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Photo courtesy of surfersvillage.com

The best—or craziest, or most crowded, or whatever adjective you choose—week of the year at Huntington has ended, and Julian Wilson walks away with the most prestigious contest win of his young career. There were lots of memorable moments from this year’s comp—anyone see Dane Reynolds’s backside tail-waft snap-things?—but what I might remember most was that this contest was defined by a single move: the air reverse.

I briefly started watching the heats on demand to count how many air reverses were attempted in the pro men’s division throughout the contest, but it just seemed too daunting. So I’m going to make the claim that this year’s U.S. open featured more air-reverse attempts than any previous pro men’s contest. If you want to try to prove me wrong by watching a few hours of heats on demand, go for it. But either way, anyone watching this year’s U.S. Open saw an enormous number of air reverses. As Kelly Slater said from the guest commentator’s tower, “Everyone’s sticking air reverses. It’s literally the new drop in. It’s almost like nothing.”

Let’s back up for a second. Even pro surfers and pro-surfing commentators can get a little loose on their terminology sometimes, but for our purposes here an air reverse is that it’s when a surfer and his board leave the water completely and rotates his tail in the direction they’re moving down the wave and land with their fins forward. If that’s confusing, check out the first four tricks on the U.S. Open highlights video. Those are frontside air reverses, and good ones too. Backside air reverses are the same thing but—you guessed it—when a surfer’s going backside. A lot of times you’ll see surfers continue to spin after they land so that they’re again facing forward, but don’t be fooled—it’s still an air reverse. If the full spin is done in the air, it’s a full-rotation, like this, and it’s generally awesome.

Photo courtesy of stabmag.com

Okay. So now that we’re all brushed up on our terminology: why were there so many air reverses at this year’s U.S. Open? Well, the air-reverse is a cool, crowd-pleasing move and—unlike big barrels or gouging turns—air reverses are one of the few cool, crowd-pleasing moves that can be done on two-to-three-foot onshore semi-closeout beachbreak, a la the Huntington Pier.

And, more importantly, this was a contest, and air reverses are one of the higher scoring moves a surfer can do on a closeout. Some of the heats didn’t offer too many open-faced waves, which means that the surfers either had to settle for low scores or make something happen on a bad wave—and usually that something was an air-reverse. All of the quarterfinal heats were won with the help of an air reverse. Without a reliable air game, you can’t get far in a tournament of less-than-perfect waves.

But an air-game alone didn’t win the contest. Julian Wilson—one of the best air-reversers out there—won his finals heat with traditional turns, four meaty backside snaps on two different waves. He won his quarterfinal against John John with one air reverse and one wave that was just smart competitive surfing—all he needed was a mid-range three, and instead of doing an air reverse he did a small no-rotation air. It was an air Julian would probably be embarrassed of in a free surf, but it got him the score he needed to edge out John John. Julian showed that he had the whole package: smart surfing, top-notch turns, and, yes, a solid air reverse.

Stop by Jack’s Surfboards in Huntington Beach during the US Open of Surfing, August 4th at 11:00 am to meet Team Etnies. Autograph signing with Ryan Sheckler, Brett Simpson, Mason Ho, Wilko, Nick Garcia, Tyler Bledsoe, Levi Sherwood and Chris Del Moro will all be on hand to sign autographs and do a few giveaways. Get there early! The fist 50 people get a free Etnies hat.

Meet Ryan Sheckler, Brett Simpson, Mason Ho, Wilko, Nick Garcia, Tyler Bledsoe, Levi Sherwood and Chris Del Moro

The Nike U.S. Open of Surfing—the annual concert and massive beach party with a surf comp on the side—is descending on Huntington Beach this week. There’ll be concerts, skate comps, and thousands and thousands of beachgoers, but the real show is still in the water. Here are a few of the things we here at Jack’s Surfboards are looking forward to.

Watching Jack’s Team Riders

We’re used to seeing John John Florence charging at Pipe and South Pacific reefs, but a John John sighting at Huntington Beach is rare indeed. John’s been holding his own on the ASP World Tour this year, and no one would be surprised if he won the U.S. Open.

Team riders Pat and Tanner Gudauskas will also be in the pro men’s mix. They’re SoCal natives and no strangers to Huntington, and we’re hoping their local knowledge and top-notch air abilities will see them deep into the contest. Pat’s been known to throw the occasional rodeo flip, and Tanner rips on waves of any size. Whatever happens, these guys put on a show whenever they’re in the water and are always worth watching.

Junior Men’s Surf Comp

The Pro Men’s events tend to get all the attention, but the Junior Men’s division is where you can see future world champs cut their teeth. So don’t be surprised to see surfing on par—and sometimes even better—than the Pro Men’s division. We’ll be cheering on Jack’s Team riders Jeremy Carter, Derek Peters, and Bobby Okvist. These kids are good, and hungry, and definitely worth watching.

The Best Pros on Everyday Waves

The official forecast for the event predicts contestable waves for the start of the event, with a south swell filling in toward the end of the week. “Contestable” at Huntington Beach looks very different from “contestable” at Cloudbreak. Expect waist-to-chest high with decent conditions for most of the event. You’re probably not going to see ten-second barrels—in fact, we’ll guarantee it—but odds are you’ll see some big airs and deep turns. It’s cool watching the world’s best on the sort of waves most of us spend our time on—you see just how good those guys are when they pull something you didn’t think could be done on three-foot beachbreak.

The Nike U.S. Open of Surfing kicks off on Saturday, July 28, and will wrap up on Sunday, August 5. Full event schedule and webcast are at usopenofsurfing.com.

