The Sun Shines on the Annual “The JIMMY” Surf Contest

On a beautiful fall day with sunshine, light winds, and great tides, it was arguably the best full
day of surf in El Porto in months. Clean, glassy conditions in the morning and only light
afternoon wind with consistent 2-4 foot surf made for a perfect fall day for the annual The
JIMMY Surf Fiesta, presented by The Rotary Club of Manhattan, Northwestern Mutual –
Manhattan Beach Branch, Chevron and long-time sponsor, Fresh Brothers Pizza.

More than 120 surfers from age 6 to age 65 hit the waves in this unique team event. Teams
consisted of five people of various abilities from rippers to beginners and for many, the Jimmy
was the first surf contest they ever participated in. Special teams included five “all girls” teams,
a team from the Manhattan Beach Rotary club, participants from the Friendship Foundation,
the Culture Club, Mira Costa Surf Team, MBMS Surf Team, Hermosa Valley Surf Team and South
Bay Boardriders Club.

Competitors were offered the chance to ride high performance boards from the demo fleet of
Firewire Surfboards. Some of the boards were so popular that competitors had to play “rock,
paper, scissors” to see who got to ride that board for their heat. The contest judges were from
the South Bay Boardriders and included legends Matt Walls, Scott Daley and Jani Lange, who
are all good friends of Jimmy and Jeff Miller.

Upon arrival, attendees were offered hot chocolate and pastries from Mychal’s Learning Place,
and a generous selection of breakfast food, including fruit, sweets and donuts provided by Lazy
Acres. Lunchtime featured an endless supply of pizza from long-time food sponsor Fresh
Brothers while National Charity League provided Jimmy’s favorite peanut-butter and jelly
sandwiches, the Vegerie dished out samples of their famous vegan chili, and Sandpipers
provided cookies for the crowd of about 250 participants and spectators.

While waiting to surf, there was a “kids zone” with games like Corn Hole, Pan Can, and a Dunk
Tank, as well as a lei making booth presented by Jus’ Poke and manned by Leni Ramos and
friends. One of the most unique experiences was a live podcast on the sand running
throughout the day, complete with a red (sandy) carpet, which was hosted by Boyd the Broker
(Boyd Jeffery) and I Heart Radio and supported by Providence Little Company of Mary. Boyd
shared his story of his recovery from a hemorrhagic stroke four years ago and his miraculous
recovery at Providence Hospital. As participants and spectators arrived at the beach, they had
the opportunity to meet Boyd, learn about heart health and share stories about surfing, mental
health, and their impressions about The JIMMY. From former Mayors to sports legends, former
winners of the JIMMY, and young kids participating in their very first contest, everyone had an
opportunity to be on the mic and share a story.

One of the biggest highlights of the JIMMY each year is the giant raffle, with gear and prizes
from sponsors like Florence Marine, FCS, Sun Bum, ET, Spyder Surfboards, Hurley, and Kai
Fragrance. Raffle prizes included a variety of games, clothing, Halloween items from Kole
Imports, Brent Broza, Nixon, Dawn Nguyen & Salt Water Fix, Jodie Davis neoprene ring,

Patagonia and so much more. New this year were the “Raffle Super Prizes” which included a
Giant Basket of gear from Tower 60, a framed and signed photo and hat from Kelly Slater,
provided by Surf Ranch, and Hurley wetsuits.

The contest floated on the tunes curated by long-time supporter Zeal Levin, and photography
was provided by Steve Gaffney, Chris Miller and Kevin Cody. The bright turquoise t-shirts were
designed by legend Mitch Meidroth and produced by Michael Cruz of X31 Creations.

Huge thank you to our amazing volunteers, including the MB Rotary, Amigos Unidos, Hermosa
Hermanos, National Charity League, Sandpipers, Matthew Miller and the JMMF raffle collection
team

RESULTS

Winners! = Team 21 taking down the 2024 champions. Team 21 had 3 kids under 10 years old
who were ripping all day and took down a lot of teams with more experienced surfers and
teams from Mira Costa and MBMS surf team. As is standard at The Jimmy Surf Fiesta, teams
can flux through the day as people have to come and go. Here are the competitors that
contributed to their teams advancement and victory throughout the day:

FIRST PLACE – Team 21
Maysie Montoya
Kainoa Snow
Locky McMaster
Jack Johnston
Dani Ace
Hudson Radden
Mary Wright
Luke Rudy

SECOND PLACE – Team 5
Isla Kang
London Meza
Teagan Meza
Keani Honda-Snow
Lucy Harris
Owen Mooney

Beach Awards
Spyder Surfboard Best Wave: Teagan Meza
ET Surfboards Beach Lounger Award: The Culture Club Crew

Best Wipeout: Owen Mooney

Best Performance by a Family: The Geller Family (making it all the way to the semifinals!)

Best Performance by a Boy Grom (young surfer): Locky McMaster who flew all the way from

New Zealand by way of NYC to come to the event. This was a highly competitive battle all day
but Locky bested his young team mates Kainoa Snow and Jack Johnston, who were also ripping.

Best Performance by a Girl Grom: Isla Kang. Isla surfed courageously all day, carrying the torch
from her teammate Teagan Meza who won it a few years ago.

Pure Surfing Experience Award: Russel Wolfe, who helped push multiple kids into the waves
and for the epic pre-event social media posts beefing with the Meza girls.

Community-curated Photo Gallery for the 2025 The Jimmy Surf Fiesta: