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Mostly Cloudy Pro surfing contest returns to Long Beach
Sept. 5-8 Unsound Surf Pro competition dedicated to the late Danny Bobis
The best surfers on the East Coast will come together in Long Beach this week for the 15th annual Unsound Surf Pro competition, the first major professional surfing contest to take place in the city after Hurricane Sandy.
The event is open to 48 competitors, who will compete in four-man heats at National Boulevard beach for a $5,000 prize purse. The event, presented by SPY Optics, runs on a Sept. 5-8 waiting period, and will also feature music, an Unsound merchandise tent and other activities. It will also include assorted contests, including pro surfer Balaram Stack’s “Strong Island Airshow,” presented by Volcom, on Sept. 7 at National Boulevard, where competitors will vie for a $1,000 cash prize, and the “King and Queen of the Beach” surfing contest on Sept. 8, an event presented by Unsound and Skudin Surf with the city for surfers ages 18 and under.
Unsound’s event is dedicated to the late Danny Bobis, a Long Beach resident who died during a surfing trip in 2011. As a Long Beach High School math teacher and head coach of the school’s surfing team, as well as a loving husband, surfer, musician, martial artist and environmental activist, Bobis was a well-known leader in the community.
Event organizers hope to raise $5,000 to support the surfing team, which Bobis fought to establish for three years. The money will be used to fund new equipment and a trip to a surfing competition in New Jersey, said Unsound co-owner Dave Juan.
“We know that he would have done something for people during the storm,” said Juan. “The surf team is something that he started, and our goal is to raise $5,000 for the Long Beach High School Surf Team in Danny’s honor.”
Unsound, which opened in 1997, organizes a number of pro surfing contests and events throughout the year, and is credited with bringing the Quiksilver Pro New York contest to the city in 2011, an event that gave national attention to Long Beach and East Coast surfing. Last year, Unsound held its Right Coast Cup contest, an event presented by Quiksilver.
