One of them is that Orange County is loaded with good surfers. I mean really fine, world class surfers. Another is that they don’t get enough recognition for simply being athletes. They might sell a lot of boardshorts or look great in the magazines or might even be called artists. But virtually none of them are given enough credit for what they accomplish physically in the water.

Hence, my very first shout out to the top male and female surfing athlete in this county, the Orange County Surfer of the Year award. Yes, I realize the year’s not over yet, but close enough for me to make my choice.

I also want to hear your choices. You can vote online for the readers choice for men’s surfer beginning Friday. Your winners and mine will receive their award at a banquet at Nalu’s Island Grill in Irvine in December.

And without further ado, here’s my picks: Greg Long and Courtney Conlogue. You’ve probably seen me put out a lot of ink about these two. They deserve it. Each is an excellent athlete with the results to show for it.

Conlogue is one of the great hopes for U.S. women’s surfing. Just 16, she is already a veteran on the U.S. team. She’s broken records at the U.S. Open and East Coast Surfing Championships. This year however, she won her first NSSA national championship and won the bronze medal at the World Junior Championships. Conlogue also won the Girls Under 18 title at the USA Championships. On the women’s side, it’s impossible to argue with those results.

Long is, I’ll say it again, the best young big wave surfer in the world. Period. He is redefining the sport as a young guy in the world of seasoned veterans and also in his uber-aggressive approach to being on the right swell at the right time.

He kicked off the year by winning Mavericks, then hopped on the next plane to Hawaii for an Eddie contest that evaporated at the last minute. He won two more XXL awards in April, making him the winningest athlete in the history of the award event. In July, he finished second to friend and rival Grant Baker at the Red Bull Big Wave Africa, nearly getting his second victory in the contest. And it should be noted, he accomplished most of that without sponsorship, a feat almost impossible these days.

One last note, I want to hand out a special recognition award to U.S.A. Surf Team head coach Joey Buran. The former pro has worked tirelessly rebuilding the program and the team’s copper medal at the world juniors and silver medal at the world games are direct results of his leadership.

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Slowed by her recent achilles injury on the “Dancing With the Stars” TV show, she was still quite able to collect awards for Best Offensive Player, Best Defensive Player, Most Valuable Player and was one half of Team of the Year with partner Kerri Walsh.

The three-time AVP Crocs Cup champ and two-time Olympic gold medalist from Costa Mesa earned her fifth consecutive BOP award, fourth consecutive MVP award, third BDP award and along with Walsh, sixth consecutive team award.

On the men’s side, Olympic champs Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers took home their second Team of the Year award, with Dalhausser picking up another MVP and Best Offensive Player award. He also took home Best Defensive Player as a blocker. Rogers split BDP as a defender with Nick Lucena.

Lucena and Olympian Nicole Branagh won Most Improved Player awards, while Laguna Beach’s Whitney Pavlik was named the women’s Rookie of the Year. The 24-year old reached the top ten in 10 of the 15 tournaments she participated in, finishing a career best fifth in the Boulder, Colorado event.

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In very good four-to-six-foot conditions at his home break, Young edged Seal Beach’s Chris Waring and Hawaiians Granger Larsen and Sean Moody in a nail biter where Larsen caught the last wave with just seconds left in the final, but didn’t get the score he needed to overtake Young.

Huntington Beach’s Micah Byrne reached the semis and took home an extra $10,000 for winning the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series. The Cold Water Classic was the final event in the series.

Florida’s Asher Nolan was second in the series and San Clemente’s Nate Yeomans, who didn’t even compete at Steamer Lane was third, due to strong performances at the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro and the Oakley Newport Beach Pro.

Also, Brazilian transplant Bruno Rodrigues of Huntington Beach finished third in the Oakley Pro Junior ASP North American Championships.

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He spends every summer in the southern hemisphere and while he was there this year he finished second in the 2008 Red Bull Big Wave Africa to good friend and rival Grant “Twiggy” Baker. But didn’t leave empty handed, he also caught a massive barrel that is a sure XXL award candidate.

He chatted with the Register about his summer holiday and the barrel ride. Here’s Greg in his own words.

Q: What kind of expectations did you have going back to S. Africa this summer. I mean, you’ve had a really good year, and you got to go back with stickers on your board for the first time in a while.

Greg: I look forward to coming to South Africa every year.  This was my eighth year in a row, and each time I have spent anywhere from 2-3 months.  It is really starting to feel like a second home for me.  

From a surfing standpoint I was more excited and motivated than ever.  I had been out of the water recovering from a broken foot, ear surgery, and a torn hamstring the three months prior. I came to Cape Town before the winter had really kicked into gear this year in order to regain my focus and start working my way back into the surfing groove. 

