"Swami's: the Money Game," Surfing Illustrated, June 1966

There are a lot of strange names around the world for surfing spots, but Swami’s of Encinitas, California is probably one of the most unusual — as was the surfing contest held there the first week of April. You might also ask what kind of a word is Swami. A Swami to an Indian is a Hindu teacher, a faker . . . to some, a Swami is a kind of a mystical guy who can perform all sorts of tricks to help characters out of the Arabian nights.

To Californians, Swami’s is a surfing spot named for the gilt-topped oriental-looking dome that stands on the highway next to Swami’s Beach. Actually, the dome is a part of the Self-Realization Fellowship, which is a whole different story. A hungry surfer can find a mushroomburger there, as well as surf and spiritual guidance. Perhaps Swami’s was named years back when some surfer said a silent prayer as he passed by the gold dome on his way to the beach — a prayer that the surf would be up. If anyone said a few words on the day of the first Swami’s Professional-Amateur Contest they just weren’t heard. The surf was only fair, but the competition was terrific. Here’s what happened on a foggy April 2nd.

The Swami’s Professional and Amateur Surfing Contest definitely showed an indication of what Surfing contests may be like in the future. This particular contest was a new idea, different from anything yet attempted in the surfing world. Swami’s was an invitational contest created expressly for the surfboard manufacturers on the West Coast. The object: bring the best professional surfers together on the best boards, motivate their performance with a $500.00 first prize, and stand back and watch the action. Amateurs also entered, not for prize money but for a trophy and a chance to compete with the top money riders. The prize money came from an entry fee levied against the contestants. The pros’ fees were put up by their sponsors. The amateurs paid a much smaller fee.

As an example of the drawing power of the Swami’s Contest, here’s a typical line-up in just one of the professional heats. Rich Chew for Harbour Surfboards, Bud Sutphin for Dave Sweet,  Roy Seaman on a Con, and Fred Hemmings riding a Duke Kahanomoku. A typical amateur heat drew well-known surfers like Jojo Perin, Gary Proper, Don Morley, and Dave Abbot.

Board builders like Bing, Sweet, Con, and Weber sponsored riders and surfers with famous names like Chew, Peck, and Jackie Baxter (this month’s SI Surfing Celebrity). The one-day contest started off with good small-to-medium surf, gray skies, and glassy surface conditions. The south swell, which usually brings good waves to this pointbreak spot, just didn’t show. By midday the wind came up, making the surf mushy and hard to work.

In the final heat, Dru Harrison, in the professional category, gave an outstanding performance. He mastered the difficult surf and surged ahead to become the pro winner—and finished the contest $500 richer. Mike Stevenson won in the amateur division and walked away with a huge trophy. Perhaps after seeing what his co-winner received, Mike now has thoughts of turning professional.

As the contestants, judges, and spectators walked up the long wooden staircase to the road above Swami’s, they must have been wondering if the meet they had just witnessed was an indication of contests to come. Some surely had strong feelings about mixing pros and amateurs. Others were just happy to ride with the greats. And the men who took the money? There was no question of their satisfaction.

"Swami's Pro-Am Invitational," Hoppy Swarts, Surfing, June 1966

Another exciting event that has been introduced to the surfing scene is the Pro-Am Surfing Contest sponsored by the Swamis Surfing Association. The idea of pitting the manufacturers' teams against each other in one contest is an intriguing one, and such a contest has the potential to become an excellent event.

It should be noted that only the Amateur portion of the contest was sanctioned by the USSA. The Pro contest was not sanctioned because not enough time was available for the USSA to work out a sufficiently objective method of conducting an event with a $500 cash first prize. The USSA offered its sanction if the event were to be a timed event (like the Tom Morey Invitational last year), but Swami President Al Merrick felt the extra equipment, judges, and planning were too much to accomplish in the time remaining. By the end of the year, the USSA will have enough experience with Class AAA contests to be able to work out a method for sanctioning a Pro contest.

Consequently, both Pro and Am contests were conducted in an identical fashion. The USSA judges used were Chuck Hasley, Ron Smith, and Bill Swarts. The new USSA Class A rules were used. These differ from last year's rules in the following ways:

1. Only a specified number of waves may be ridden in a heat and all scores, or all but one, are used to determine the outcome. In the preliminary heats and in the semifinal heats, the maximum number of waves was six and the highest five scores were used. In the finals, the maximum number was eight and the highest seven scores were used to determine the results.

2. The judges used a 0-to-20-point scale to rate the rides.

Although the surf was disappointing, the contest ran smoothly once it  started. For a while it seemed like it might snow, but the wind held off sufficiently so that they were able to run off all the events. The outstanding surfer of the event was Mike Stevenson, surfing in the Amateur Division, representing Jacobs Surfboards. Surfing consistently well all day, Mike amassed a total of 543 points (over three heats) to outclass all the amateurs. The hard-luck surfer of the meet has to be Sid Madden, representing Hansen Surfboards. Sid surfed beautifully but still lost to the red-hot Class AAA junior surfer from South Bay. It is of interest to note that Sid, in finishing second to Mike, garnered 158 points or more than any of the other heat-winning amateurs except Ken Rocky, representing Bing Surfboards, with 166 and Robert Kooken, representing Austin-Baird Surfboards with 158. Gary Propper, representing Surfboards Hawaii, finished second in the Amateur Division and thus proved once and for all that East Coast surfers have moved into top contention. Ken Rocky finished third, Willie Lenahan, representing Hobie Surfboards, finished fourth, and Greg Tucker (also a USSA Class AAA junior), representing Harbour Surfboards, finished fifth. 

Unlike the Amateur Division which Mike Stevenson won hands down, the Pro Division was hotly contested all the way and almost wound up in a three-way tie. 

The winner of the $500 prize was Dru Harrison, representing Bing Surfboards. Dru is another of the top USSA Class AAA junior surfers from the South Bay and he earned his victory by virtue of an extremely consistent performance following an outstanding ride on his first wave. In second position, although only catching seven rides, was Dickie Moon, representing Hansen Surfboards. Finishing third was Steve Bigler, representing Harbour Surfboards. Many of the spectators thought Biger should have been the winner. Finishing in fourth position, in his home surf, was LJ Richards, representing Hobie Surfboards. LJ would have done better, but handicapped himself by riding only six waves. In fifth place was Jim Overlin, representing Weber Surfboards.

The manufacturers' results of the Pro-Am were totaled in the way that was used for club teams in the 1965 USSA contests. The results are as follows: Bing, 225; Harbour, 195; Jacobs and Hobie (tie), 175; Hansen,  170; Surfboards Hawaii, 165; Weber, 140; Sweet, 115; Gordon and Smith, 110; Roth, 105; Greek, 100.

The fact that two professional contests have now been staged brings to the forefront the matter of pro events in the surfing scene. The USSA already has taken a stand, and that stand is to warn all competitors that they are placing their amateur status in jeopardy in other sports by their pro activities in surfing. More than that, the USSA is now considering enacting a rule which would define a pro surfer and establish a deadline after which any pro activity would bar the offender from participation in USSA Class A competition. The next step would follow about a year later and take in USSA Class AA competition. The final step would take another year, so after about four years from the time the resolution was passed, all the pros would be barred from the USSA competition program in its present form. 

Since it is not reasonable or desirable to stop pro surfing competition, it is hoped that the USSA will simultaneously develop a pro competition program that would occupy the interests and activities of all surfing pros. The USSA would then be in a position to propose that surfing be included in the Olympic Games.

1966 Swami's Pro-Am

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