Kids-only surfing

Dylan Melamed hits the lip of a wave during the Factor54 Freaks of the Peak Summer Surf Series at 54th Street on Thursday.

Former professional surfer Todd Miller hosts latest competition on the beach by 54th Street, made exclusively for youth.

By Daniel Tedford

The beach has always been a safe haven for Todd Miller. As a child, it was all smiles there, hanging out with his buddies, and the atmosphere of being at the beach for a competition was thrilling. To him, his family and the others around them, surfing was their version of little league, with dads, moms and kids having fun together.

So now, with his professional surfing career over, Miller helps sponsor a surfing competition in Newport Beach exclusively for kids with the help of his company Factor54.

The company hosted its latest competition Thursday morning.

“[Kids] always are amped and happy,” Miller said. “It doesn’t seem like they’re jaded. It brings back memories of when I used to surf here and Quicksilver ran contests like this.”

Miller, with his partner Ted Wueste, hosts the free competition near 54th Street — no relation to the company name — every year.

The contest offers cash prizes within two brackets of surfers, a 15- to 17-year-old group called juniors and a 14-and-under group called groms.

It started under an umbrella in 2003 and has grown to an event sponsored by numerous local surf companies, features many top-ranked youth surfers, and has competitors lining up before dawn to enter. And while Factor54 sponsors it — and no doubt gets some publicity out of it — the competition is more of a passion project to give thanks to the community.

“This doesn’t have any value,” said Wueste, tugging at his shirt and pointing at the Factor54 canopy.

“This [the community],” Wueste said of the families and children at the event. “That is the value in this,” he said, again pointing at his shirt.

It is an atmosphere and culture the company wants to create, rather than just a product line.

Wueste and Miller grew up surfing, and while they are still businessmen, they aren’t about to dismiss their roots. It may be the reason their competition is so popular.

“I did it last year and it was fun,” Chase Wilson, 17, said. “I like hanging out with everyone.”

But in the end, despite the camaraderie, it is still a competition. In a standard format, about 100 surfers go through various rounds and eventually dwindle down to the top competitors.

The surf was mostly in good condition for the event, despite some long walls that often made it tough for the boarders to make turns in the wave.

“A lot of people have been getting barreled,” Wilson said. “It’s been pretty cool.”

Miller was happy with the day. He and his partner stress the importance of making the event for the kids and leaving out the pros and masters. He felt it was a great opportunity for the youths rising in the sport to test themselves in challenging waters in a competitive format.

“These little kids, they get their start here,” Miller said. “Someday we can look back and say their first contest ever was here.”

COMPETITION RESULTS

Junior Level

1st-place winner for $150 prize: Chase Wilson, Newport Beach

2nd-place winner for $75 prize: Doug Van Mierlo, San Clemente

Grom Level

1st-place winner for $100 prize: Taylor Park, Newport Beach

2nd-place winner for $50 prize: Colin Moran, Costa Mesa

Best Gnar (best trick)

Nage Melamed, Hanalei, Hawaii