International Surf Festival held its 50th year in 2011 at the Southbay beach

South Bay, Los Angeles

The South Bay is a region of the southwest peninsula of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The name stems from its geographic features stretching along the southern shores of Santa Monica Bay which forms its western border.The picture at right uses the broadest definition of the...

 area of Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 in Manhattan Beach

Manhattan Beach, California

Manhattan Beach is the wealthiest beachfront city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The city is on the Pacific coast, south of El Segundo, and north of Hermosa Beach. Manhattan Beach is the home of both beach and indoor volleyball, and surfing. During the winter, the...

, Hermosa Beach

Hermosa Beach, California

Hermosa Beach is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,506 at the 2010 census, up from 18,566 at the 2000 census....

, Redondo

Redondo Beach, California

Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...

, Torrance

Torrance, California

Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...

, and Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors.
Featured events include:
Friday-Lifeguard LA County Lifeguard Championships — Avenue C in Redondo Beach. U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter & L.A. County Lifeguard Rescue Demo, 6-Lifeguard Run Relay, Lifeguard Events, Bud Stevenson Intra-crew Medley Relay.
Charlie Saikley 6-Player Volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

 Tournament, drew approximately 60,000 players and spectators on Saturday last season but will be scaled back this year. In an effort to turn what is referred to as the “Six-Man” back into an athletic-minded event, in May the City Council implemented several restrictions, including a zero-tolerance alcohol policy, increased fencing and the banning of boom boxes, multiple tents and large water cooler

Water cooler

A water cooler or water dispenser is a device that cools and dispenses water. They are generally broken up in two categories: bottleless and bottled water coolers...

s.

On Saturday:
The International Bodysurfing Championship held at the Manhattan Beach Pier

Manhattan Beach pier

The Manhattan Beach Pier is a pier located in Manhattan Beach, California on the Pacific Ocean coast. The pier is long and located at the end of Manhattan Beach Boulevard. An octagonal Mediterranean-style building sits at the end of the pier and houses the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab & Aquarium...

.
This contest is sponsored and hosted by the Gillis Beach Bodysurfing Association. The GBBA traditionally hosts this contest to promote the sport and has done so for over 25 years. Please note that the first recorded competition was between 3 teams, the GBBA, Manhattan Beach Bodysurfing, and Coastal Bodysurfing clubs with the GBBA the overall winner. The other two clubs have since been absorbed into the GBBA. The year was 1966 and judged by the Famous Big Wave Rider Greg Noll

Greg Noll

Greg Noll , nicknamed "Da Bull" by Phil Edwards in reference to his physique and way of "charging" down the face of a wave, is an American pioneer of big wave surfing and is also acknowledged as a prominent longboard shaper. Noll was a member of a US lifeguard team that introduced malibu boards to...

 and LA County Great Mike Stang. To connect to water culture, Bodysurfing, and Bodysurfing Events see:
http://www.gillisbeach.org. The Oldest Bodysurfing Club in the United States-Got Fins?

Surfing Championships — Hermosa Beach pier

Hermosa Beach pier

The Hermosa Beach pier is located in the Southern California community of Hermosa Beach. It extends into the Pacific Ocean.In 1904 the first pier was built. It was constructed entirely of wood even to the pilings and it extended five hundred feet out into the ocean. The pier was constructed by the...

 (South Side).
Dick Fitzgerald Two-Mile Beach Run — Hermosa Beach Pier
Southern California Lifeguard Championships Events — Avenue C, Redondo Beach. U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter & Los Angeles County Lifeguard Demo, Lifeguard Events/Junior Lifeguard Taplin/Lifeguard Beach Flags, Judge Taplin Three-Mile Lifeguard Medley Relay.
Sunday
Velzy-Stevens Pier-to-Pier Paddleboard Championship — Manhattan Beach Pier, North Side.
Lifeguard Dory Race — Hermosa Pier
South Bay Youth Swims and Paddles