Few people know the waves on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier as well as Kanoa Igarashi — and his experience at the surf spot showed during his first heat of the day Saturday, Aug. 2, as ...

He put down roots near the Gold Coast, more than 2,000 miles away, so he could level up in more “average” waves compared to the barrels he was used to in Western Australia.

And I've been a little bit scared of surfing bigger waves since, but I've realized the only way I can get past that is just doing it again. Wow, that’s terrifying.

Big waves are expected for the final day of the National Scholastic Surfing Association’s national championships on Thursday, ...