My first three weeks here the waves were very small which was a blessing in disguise.  I spent the downtime training extensively while making sure all my equipment was dialed. My first session back in the water came about during my second week and I felt so rejuvenated…like a little kid again.  Having just signed a new contract with Billabong gave me even more motivation to get back in the water and charging again.  During the height of winter down here the question isn’t if you are going to get a big swell, but when.  After my first few weeks I had rebuilt my strength and confidence and was ready to go.

Q: Were you kind of surprised that the Red Bull contest ran so quickly after the start of the waiting period?

Greg: As we all know you cannot predict mother nature.  There is no telling when or where the next big swell is going be but to be honest I wasn’t surprised at all that we got a big swell the last week of July.  The South Atlantic had been uncharacteristically quiet for the month and June and most of July and it was only a matter of time before things picked up. 

Looking back at previous years, there has always seemed to be a big swell to come around end of July as well.   That it happened again this year did not surprise me.  
Q: Tell me about the contest and I want details about that barrel.

Greg: In the end I was pretty happy about my performance in the event.  There had been a horrible flu going around Cape Town the weeks prior and I was one of many unfortunate victims.  The day the event ran was actually my first full day out of bed in over a week.  Had it been the day before I don’t think I would have been able to compete.  I was pretty excited to make it to the final while catching probably the best wave of my life along the way. 

My first heat of the day started off a little shaky.  Within the first five minutes I got cleaned up by a massive set and broke my magic 9’6” that I had from the previous year.  I quickly grabbed my back up board which I had never ridden and made my way back into the lineup. 

Within another five minutes I found myself scratching for the horizon once again in attempt to avoid yet another massive clean up set.  I barely made it over the top of the first few and ended up perfectly in line with the last and biggest wave of them all.  I remember it having the longest wall stretching all the way to the channel and actually doubting that I could make it.  Dungeons is a very shifty and difficult line-up to navigate and very frequently, we get stuck dropping in behind the peak and not completing our rides. 

The waves this day were absolutely massive and having watched the three heats prior I knew that a lot of people weren’t catching their two waves.  In some heats people didn’t even catch one.  I knew I could at least get to the bottom of this wave and get a score…anything to get the ball rolling, so I flipped around, put my head down and paddled my heart out.

It gave me a relatively easy entry but when I got to my feet I could see I need to set my rail and get down the line.  I began angling from the top and watched as that long section from the channel seemed to back off and double up.  From then, I instantly knew that this thing was going to unload and I had two choices…either I straighten out and get bulldozed or I take the high line and go through this thing.  It’s not often you are presented an opportunity to get barreled on such a large paddle in wave so why not try.  Usually the end result is a not so pleasant beat down, but for some reason, as I was pulling up into this thing, I never  doubted that I could make.  I think that’s what saved me in the end. 

As I was inside, everything went perfectly quiet and still.  I could see nearly every boat and ski in the channel and just set my sights on the upper right corner where I knew my exit was going to be.  As I was nearing the end, the wave seemed to flare one last time, almost as if it was giving me an escape path, and then spit me out into the channel.  I instantly had that euphoric feeling…you know, the one that only a surfer knows? Hahah.  That was the turning point for me in the contest.  That wave seemed to put me perfectly in tune with the ocean for the rest of the heat.

My semi final went well but I had to work hard for the waves that I caught.  It seemed like every other set we were getting caught inside of.  The two or three that I wore on the head really took the life out of me. 
In the final I started off with a bang, opening with a great 9.5 ride.  I had over half an hour to catch one more good wave, and I would have sealed the deal, but things just seemed to fall apart. 

I made one tactical error where I kicked out of a wave when another competitor turned around underneath me.  I figured I had plenty of time to catch another one so I let him go.  When I turned around I was looking directly into the face of one of the largest waves I think I’ve ever been cleaned up by.  The lip was coming down hard and I was sitting on ground zero.  I was drug underwater the entire length of the lineup by that one wave and flushed into the deep water on the inside they call “shark alley”.  The water safety eventually picked me up and I slowly made my way back into the lineup. 

My “plenty of time” to catch a wave had turned into “not enough” in the blink of an eye.  In the last ten minutes there was one final set but I was unfortunately out of position.
 
   That was one of the best days of big wave surfing of my life and I was so stoked that Twiggy won.  I don’t think anybody would disagree in saying that nobody deserved it more than him that day.  It was amazing to be part of a session where the limits of what you can actually paddle into and ride are being pushed so dramatically.

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It was the highest finish of a U.S. team in the games since 1996 and a giant shot in the arm for a program struggling to rebuild itself.

Australia won its third consecutive team gold by a wide point margin, but the U.S. team finished well ahead of bronze-winning Brazil and copper-winning France. The U.S. was led by Florida’s C.J. Hobgood, and San Diego County’s Lauren Sweeney and Taylor Jensen, who all won individual medals.

