The iconic San Clemente Ocean Festival is coming back full force this summer, organizers say, after a scaled-down event last year and several cancellations in recent years.
Organizers are gearing up for the two-day event, this year to be held on July 20 and 21, which will not only include the lifeguard competitions and races, but also the return of family events such as the 5K beach run, sandcastle building, a rubber ducky race, a kids pavilion, “Grom’s Rule” surf contests and the festival area.
The event suffered from impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, cancelling in 2020 and ’21 like so many other events. There was a revival in 2022, but only a limited lifeguard competition last year due to a shortage of volunteers to pull off the full-scale event.
“The Ocean Festival has managed to gain more volunteers, we’ve had people step up from the community and join the organization,” said athletic director Barrett Tester. “We want to basically have the same event we’ve always had.”
The event’s roots go back to 1977 when Sheridan Byerly, a captain with the Marine Safety department, wanted to increase participation in the Orange County Beach Games lifeguard competition.
The contest drew competitors from around the region, but organizers also wanted to include the general public, with hopes of engaging lifeguards and families in activities on the beach.
The Orange County Beach Games evolved into the San Clemente Ocean Festival with the help of publicist Dorothy Fuller, considered the “Mother of the Ocean Festival.”
She dubbed the event “The Greatest Show on Surf” in 1981, a slogan that stuck.
Each year, it draws an estimated 50,000 people , including competitors from as far away as Australia.
This year, a group of about 25 lifeguards from Australia’s Maroochy Surf Club will be among the competitors, Tester said.
Also new this year will be a bodysurfing competition, which hasn’t been part of the event since 2011.
There’s still a need for volunteers, especially for registration and check in – and someone to play the part of “King Neptune” to interact with the crowds, Tester said.
“It’s such an athletic community and the Ocean Festival really touches everyone,” Tester said. “If you are a lifeguard or ocean-goer in San Clemente, it becomes part of the summer. We definitely, as a community, miss it.”
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