Rip Curl’s Taco Tuesday Retail Tour rolls down to Jack’s in Dana Point. FREE TACOS!!! Also free custom Rip Curl hats for those who attend and with the purchase of any Rip Curl Mirage boardshort receive a free Rip Curl t-shirt! Plus a surprise athlete guest appearance.

Rip Curl Taco Tuesday

The Body Glove California 1nvasion Tour heads to Jack’s Surfboards in Huntington Beach, California on July 20th 2012 at 1pm. Stop by and meet team Body Glove’s Jamie O’Brien, Alex Gray, Nate Yeomans and Cheyne Magnusson. Plus giveaways and raffles.

Buy a pair of TOMS shoes this Saturday July 7th at Jacks Girls in Huntington Beach and get them customized for free by a talented local artist. The event starts at 11am and goes until 4pm. See you guys on Saturday!

TOMS Style Your Sole at Jacks Girls in Huntington Beach

Last year the entire world’s (outside of South Africa) eyes were opened to the perfection of Willard’s beach laying just off the shore of Ballito along the KwaZulu Natal North Coast (or Dolphin Coast) in South Africa. Perfection. A dream right hander. Fast, hollow and powerful. Last year was a contest organizers, surfers and spectators dream; beautiful barrels flawlessly ridden by some of the top surfers on the planet, fighting each other for points, money and pride. In the end Jack’s team rider Patrick Gudauskas ruled the tube and claimed the top of the podium (and $40,000) as his own.

But that was last year, the secrets out now. Everyone knows how good the wave is and getting it with only a couple other guys combined with a chance to win $40,000 at this ASP Prime Event has attracted many of the world’s best surfers. But Pat is always up for a challenge and is definitely one of the favorites heading into this week’s contest. His skills riding the barrel combined with the confidence coming from last year’s victory put his name near the top of the short list of possible winners for the 2012 contest. The other Jack’s Surfboards team rider joining Pat Gudauskas in Ballito is Pat’s brother Tanner Gudauskas. The Gudauskas brothers should cause havoc in their respective draws and are a major threat in every heat they are involved in.

The 2012 Mr. Price Pro Ballito will be ran from July 2 through July 8 in Ballito South Africa. The forecast looks small starting off the contest waiting period but hopefully will pick up through the week at the main contest location of Willard’s Beach. Willard’s likes a southwest swell and a low tide and we can only hope it turns on like it did last year as the beach came to life delivering barrel after barrel after barrel. The contest can be watched live at www.mrpricepro.com. Make sure you watch as the action should be hot. Check back here for more information and event wrap ups following the contest. Let’s go Pat! Back to back (plus $40,000 is nice but $80,000 is even nicer).

Billabong & Jack’s Surfboards present a meet and greet & live acoustic set with Donavon Frankenreiter at Jack’s Surfboards Corona Del Mar, June 29th 6:00pm-8pm

Donavon Frankenreiter live acoustic set at Jack's Surfboards CDM

Quiksilver presents a new surf movie, No Agenda. Thursday June 28th at Huntington Beach High School. Doors open at 6pm. Free Wahoos for the first 300 guests. Q&A with Dane, Reef and Balaram. $1 raffle tickets to try and win a Dane Reynolds signed Channel Islands surfboard. $5 entry fee. All proceeds go to the HBHS Surf Team. Come out and show your support.

No Agenda, a film about surfing

Tavarua Island photo: Tom Carey

On June 3, the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour descended on the beautiful island of Tavarua, Fiji, for the 4^th stop of this year’s dream tour. The hope of the team was to score some waves, run a contest, see some barrels, and crown a winner. What happened will go down in history as one of the most exciting and controversial days of surfing ever. On Friday, June 8, everyone on the island awoke to drenching rain and pumping surf. The swell forecasters had predicted a sizable swell to hit Fiji, but no one had any idea how enormous or how phenomenal it would be. By now, almost everyone has seen the photos, watched the videos, and heard the critics and supporters voice their opinions on the matter. The ASP decided to run two heats in massive Cloudbreak before an injured knee and shifting winds caused the promoters to cancel the contest for the day. After that, thanks to a building swell and shifting winds, the free surf of the year commenced. The contest was broadcast live around the world, due to the efforts of Volcom and Rebull TV. Then, the best big wave surfers from all parts of the globe showed why they get paid to travel around the world chasing swells and glory. Everyone out that day absolutely charged, pulled some unbelievable drops, and came shooting off barrels so big and perfect they looked fake.

A couple of Jack’s team riders were involved in both the contest and the free surf. Pat Gudauskas and John John Florence were among a handful of tour guys that paddled out during the free surf. Pat Gudauskas made an insane drop on a set wave and charged home heavy barrels. John John Florence, (our favorite to win the event) fresh off his win in Brazil, took a few massive waves on a board he borrowed from Pancho Sullivan and looked ridiculously comfortable in the huge surf. Dane Gudauskas was not in the contest but took part in the free surf and showed why he is one of the most underrated big wave surfers. His poise in the barrel and confidence in waves that would induce panic attacks in most of us was on display all day long.

The contest resumed the next day in flawless Restaurants and although the contest was a bit anticlimactic after the previous day, the barrel fest resumed with long barrels, multiple barrels, deep barrels, perfect barrels, round barrels, square barrels – pretty much any barrel imaginable. John John owned the day and displayed his ability to supernaturally ride the tube. He had one recovery on a barrel, to floater, to backslide, to barrel, that left everyone in a state of jealous disbelief. The next day, John John made it to the quarter finals where he was knocked out by the new world #1 champion, Mick Fanning. Kelly Slater went on to win it all, surfing pretty much perfectly in amazing Cloudbreak surf.

Big props for Jack’s team riders. This amazing team charged in the contest and during the free surf and made us all very proud to have them as part of the Jack’s family. Nice work boys!