US Open of Surfing Recap (Photos)

Frank made it out to the US Open of Surfing this weekend to check in on the competition at Huntington Beach, CA.

Didn't catch too much of the surfing, but we did manage to make it to finals of the Coastal Carnage Skate Bowl. Apparantly the US Open of Surfing isn't all about surfing as there were some major BMX and skate competitions as well.

This was the second year of the Converse Coastal Carnage, an invite only pro/am skate contest consisting of more than 30 A-list skateboarders. Coastal Carnage 2010 took this year's competion to the next level, from every angle. The course, a double bowl with plenty of hips and tight corners, was twice as large this year and incorporated a new vert section that kept every competitor on their toes. The stakes were also at an increased high, not only on the challenging course, but also with this year’s prize purse at a total of $75,000.

There were a lot of young riders competing against some legendary stalwarts of the game. Some of the big names competting were Rune Glifberg, Christian Hosoi, Steve Cabellero & Omar Hassan. However it was the youth that stole the show. The favorite leading into the finals was Ben Rayburn, but come finals time, a different Ben took first. Ben Hatchell destroyed the course & landed some monster tricks. Congrats to Ben Hatchell who won first place and a $15,000 prize.