Honda Element U.S. Open of Surfing
Presented by O´Neill

ASP 6 star Mens WQS event
ASP 6 star Womens WQS event
ASP Longboard tour WQS event
ASP Grade 2 Junior Pro

Huntington Beach, Calif
26 July - 3 August 2003

Chelsea Georgeson and Taylor Jensen win their divisions

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – Saturday, August 2, 2003 – Australian Chelsea Georgeson captured her first major World Qualifying Series (WQS) victory in the United States by winning the $30,000 Honda Element U.S. Open of Women Presented by O’Neill. Georgeson, one of the stars of Boarding House: North Shore, finished ahead of two-time defending champion Pauline Menczer (Australia) to pocket $6,000. Imperial Beach’s Taylor Jensen captured the $10,000 O’Neill U.S. Open of Longboarding with a narrow victory over San Clemente’s Colin McPhillips.

Huntington served up great conditions for both finals with solid six-foot faces and many waves well overhead. Water safety officials announced an attendance of 70,000, the largest-ever for this event on a Saturday.

Georgeson, age 19, opened quickly, setting the pace for the 30-minute finale. A rookie on the World Championship Tour, Chelsea nailed a 7.0 ride on her first wave when she shot down the line with incredible speed and showcased great rail-to-rail transitions. After five vertical maneuvers she wound up nearly at the water’s edge.

Menczer, a 17-year professional and former world champion, answered back. Positioned at the far southern end of the competition area, she launched into a large set wave and performed a huge vertical snap, letting the crowd (and Chelsea) know that she meant business. After a throwaway ride, Menczer, 33, dropped into a nice right-hander and sliced through three more vertical snaps followed by a closeout re-entry to score a 7.67 and take the temporary lead.

Georgeson responded in kind with her own 7.67. Then she closed the door on Menczer’s chances of a three-peat. Taking off on another big set wave, Georgeson ignited down the line, throwing spray and snapping vertically nearly to the shore. The judges awarded a 9.33 and the final was all but over. Georgeson finished with 17.00 total points to Menczer’s 13.67. Brazilian Jacqueline Silva finished third with 8.33 points and Julia Christian (Carlsbad) took fourth place with 5.50.

“Last year I did really terrible here so it was great to come back and win today. There were more open faces (waves) and I was able to have some fun. All the girls were really ripping,” said Georgeson. “I’m so beat from paddling. There’s a lot of power in the waves today.” With her victory, Georgeson moved to number two on the WQS ratings, just behind Melanie Bartels (Hawaii).

In the O’Neill U.S. Open of Longboarding, Jensen, a 6’4” two-year pro, finished ahead of McPhillips with 20.70 points to 19.63. “To win was insane,” said an obviously elated Jensen. “I never expected it to happen.”

On Sunday the world’s elite men return to center stage beginning at 8:00 a.m. Key competitors include Cory Lopez (Florida), Rob Machado (Cardiff), Damien Hobgood (Florida), reigning world champion Andy Irons (Hawaii), Taylor Knox (Carlsbad), reigning event champion Kalani Robb (Hawaii), Tim Curran (Ventura), Tim Reyes (Huntington Beach), Shane Beschen (San Clemente), Bobby Martinez (Ventura), former world champion C.J. Hobgood (Florida) and Brett Simpson (Huntington Beach).

The Honda Element U.S. Open of Surfing anchors Philips Fusion, America´s original and largest oceanfront event of its kind. The $225,000 action sports, technology and music festival, sponsored by Philips Electronics, attracts more than 600 world-class athletes from across the globe and features surfing, skateboarding and BMX in innovative venues along with an interactive electronics festival area and live concerts.

Competition concludes on Sunday starting at 8:00 a.m. with the men’s round of 32, heats 1-8, men’s quarter-finals at 10:45 a.m., Lost Pro Junior semi-finals at 12:39 p.m., men’s semi-finals at 1:21 p.m., junior finals at 2:03 p.m. and men’s finals at 2:34 p.m. BMX and skate competition also gets underway in the Philips Key Ring Soul Bowl at 10:00 a.m.

A full photo gallery from Surfography.com of today´s action is available here

Official results: -

Heats & results US Open Mens WQS 6 star ASP event
Heats & results US Open Womens WQS 6 star ASP event
Heats & results US Open WQS Longboard ASP event
Heats & results Lost Pro Junior Grade 2 ASP event

Previous reports:-
# 1 : O´Neill announces sponsoring 2003 US Open of Surfing
# 2 : Philips Fusion largest US Ocean-Front Sports Festival
# 3 : Honda Element US Open of Surfing presented by O´Neill
# 4 : North America´s original action sports event on July 28
# 5 : U.S. Open of Surfing boasts the worlds largest pro field
# 6 : US Open kicks off with Longboard & Pro Junior events
# 7 : Machado shines as Mens event commences at US Open
# 8 : Machado continues his heat winning charge at US Open
# 9 : Old guard and new young guns advance at US Open
# 10 : Kohdr/Simmons shine at US Open, Machado squeeks by
# 11 : Beschen survives whilst Irons/Flintoff dazzle at US Open
# 12 : Monteiro stands out as Irons/top surfers enter US Open

More US & Hawaii surfing news available here
Check the latest West Coast Surf Reports and Forcasts

Mike Kingsbury
or
Cherie Garcia
(714) 375-2188
mike@boardom.com

WQS-Contests - Surfersvillage

---

---

ASR San Diego -o- Dos Equis PSTA -o- Girls Only

---

---

Worldwide Surforecasts -o- Euro Camper Rentals -o- Contests Register

---

---

---

---