Video: Surfin' Ventura

 
Watch as more than 45 competitors from around the world test their surfing skills at Ventura's Surfers Point during the Ultimate Boarder challenge.
Watch now »

Photos by James Glover II / Star staff Eric McHenry bails out of an aerial while competing in the Ultimate Boarder surf competition at Surfers Point on Wednesday. The contest began with snowboarding and wraps up with skateboarding Saturday in Ventura.

Perhaps a board is a board is a board.

The best wave of the day at Wednesday's Ultimate Boarder competition came not from a surfer, but from a professional snowboarder, Shayne Pospisil. He caught the only barrel wave of the day and pulled a stylish off-the-lip move when he emerged from the tube of crashing water.

Those few seconds put Pospisil, 22, of New Jersey in first place in the event, proving the skills riding one board can translate to the surf, snow or concrete.

The Ultimate Boarder event, which had its first day in Ventura, is dubbed as "the triathlon of a new generation," determining who is the best on a snowboard, surfboard and skateboard. About 50 competitors from all over the world are in town for the surfing and the skating that takes place on Saturday.

The snowboarding was held over the weekend in Lake Tahoe.

Not everyone made as smooth a transition from snow to surf. Todd Richards, who won the snowboarding event, placed 26th in surfing. But he may have had more fun catching the unseasonably good waves crashing at Surfers Point.

"It's totally mellow," said Richards, 38, who has won his fair share of X Games for snowboarding.

When he competes in snowboarding, people critique his every move and he tries to be perfect on every run. When he was surfing Wednesday, he was just surfing. If anything, he's more passionate about surfing these days than he is about his job — snowboarding.

"The things that make you smile are the most important," he said.

Which is exactly what Tim Hoover envisioned when he came up with the idea for the event that he hopes to take around the globe.

"It's not about who wins or loses in the Ultimate Boarder," said Hoover, who grew up in Goleta. "It's about enjoying the lifestyle."

And for the roughly 300 people who watched the all-day competition, it was a day of soaking up the sun, watching the surf and listening to the one-line zingers the announcer called out when he wasn't giving a play-by-play of the waves.

"You are going to have to get a laptop out and Mapquest that surfer after that long wave," crooned Ryan Divel, sounding like a carnival barker.

"That's the only surfer to spray a sea lion, that has to be worth some love from the judges," he said another time, followed by, "If you can't catch two good waves in 40 minutes, you must be a snowboarder."

On a day that had the best swells in a week, the popular surf spot was at times crowded with locals not in the contest. Divel repeatedly asked them to stay out of the contest zone.

Guy Quezada, 33, was Ventura's only hope to place in the top five in the contest. As the last heat of the day started, he held fifth place, which promised him a slot in the finals. Then Pospisil caught the monster wave of the day, which gave him fifth place in the surfing and catapulted him to first overall.

The final winner of the competition will be the one who has placed highest in the three events.

Venturan Andrew "Jenkins" Jones was hoping to finish higher than 16th place in the surfing event, but was bedeviled by small waves that didn't cooperate. "It's all about the right waves," said Jones, 24, as he peeled off his wet suit. "I've got to do really well in skating."

Dave Brumm, 32, is also hoping for a better showing Saturday at the half-pipe. The carpenter who lives and snowboards in Lake Tahoe has only been surfing for two years. He placed 43rd on Wednesday, but took sixth in snowboarding in Lake Tahoe.

"I kind of embarrassed myself out there," he said looking at the waves, "but whatever, it's all just having fun."

— On the Net:

Live coverage of Saturday's skating competition can be seen at http://reelcomp.com.