Joe Surf: Igarashi eager to return to Open

He was close. Oh-so close.

Kanoa Igarashi has surfed the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier hundreds of times in his life, all 17 years of it. But never had he left the water more disappointed than during last year’s Vans U.S. Open of Surfing.

Igarashi, just 16 at the time and surfing in the Men’s Main Event, took advantage of surfing his home break and reached Round 4, where he would go one-on-one against Australia’s Matt Banting. A win in Round 4 would put Igarashi in Round 5, making him one of 16 surfers with a chance to win the $100,000 first prize.

Igarashi had a lead in the final minute of the heat, but instead of staying close to Banting, he paddled away from him, allowing Banting to take a wave with 20 seconds remaining. Banting scored well on the wave and beat Igarashi by half a point.

“That heat still eats me up,” Igarashi said earlier this week from Japan, where he was finishing up surfing in the Murasaki Shonan Open at Kugenuma Beach in Kanagawa, Japan, part of the World Surf League’s (WSL) Men’s Qualifying Series.

“I’ve learned a lot from that heat, and I know I won’t let that happen again,” he said. “I made a priority mistake that kept me out of Round 5. But I’m looking for a bigger result this year.”

Igarashi indeed is back and looking to improve when the Open gets underway Saturday, lasting through Aug. 2. He’s spent the year surfing in both the Qualifying Series (QS) and the Juniors, and he’s coming off his best finish of the year, taking third place in last week’s QS contest in Japan. He’s also won two Juniors contests this year (Hurley Australian Open and Los Cabos Open of Surf).

“I feel really good this year,” said Igarashi, who has lived in Huntington Beach since he was 6. “I’ve picked up a confidence I never had. I am surfing the best I ever have, and now I’m just improving on power and strategies in heats.”

Igarashi doesn’t limit himself when it comes to setting goals. For the Open?

“My goal is to win both divisions, the QS (Main Event) and the Junior,” he said. “I’ll do everything I can to achieve those goals.”

His longterm goals are no less lofty. First, he is planning in the next year or two to qualify for the WSL’s Championship Tour. To do that, he needs to rank among the top 10 in the QS at the end of the year or hope for one of two wild-card spots. Currently he is ranked No 25.

Once he gets there — and it’s a matter of when, not if — then the goal becomes simple.

“World champion,” he said.

There’s no reason Igarashi can’t do it, considering his history and his passion. He started surfing when he was 3 because he got tired of making sand castles.

“Both my parents surf but I always used to see my dad surfing with all his friends, and I would just sit on the beach,” he said. “So I got bored of playing in the sand and wanted to go with my dad.”

Once in the water and on a board, he was hooked.

“The fact that you can enjoy it with all your friends but then when you’re on the wave it’s just you and the wave and it’s an addicting feeling when you surf,” he said.

Igarashi was home-schooled and earned his GED two years ago. His lessons now are life lessons, which include frequent travel all over the world. In just the last two-and-a-half months, he’s traveled to Brazil, Mexico (San Jose Del Cabo), South Africa and Japan for contests.

Surfing at the Open will be nice for him, a chance to sleep in his own bed, maybe hang out with his little brother Keanu (a shredder himself), and of course, surf the waves that are so familiar to him.

“Yes I think so,” he said when asked if he has a home break advantage. “Just because all your friends are there supporting and you are comfortable with the wave and atmosphere. I can’t wait.”

Park this way

I overlooked a nice parking option regarding the Open in last week’s column. On the weekends of July 25-26 and Aug. 1-2, the city is offering free shuttles from Huntington and Edison high schools and from City Hall, 2000 Main Street, (Aug. 1-2 only) to Main Street downtown.

JOE HAAKENSON is a Huntington Beach-based sports writer and editor. He may be reached at joe@juvecreative.com.