The 2001 world champ Hobgood outsurfed three Aussies, two of which are fellow World Championship Tour members, to win the gold in the men’s shortboard. Though he started the day with a scare, getting knocked into the repercharge final, he bounced back to beat Australia’s Heath Joske, 15.80-15.66.

Joske got off to early lead but Hobgood crept back in 10 minutes later. He took the lead for good moments later on a righthander and put it away with a 7.20. Hobgood went on defense and sat on Joske the remaining three minutes.

“I had to compete against three Aussies that I have a great respect for,” Hobgood said after. “It was a really good final with me and Joske going back and forth. And coming towards the end, I didn’t know if I should sit on him or not. But I knew that if he would’ve caught a wave and got the score, an opportunity that I might not have again would’ve been lost. It’s a great feeling. These opportunities don’t come back too often so to take advantage of it. It is amazing!”

Sweeney, a perpetually underrated surfer, finished fourth in her heat against Aussie teenage phenom Sally Fitzgibbons, who at 17, has already qualified for the world championship tour. Fitzgibbons also became the first surfer in history to win gold medals at ISA’s World Junior Surfing Championships and the world games in the same year.

Though Fitzgibbons waited 12 minutes to get her first ride, her pair of eight-point rides gave her lead the quickly after and the gold in the women’s shortboard.

“I feel really good about the result,” Sweeney said. She was a member of the 2004 junior team who made a priority of finishing college since then. But after graduating earlier this year was not at her competitive peak, all the more reason her performance was inspiring. “I paddled out far away by myself. The other three sat in the same spot by the rocks. I gambled and lost, Sally gambled and won. But I had fun and was going for broke.”

Jensen, who won the U.S. Open longboard title in July, continued his string of solid performances. Unfortunately, he came up against a juggernaut of South Africa’s Matthew Moir, who won his second consecutive gold medal and whose unbeaten heat streak stretches back to the Huntington Beach games in 2006. Moir is now planning to try for the record of three longboard golds in a row, held by Brazil’s Marcelo Freitas.

But Jensen was thrilled by the result. The competition was no cake walk.

“You look at the top four guys in the contest and we’re all in the top 10 in the ASP ratings,” Jensen said. “And we’re all good friends, but you realize you’re not just fighting for yourself, you’re fighting for your country. It definitely was a great experience.”

Success for the U.S. team can be credited slightly to the absence of the Hawaiian team at this year’s games. Nevertheless, the toughness of the women’s team of Sweeney and Demi Boelsterli in particular, and also the leadership of head coach Joey Buran, who scrambled to put the team together after the WJSC in May, were key factors.

2008 ISA WORLD SURFING GAMES

Final results

Team medal

Gold: Australia – 17,238 pts.

Silver: USA – 14,284 pts.

Bronze: Brazil – 12,610 pts.

Copper: France – 11,819 pts.

Open Men

Gold: C.J. Hobgood (USA)

Silver: Heath Joske (Aust.)

Bronze: Dayyan Neve (Aust.)

Copper: Kai Otton (Aust.)

Open Women

Gold: Sally Fitzgibbons (Aust.)

Silver: Marie Dejean (France)

Bronze: Camila Cassia (Brz.)

Copper: Lauren Sweeney (USA)

Bodyboard Men

Gold: Marcus Lima (Brz.)

Silver: Manuel Centeno (Prtgl.)

Bronze: Hugo Pinheiro (Prtgl.)

Copper: David Lee (S. Af.)

Bodyboard Women

Gold: Natasha Sagardia (P. Rico)

Silver: Heloise Bourroux (France)

Bronze: Rita Pires (Prtgl.)

Copper: Lilly Pollard (Aust.)

Longboard

Gold: Matthew Moir (S. Af.)

Silver: Harley Ingleby (Aust.)

Bronze: Taylor Jensen (USA)

Copper: Phil Rajzman (Brzl.)

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The contest director decided to use an available lay day for the games on what would have been day 4. The next call will be made early Thursday morning.
 
The U.S. team will have to wait another day for their next heats at Costa de Caparica, Portugal.

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On one hand, head coach Joey Buran’s juniors team was building momentum after returning to the medal podium at the World Junior Surfing Championships, but on the other, the WSG is a slightly different creature, open to the pros and too often featuring odds stacked against the U.S.

Since the 1990s, U.S. teams have usually been scraped together, hardly ever representing the best collection of talent here, yet facing teams from Australia, Brazil, Hawaii and South Africa that quickly bury U.S. hopes. The 2006 team was an exception. The Hobgoods, Pat O’Connell, Chris Ward, Julia Christian, Colin McPhillips and Courtney Conlogue put on a show of strength and won medals.

