Surfing Magazine

Surfing Magazine 2012 Boardshort Guide

We love them for their naked feel. For their glowing neons and earthy tones. For their long and short cuts and space-age stretch. We love them for the tan lines they give us, against which we can measure how our summer’s going. We love them because they help us forget about that long, cold winter. Because boardshorts are summer. Dog days and daiquiris. South swells and Saturdays. They are how we were meant to surf: soaked in the tropics, kissed by the sun.

Which boardies will you be wearing this summer? The choices are endless - they’re practically raining from the heavens. But we’ve gathered them all (why, you’re welcome) and hung them up for your hungry eyes. Have a look. Pick your pair. Spring is here and summer’s round the bend. Brace yourself. It’s going to be hot and glassy.

NSSA Surfer of the Month: Jake Davis

Surfing, as with jump ropes and crosswalks, is all about timing. The better the timing, the better the surfer. It's that simple. And Capo Beach standout Jake Davis couldn't have picked a better time or place to bag his first victory of the season. Using his sound regular-foot attack and powerful arching turns in the 4- to 6-foot surf at C Street, Jake ousted his fellow competitors in the Open Juniors division and secured second place in the Open Mens. On the heels of older brother Luke's successful tenure as an NSSA surfer, Jake is steadily making a name for himself in the NSSA ranks. While he had a slow start to the season, look for Jake to ride his newfound momentum all the way to the Huntington Pier. And if he times it just right, maybe we'll see him atop the podium in more than one division at Nationals.

San Diego State University

Choosing a college is a significant crossroads in a person’s life. So many questions to answer. Is this the right school for me? How are the dorms? What’s the guy/girl ratio? And for a surfer, the most important question: How are the waves? For the 26 members of the San Diego State University Surf Team, the answer to that last question was easy: the waves are firing.

“We have the La Jolla Reefs, Black’s and a number of other spots that we surf,” says Doug Van Mierlo, one of three co-captains (himself, Josh Morse and Chad Dime) anchoring one of the strongest surfing regimes in SDSU history. “I would say that those are some of the best waves in California and they’re only 20 minutes away from school.” Their ability to practice in good surf has clearly helped their cause. Through four regular season contests the team recorded two first-place and two second-place finishes, bringing them to an overall first in the Southwest Conference for the fourth consecutive year. If that’s not enough, the Aztecs also dominated the Interscholastic State Championships and earned their fourth state title in as many years.

Around the same time last year the San Diego State team was singing a similar tune. Coming off their third consecutive State Title run, they held high hopes for Nationals. But that wave of momentum suddenly came to a halt after key members of the team mistakenly planned their vacations at the same time as Nationals. Woops. This year, however, SDSU has a full roster of all-star college surfers and a trio of captains poised to lead the Aztecs to their first National Title since 2007. “We’ve been a lot more organized and actually have practices and run heats, so I think that is definitely going to help us out,” says Van Mierlo. The extra work has not gone unrecognized, as the captains were recently awarded the three way title of Captains of the Year by the NSSA. Well deserved gentlemen. See you at Nationals.

NSSA Surfer of the Month: Colt Ward

When you have frothing groms and pumping surf at an NSSA event, big things are bound to happen. The NSSA Southwest Open Season Event number six held at Huntington Beach was greeted with solid 4- to 6-foot surf on the south side of the iconic pier and something big did in fact happen. During the Open Juniors quarterfinals San Clemente’s Colt Ward pulled into two heaving barrels and emerged from them with two 10’s and a perfect heat. Not bad for a kid who never scored a 10 in a heat before in his life. Ward finished the event strong with a second place in the Open Juniors final and a strong semi final showing in the Open Mens division. Colt has been a standout in the NSSA for years now and with that perfect heat in Huntington in early December it’s scary to think what happened in Huntington come Nationals in summer.

NSSA Surfer of the Month: Eithan Osborne

The start of a new season in any sport is refreshing. It gives the spectator a chance to re-believe in the team or athlete of their dreams. For the athlete it’s a shot at redemption. To really show what you’re made of. To make that final and win that contest. Silence the nay-sayers. And young Eithan Osborne of Ventura has had quite the remarkable start to his NSSA season. After a string of solid results early on, Eithan captured his first Open victory of the season at the South West Conference Open Newport in the Boys 12 & under division. He followed that up with not one, not two, but three victories the next weekend back home at Ventura Harbor winning both Open and Explorer Menehuene finals and taking down the older kids in the Explorer 14 & under final as well. He’s won seven straight events in the Gold Coast Menehuene divison, ranked second in the Southwest Open Boys and he’s the only 12 year old ranked in the top 10 of the Open Juniors. He’s even got his own board model with his shaper Robert Weiner called “The Beaver”. With no national titles under his belt as of yet you can bet the fire will still be there come summer.

NSSA Surfer of the Month: Nic Hdez

Santa Cruz is a hotbed of surfing talent. With countless world-class waves in and around the area, talent rarely makes its way South. But every couple of years a determined individual claws out of the shadows and into the limelight. Enter Nic Hdez. At the end of the end of the 2012 season everything started to click for the Santa Cruz eastsider. Nic won his first major NSSA event, taking out Open Juniors at the West Coast Championships. And he carried the momentum into Nationals with a win in the highly competitive Airshow division. Two big wins to close out the season. Look for Hdez to make a charge. “This year I want to participate in all the North American Pro Jrs as well as compete in the Surfing America Primes,” says Hdez. “And I hope to walk away with a Open Mens Mayors Cup next summer.

NSSA Surfer of the Month: Knox Harris

Like a trusty politician, momentum is hard to come by. All competitive surfers want it. Some get it. Few can sustain it. But North Carolina’s Knox Harris can, and he’s riding a momentum wave up and down the Eastern Seaboard at the moment. The Mid-Atlantic NSSA season opener began in Wrightsville Beach and Knox thought it’d be a good idea to win just about everything he could. He placed first in four divisions: Open Mens, Explorer Mens, Explorer Juniors and the Airshow. Not one to be satisfied with only four first places in one month, Knox earned his first ASP victory at the 1-Star Fins Pro Junior in New Jersey the very next week. The recent ASP win has fueled him into making a serious push in the North American ratings. “I'm going to try to do all of the ASP contests I can do and hopefully end up with a good finish in the ratings,” says Knox. Good luck to you young man — even though it’s pretty apparent you don’t need our well-wishes.

NSSA Surfer of the Month: Josh Moniz

Surf contests, in general, aren’t known for running in pumping surf. With the exception of the “Dream Tour”, most contests are held in 1- to 2-foot slop, making them difficult to watch and even harder to surf. This was far from the truth at the NSSA Hawaii Conference’s event #5. Held in legitimate 4- to 6-foot surf, Josh Moniz took down stacked fields in both the Open Mens and Explorer Juniors to earn two wins. “Surfing that last NSSA at Sunset with only a few other guys out was so much fun,” Josh said. “We scored good Sunset two days in a row.” Josh’s younger brother Seth, had to settle for second in both divisions, but Josh made it clear it’s all fun and games between him and his brothers. “I'm pretty used to one of them being in my heats already, but when we are in a heat together we try to trade off waves.” Seems to be working so far. Let’s see what happens come Nationals time when the stakes are at their highest.