A combination of a combining northwest and southwest swell, spurred on by winds up to 25 knots, created dangerous conditions on the south side of Huntington Beach Pier Sunday morning, forcing the National Scholastic Surfing Association to postpone the final round of the West Coast Championship presented by Nike 6.0 until Monday morning.
Event organizers were initially excited about the waves, which reached up to 15 feet early Sunday morning, but soon became leery of the current.
“It was a safety first thing,” event organizer Janice Aragon said. “We talked to the lifeguards and came to the conclusion that it is not safe to have the kids out in the water when there is that rough and that much current going on.”
The NSSA was able to hold a few heats in the early morning hours, including the open men’s semifinal. Christian Saenz of Huntington Beach reached the final of that division, in which he finished second a year ago.
The WCC will resume Monday morning at 7 a.m. with the finals of the explorer masters division, and continue until the open men’s final at 1:10 p.m.
Conditions are expected to calm down after weekend, with the potential for six to eight foot faces and significantly less wind.

The 2010 West Coast Championship kicked off Thursday morning at Huntington Beach Pier, with more than 400 surfers competing.

It was the 13th year that the annual event has been held, showcasing the talent of local high school surfers.
This year’s field is being touted as the best in history, with Luke Davis of Capo Beach, Christian Saenz of Huntington Beach and brothers Conner and Parker Coffin of Santa Barbara highlighting the list of competitors.

The conditions for the event appear to be perfect for big performances, as well, with four to eight foot waves expected for the weekend.

In Thursday’s early action, Porter Hogan of Laguna Beach, Shaw Kobayashi of San Clemente and Saenz each advanced to the finals of the explorer men’s division.

Also, in early action in explorer’s juniors, Sean Thompson of Huntington Beach and Breyden Taylor of San Clemente each qualified for the semifinals.