OCEANSIDE, Calif. — The 39th annual Oceanside Longboard Surfing Club Contest and Beach Festival takes place at the Oceanside Pier on August 9th, 10th, and 11th.
In this Zevely Zone, I met the two-time defending 'King of the Pier.'
The surf contest dates back to 1985. It's a historic event where any wave could become the next legendary surf story.
In 2022, Carlsbad's Jack Van Wagoner was competing in the King of the Pier Surf Contest. "It was such a crazy experience," said the 19-year-old.
He was riding a wave not knowing he was seconds away from a legendary surf story. While Jack was on the wave, the beach announcer at the contest said, "This is fun. Jack got a nice one, boom off the top."
As Jack cut out of the whitewash, his longboard flipped up and knocked out his front tooth. "Like my mouth just exploded in pain," said Jack.
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The reaction from Jack's sister said it all, but it's what his mother Marcy did next, a registered nurse, that shocked everyone. "She actually took the tooth that was in my hand and shoved it back into my mouth," said Jack.
CBS 8 has covered the surf contest for decades.
The three-day surf festival is free to the public. It will have music, food and raffles and an opportunity to support the rebuilding of the pier.
In April, the Oceanside Pier caught on fire. "It was pretty devastating, I know a lot of us were texting each other at the time," said Jeff Todd.
He sits on the board of the non-profit Oceanside Longboard Surfing Club. Jeff says the pier is tougher than it looks, kind of like Jack Van Wagoner.
Jeff was there watching Jack's mom shove his tooth back into place and telling him to, "Get back out there!" remembers Jeff. "He kind up perked up and all of sudden he's paddling back out after she shoved his teeth back in."
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Jack then stroked into a contest-winning ride as the deejay cued up the classic Christmas song 'All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth'.
Jack beat the world champion Taylor Jensen in that final heat and thought to himself, "At least something good happened today," he laughed.
Jack then defended his title to become the King of the Pier again in 2023. "I'm hoping to go three for three this year," said Jack. As for his mom's dental work? "It's still the original tooth!" said Jack.
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Jack is studying architecture at Cal Poly SLO. Currently, Jack is ranked number 1 on the WSL North American Longboard Qualifying series after a recent win at the Morro Bay LBQS.
Jack is also a two-time NSSA interscholastic high school longboard champion and reigning NSSA college longboard champion. Not only does Jack longboard, but he also shortboards, in which he competes for the Cal Poly surf team.
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Building on the success of the previous 38 years, the 39th Annual Oceanside Longboard Surfing Club Contest and Beach Festival the event promises to deliver a wide range of activities for the entire family. From professional surfers from Hawaii, Santa Cruz and beyond, participants will showcase their skills in the Coalition of Surfing Clubs competition. The King and Queen of the Pier, a Pro/Am Invitational, kicks off on Friday, August 9th. The competition culminates with the finals on Saturday, August 10th.
The beach and Band Shell area will come alive with vendors and live music. For more information, click here.