The surf day at Doheny State Beach was all about giving back and sharing the stoke.
Dana Point Surf Club volunteers showed up Thursday, Sept. 26, to get about 30 kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley out on the water for a surf session, an after-school treat for the kids – and for those who gave a helping hand.
Throughout the year, surf clubs focus on competitions against other beach towns and often hold beach cleanups and other gatherings, but the Boys & Girls Club surf session is a personal favorite for Dana Point club president Eric Diamond.
“It really exemplifies what the surf club should be all about – getting kids stoked,” he said. “It’s just rad.”
The club, which started in 2017, has been doing the community surf day for about five years.
On Thursday, the kids arrived on the Dana Point trolley and were greeted with cheers and the club members making a tunnel with their arms held up high.
After picking out their wetsuits, they made the trek to the cobblestone beach.
Surf instructor Mike Cruickshank gave a quick lesson on the sand, showing the kids how to “pop up” on their boards, holding out their arms to balance, before hitting the surf.
Brianna Portillo, 8, was feeling nervous, but excited.
“I’m feeling good,” she said. “It’s going to be fun. I get to surf for the first time.”
She wasn’t sure she would be able to stand up, but with Diamond’s guidance, she had no trouble riding a wave toward shore, a smile splashed across her face.
It’s not just a life-changing experience for the elementary and middle school surfers riding waves, but also for the younger volunteers who come out to help, Diamond said.
Related Articles
Surfing Heritage and Culture Center rides wave of change
Eden Walla, 15, becomes youngest-ever “Super Girl” surf champion
Many hands make California Coastal Cleanup Day a success
‘Godfather’ in surfing industry Walter Hoffman remembered
Palos Verdes Estates settles surf localism lawsuit, agrees to make Lunada Bay welcoming to public
“The young kids who come help walk away with such a different sense of community,” he said. “That’s one of the most important things, too. We’re not only getting the kids stoked, but it really gives back to us, too.”
That’s what Hawaiian surf ambassador Duke Kahanamoku’s vision of surfing was all about, Diamond said. “This is spreading aloha.”
Surf club member Anna Nemeth was a first-time volunteer, ready to share the same thrill she had when her dad first pushed her into waves at the same surf spot when she was 4.
“I’m really excited to push kids into waves and let them have the same feeling I had when I was a kid,” she said. “This is one of the most important things you can do in your community, give back. It’s what has shaped all of us here, this is all our community.”
Gabriella Littlejohn, area director for the Boys & Girls Club, said she spoke with several kids who said it was their first time on a surfboard.
“For some of these kids, they live less than 2-to-3 miles away and they’ve never been on the water,” she said.
Leave a Reply