Pismo Beach Welcomes SLO CAL Open Surfing Competition With Ideal Conditions
PISMO BEACH, Calif. (KEYT) - The World Surf League is back in Pismo Beach all week for SLO CAL Open’s 8th annual week-long surfing competition.
The first day could not have been met with better weather.
Ideal conditions for late January.
Monday marked day one.
“Here we are in our microclimate of Pismo,” says Brian Robbins, World Surf League of North America’s tour manager. “Day one, we got a full day. We'll be here all day. Eight hours of heats and, waves are fun. Sun's out. The beach is full.”
This is the 8th year of the competition overall here at Pismo Beach, but the organization is celebrating equality milestones as well, as it is the 7th year for women to be included, and the second year for the Pro Juniors category.
“We have men's, women's, junior men, junior women,” says Robbins. “Technically running four separate competitions, we’ll crown four champions.”
This is the first time the competition is taking place on the north side of the Pismo Beach Pier.
“It’s, like, pretty small conditions, but it's really fun,” says Jett Maughn, a competitor from Encinitas. “There’s, like, a little good sand bar by the pier, so, a couple sick rides coming through.”
This allows another two hours of sightline for the judges, as opposed to the southern side where harsh glares occur on the water during the last few hours of the day.
“I think I did pretty good,” says Maughn. “Maybe want to get some higher scores in the later heats. But this was a good first heat, just warming up. Shout out to my dad for taking me out here and all my friends for supporting me.”
The competition streams live and can be watched on WorldSurfLeague.com and the free WSL app.
The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With The Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.
