Video: US Open Of Surfing Snapchat Story

This is the official US Open Of Surfing Snapchat Story that was uploaded live on the final day of the contest. This was shot by various people throughout the day.



If you're unfamilar with Snapchat, it's a mobile app that lets you take and post photos and 10 second video clips you shoot on your phone or tablet. These photos and videos are called snaps, they only last for 24hrs. You either send these to snapchat friends or post them to your Story. Snapchat Stories string Snaps together to create a narrative that also lasts for 24 hours.

Video: Lifeguard Attacked At Venice Pier

Lifeguard whose attack by three people in Venice was captured on video had simply asked his assailants to stop smoking on the pier, one of the lifeguard’s supervisors said Friday.

The full-time lifeguard, who has been with the department for 10 years, was jumped by two men and a woman as soon as he hopped off the ladder at his tower at the Venice Pier on Thursday evening, authorities said.

The LAPD identified the two men as Harutiun Balyan, 30, and Ara Sarkisyan, 28. The woman was identified as Arusiak Gekchyan, 28. All three were arrested on suspicion of battery on an executive officer, a felony. They have been freed on bail, LAPD officials said.

The video shows two men swinging wildly at the lifeguard the moment he was off the ladder. Haskett said the lifeguard got down from the tower so he could have a clear conversation with the group. There’s a no smoking sign when you walk on the pier and lifeguards routinely ask people to not break the rules, Haskett said.

But only law enforcement can cite someone so lifeguards can act only as witnesses to a violation, he added.

At one point in the video, the lifeguard stands up and exchanges blows with one of the men while a bystander moves in and confronts the second attacker.

Video shows the woman kicking at the lifeguard’s head when he was on the ground trying to get up. She was also making false claims of sexual harassment.

Two other lifeguards eventually showed up and broke up the fight, video showed.

A recording of the fight’s aftermath showed one of the three fight suspects breathing heavily, lying on his back, his face covered in blood.

The confrontation occurred about 7:15 p.m., the LAPD said. The three people seen fighting the lifeguard were arrested on suspicion of felony assault, according to KTLA.

The lifeguard drove himself to the hospital after the fight – he is waiting for results to learn if he broke his hand, Haskett said. One of the lifeguard’s alleged attackers was also taken to the hospital for medical treatment, police said.

Ocean Park Surf Contest

The Ocean Park 26 Clothing Company held their fifth annual Ocean Park Surf Contest this past weekend. Once again held at Lifeguard Tower 26 in Santa Monica's historic Ocean Park section of the beach.

With hopes that Hurricane Delores would be bringing a good size swell, the contest was set to go off at 6:30 in the morning. Starting off with what has become the largest division in the contest, the bodysurfing, then onto the Girls Heat followed by the Boys Heat, then the Mens and Womens Divisions would each have two heats followed by the Finals for each. Then three heats for the Mens Masters with the Finals right after, and finishing off the competition with one Heat for the Juniors Division. Then it would be over to the grass field for a concert by Ocean Park Sound System and the awards ceremony. That was the plan, unfortunately, mother nature had her own plan, which would eventually turn this one day contest into a two day contest.


As the bodysurfing heats were going on, the lifeguard pulls up and clears everyone out of the water because of the threat of lightning. The contest would need to be on hold till the storm passed.

Photo by Ocean Park Surf Contest Judge Jonas Matz So while the contest was on stand-by, everyone watched as lightning hit the ocean a few times.

After a couple hours, the lifeguards deemed it safe to restart the contest. With the Girls taking to the waves.





A lot more photos of the Girls Heat in Girls Heat Photo Gallery. Up next the Boys Heat.




There's a bunch more shots of these groms in the Boys Heat Photo Gallery. Up next was the Mens Division.






Check out the Mens Division Photo Gallery for all the photos from the Mens two Heats and the Final.


The trophies for the contest are always unique, this year's trophies were made from these waterproof ukuleles by BugsGear.







There's a lot more photos of the Womens Heat in the Womens Heat Photo Gallery.



More shots like this in the Ocean Park Surf Contest Randomness Photo Gallery.
One of the sponsors of the contest is REI , they sell all that outdoor gear stuff you need for hiking, cycling, running, climbing, or just sitting on the couch, check them out at REI.com

Curt, Surfing's Oldest Grom doing his signature move sparked the start of the Masters Division.


It was during this heat that a storm started to roll in and lifeguard warned everyone that the threat of lightning has returned, so contest director Kevin Osborne called all competitor out of the water and made the decision the reschedule the Masters and Juniors Divisions for Sunday. As the rain began to pour, there was a quick awards ceremony for all the other divisions.



More photos from the awards ceremony in the Ocean Park Surf Contest Randomness Photo Gallery. The next day, there was clear skies for the Masters and Juniors Divisons.
More photos from both days of the Masters Division are in the Masters Photo Gallery.



Check out the Juniors Photo Gallery for all the photos of the Juniors Division. With the Masters and Juniors Divisions completed, the final scores were tallied up and the last of the awards were given out.


There are close to 600 photos from the contest, way too many for this blog post, but they can all be viewed in the photo galleries linked below:



There is also some Snapchat footage of the contest: Snapchat Story: Ocean Park Surf Contest

Remember to check out REI , they are a sponsor, show them some love!