick Baker, SIMA president and president of apparel maker Op. "SIMA is proud of the progress Surfing America and the USA Surf Team have made since last spring and we look forward to supporting this prestigious event for years to come."
After receiving NGB status by the ISA in March of 2004, Surfing America hosted its inaugural Championships and USA Surf Team selection in Huntington Beach last summer. The Team's junior athletes (short boarders under 18 years old) then traveled to Tahiti for the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships where they secured an impressive silver medal, a huge improvement from the USA Team's 19th-place finish just eight short months earlier. The purpose of the USA Surf Team is to train and develop young, exceptionally talented surfers in the U.S. as well as to assist them in building their portfolio and bridging the gap to a future career as a professional surfer.
Surfing America aims to grow the sport of surfing in America with the help of the industry and the cooperation of its member organizations. In just more than one year since receiving its NGB status, the organization has created the infrastructure necessary to bring the existing organizations together and to establish a strong USA Surf Team. SIMA has partnered with Surfing America as the presenting sponsor for the Surfing America USA Championships. Additionally, seven major industry brands (and SIMA members) - Billabong, Body Glove, O'Neill, OP, Quiksilver, Reef and Rip Curl - and eight surf media partners - Fuel TV, Surfer, Surfing, SG, Surfline, Surf Life for Women, Transworld Business and Transworld Surf - have stepped up in an extraordinary show of unity to support Surfing America, sponsoring the event and the USA Surf Team.
