By Katie Le
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) went head-to-head against Marina High School (MHS) on Dec. 16. The surf competition began at daybreak and took place at FVHS’s home court: tower nine at Magnolia St. on Pacific Coast Highway.
The heats were as follows:
- One, three, five and seven were boys’ shortboard
- Two was girls’ longboard
- Four was girls’ shortboard
- Six was boys’ longboard
- Eight was developmental for newer surfers
Each heat spanned for 15 minutes with three surfers from FVHS and three opponents from MHS. Individually, surfers can score up to twenty points.
Sunset League crowns the team with the lowest points victorious. Therefore, FVHS delivered another win against MHS with a final score of 158.5 to 282.5.
Senior Cameron “Garen” Wilker dominated the boys’ longboard, scoring three points and winning first place. He noted that one of his techniques for riding “killer waves” was to have fun while doing so.
“During the shortboard heat, I was like, ‘I’m not getting any waves.’ But [for] the longboard heat, I think I did pretty good. I was just going on every wave and having fun. I do better when I’m having more fun,” Wilker said.
Sophomore Meleana Walker competed in the girls’ shortboard. Going into the heat, she felt the need to accrue a high ranking since FVHS had defeated MHS in previous competitions. Nonetheless, the pressure didn’t stop her from placing first with three points in the heat.
“The heat went very well, and I was a bit afraid of how I’d do going into my heat because surf practice was canceled in the previous two or three days leading up to the competition,” Walker said.
Despite the alterations in scheduling, Walker, along with other female surfers on the team, were able to learn and master beginner to intermediate surfing tricks and maneuvers such as the cutback. This essential move allows surfers to elongate their speed and adjust their direction to reposition themselves in the steepest part of the wave.
Sophomore Noah Arellano participated in the boys’ shortboard and longboard. He placed first with three points and fifth with fourteen points. Although he enjoyed shortboarding, he longed to try something new with longboarding.
As the sun rose, the waves came closer to the shore. Arellano commented on this as he claimed it negatively impacted one of his performances.
“It was going [into] high-tide, so the waves weren’t as steep, so it’s, like, hard to do turns and stuff because [it’s harder to see],” Arellano said.
The championships are approaching on Jan. 4, and the FVHS surf team continues to train and enhance their skills for the highly anticipated event that will take place at Huntington Beach Southside, near the pier.
“Championships are coming up, and the team is preparing by practicing at the beach every morning, and I am preparing by surfing as much as possible, especially over [Christmas] break when I have more time,” Walker said.
