US Open of Bodyboarding

The USBA US open is on LIVE today and will most likely be finishing up on Saturday. If you have time check out on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.

Also be sure to read the article in the HB newspaper on the event and why I was not able to compete. Click HERE.

Here are some quotes they used from me.

One local pro bodyboarder who won't be in the water this weekend, however, is Jeremy Wright. Wright grew up in Long Beach and still lives there, but he suffered a back injury while bodyboarding at the Wedge in Newport Beach seven weeks ago and only got back into the water again this week after treatment.

Wright, 24, ranked No. 9 on the USBA Tour last year, but instead of participating this weekend, he'll be relegated to serving as a commentator on the event webcast at usbatour.com/live.

"I slipped my L4 disc," Wright said. "It was no joke. I almost broke my back."

Wright, though, will be in good spirits this weekend. He's graduating from college Saturday with a degree in business management from the online college University of Phoenix.

Wright has made education a priority in his life, going back to getting a 4.0 GPA at Millikan High School. It's a common theme on the USBA Tour, as Jeff Hubbard has a master's degree in international business from Hawaii Pacific University.

"I don't know if there is anybody in the surfing association who even went to college," Wright said. "Jeff travels nine months a year and he got his master's. Dave has his BA, and I have my BA. For me, it's a benefit that you don't get everything handed to you in this sport. I've had two jobs ever since high school."

He still holds two jobs now outside of his bodyboarding efforts, by day as an assistant marketing director and by night as a valet.

Nothing against surfers, though. He's a surfer himself.

"I surf all the time," Wright said. "But I bodyboard when the waves are good. There are things that you can do that are insane. I'm really acrobatic, athletic and flexible, so I can do some crazy stuff.

"I had a lot of friends in high school who were bodyboarders, so that made it cool. We had a surf team and my first year we had five bodyboarders and I took first in the state, and I won five or six amateur titles. I've always been surrounded by bodyboarders. It's just a lot of fun."