Quiksilver returning to Long Beach … sort of

Sixty-four of the best surfers on the East Coast will vie for $20,000 in prize money in the Unsound surf shop’s Right Coast Cup competition in Long Beach next month.

The event is being presented by Quiksilver, exactly a year after the city hosted the East Coast’s largest and most lucrative surfing event, the Quiksilver Pro New York. It attracted roughly 100,000 spectators to Long Beach to watch the world’s best surfers compete.

The two-day Unsound event, which has a five-day window from Sept. 5 to 9, comes at the peak of hurricane season, as did last year’s contest.

“Quiksilver is really excited to be the presenting sponsor for the Unsound Right Coast Cup this year,” said the company’s director of marketing, Luke Watson. “We’re looking forward to seeing some of the best young East Coast surfers shred the Long Island coast.”

Unsound, which has hosted its own pro surfing contests in Long Beach in the past — and was a major partner in the Quik Pro N.Y. — teamed with Quiksilver this year for an event that Unsound co-owner Dave Juan said was in the planning stages for some time. The contest will consist of a “skins” format that allows amateur competitors to go up against local pros like Balaram Stack and T.J. Gumiela.

“It’s completely different from anything we’ve done in the past,” said Juan, who also owns the Quiksilver store in Oceanside with his business partner, Mike Nelson. “The main thing is [competitors] make money a lot faster, and on a local level it’s better for any amateur. This should have the most locals we’ve ever had because of the skins format.”

Juan explained that surfers can earn prize money by beating other competitors in each heat. Typically, he said, they have to advance at least four times to win any money.

The event is part of a series of East Coast surfing contests, he said, adding that it will attract pro surfers such as Floridian Jeremy Johnston. And although the chances are slim, Juan said, there is a possibility that 11-time Association of Surfing Professionals World Champion Kelly Slater, also of Florida, may show up.

“It’s bragging rights to who’s the best surfer on the East Coast,” Juan said.

Added Watson, “You never know with Kelly. If there’s a swell on the East Coast, he might sign up.”