Putting that team together took months of effort. Buran never really had that option. Nevertheless, at the end of day three in Costa de Caparica, Portugal, the U.S. team is essentially right where they were at this point in Huntington Beach two years ago.

East Coast pros C.J. Hobgood and Ben Bourgeois, along with junior team holdovers Nat Young and Dillon Perillo are through the first round. It’s a bit of a surprise that Hobgood is back competing for the U.S. after he reacted angrily to sloppy judging in Huntington Beach. Having the 2001 world champ back is a big relief.

The women’s team of Lauren Sweeney and Demi Boelstirli took first round victories but are already facing the shadows of Australians Claire Bevilacqua and teen phenom Sally Fitzgibbons. Both U.S. surfers finished second in second round heats behind the Aussies. At least if the trend continues, U.S. women can battle and accrue enough points to get the team near the medal stand.

Defending U.S. Open longboard champ Taylor Jensen is holding his own and has won his first two heats. Jensen is still one of the top American longboarders, as reinforced by his U.S. Open performance. Jensen is facing surfers he is used to seeing and should be a steady veteran presence on the team.

It was no secret even before the team was named two weeks ago, that bodyboarding would be the trouble spot for the team. Not surprising then, that Jeremy Wright and Keila Grodzen finished third in their first heats and have been knocked into the repercharge. If they are eliminated early, it will deal a serious blow to U.S. medal hopes. However, Jacob Romero finished second in his opening heat and is into the second round.

The key to victory in ISA team events is keeping as many of your team mates in the competition for as long as possible. All surfers must finish in the top two of their heat (in the winner’s bracket). If they are knocked into the repercharge (the loser’s bracket), they must still place in the top two of each heat or cost their team.

To follow the live webcast or to get more information, click here.

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The two-time Olympic gold medalist from Costa Mesa and the game’s top female player will likely miss the entire 2009 AVP season due to the injury, but at this point, it doesn’t appear to be career threatening.

The surgery was performed this morning at Specialty Surgery Center by Dr. William Schobert, who had already repaired May-Treanor’s shoulder and knee, partner Kerri Walsh’s shoulder, and several surgeries on beach volleyball icon Karch Kiraly. Schobert said the surgery went well, and he expects her recovery to take up to a year.

Schobert said May-Treanor tore the tendon off the muscle while rehearsing Friday with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy for the popular ABC show “Dancing with the Stars.”

May-Treanor told the Associated Press on Monday she heard a “pop,” then fell, unable to put any weight on her left foot.

She held off surgery until today because she promised the show’s producers she would appear at the end of Monday’s show on crutches with a cast on her left leg to say she was out of the competition.

She’s expected to be out of the cast in two weeks, and remain on crutches for six weeks. “But she won’t be right until June or July,” Schobert said.

“Kudos go to Dr. Schobert,” father Butch May said. “He’s a good doctor and a good friend. Any time Misty and Kerri win, he cries.”

Husband Matt Treanor, catcher for the Florida Marlins, said she is determined to return.

“I knew there were long rehabs for this,” Treanor said. “But I think mentally she prepared herself for it. She was well educated about the surgery before going in. This is a freak accident, and she was already prepared for not playing this year because we’ve discussed starting a family.

“This isn’t going to hold her back,” Treanor said of her plans, but he wasn’t going to rush her. “It’s hard to say, she sets goals but doesn’t look too far ahead.”

May said not only did his daughter tell Schobert she’d return to the sand, but also that the show’s producers told her they want her back next season.

Two consecutive losses in September ended a record breaking four-year reign of domination over the domestic and international field for May-Treanor and Walsh, including two Olympic gold medals and a year-long winning streak.

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The 31-year-old Costa Mesa beach volleyball player was practicing her latest routine Friday with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy for the ABC show when she says she heard a “pop,” then fell, unable to put anyweight on her left foot.

May-Treanor appeared at the end of Monday’s show on crutches with a cast on her left leg to say she was out of the competition.

May-Treanor is the sport’s top female player, who along with teammate Kerri Walsh, just finished a record breaking four-year run of domination over the rest of the domestic and international field, including two Olympic gold medals and a year-long winning streak.

It is not yet known what impact the injury will have on May-Treanor’s career.

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The “little horse” is a made from native reeds and the design has remained mostly unchanged over 2,000 years, proving itself a direct ancestor to stand up paddleboards.

A bamboo pole is split down the middle as a paddling device. Felipe Pomar, winner of the first World Surfing Championships in Punta Rocas, Peru in 1965 donated two to the foundation, arriving in San Diego aboard a Peruvian Navy vessel.

The Surfing Heritage Foundation is located at 110 Calle Iglesia, San Clemente. For more information or to make a donation, click here.

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