Don’t forget to skip out on work this Friday for International Surfing Day, a day set aside for beach lovers to catch some waves and help clean up along the coast.
It’s been interesting watching this day grow over the past few years. When it started four years ago, few people knew about the event, with small gatherings here and there along the coast.
But now, it’s a full-blown monster effort, with Surfrider chapters teaming up for one big beach party and a number of surf companies jumping on board to participate.
Here in Orange County, the Surfrider Foundation chapters of Newport, Huntington and Long Beach are all getting together at tower 2 in Huntington Beach at the end of Brookhurst starting at 7 a.m. to throw a party for anyone who wants to come appreciate the coast.

“This year is definitely going to be bigger than last year,” said Marisa Mudge, chair of Surfrider Newport Beach chapter. “We’re trying to make it a celebration of surfing, and beach culture as well.”
The day is an opportunity to educate people about beach clean ups, she said.
“I think it’s going to be a great sense of community,” she said. “This area of Orange County is really the birthplace of the (surf) industry as a whole.”
There will be paddle outs during the day, along with free grub, surf, and beach clean ups.
“I’m a little worries there won’t be enough food, but we’ll see what happens,” she said. “It’s first come, first serve.”
The party will run through about 7 p.m. Paddle outs held at 7:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Beach clean ups start at 9 a.m., and are held every three hours after.

There will be raffles throughout the day, Vans will be launching a trash art project, and Tiki Chuck will be carving a piece of wood on site to be raffled off. 
Last year, ISD had about 80 beach cleanups organized around the world.

The idea started when the folks down at San Clemente-based Surfing Magazine wanted a day to celebrate the sport, as well as add an environmental element, so they teamed up with Surfrider.
At the first event in 2005, there were 18 organized cleanups. By 2006, there were 40. Last year, there were beaches as far as Argentina with 150 people cleaning up for the effort.
This year, it’s even bigger, with several major surf companies signing on to hand out “challenges,” and donating swag such as wetsuits and sunglasses for winners. Surfing Magazine has even set up a social networking group for ISD.
The theme this year is “Surfing is a sport of challenge: challenging balance, challenging waves, challenging yourself.” So Surfing Magazine set up a number of “challenges,” to get people hyped up on the day.

“It’s an excuse for people to take a half day and go to the beach. I think it’s going to be a really fun, great day,” Mudge said.  

For those who will be paddling out, Surfline.com’s Kevin Wallis gave us this forecast for Friday:
Southwest swell will mix with modest northwest windswell for fun waist-head high waves throughout the day and occasional sets running slightly overhead . Conditions are generally clean in the early morning with light wind and overcast skies. A moderate west wind will build in the afternoon.

Here are some of the challenges. For more info on each or to enter, check out: www.intlsurfingday.com

Electric:
CHALLENGE: “Most Unique Piece of Trash” The person that finds the most unique piece of trash. For grand prize entry, person must take a photo of the piece of trash on ISD and submit photo.
Ocean Minded:
CHALLENGE: “How to Make Someone Ocean Minded” An essay/photo contest on how they brought the experience of being “Ocean Minded” to someone new on ISD. Teach someone to surf, clean up the beach, etc.
Matix:
CHALLENGE: “Matix Branding” Person that sends in the best photo with the Matix brand anywhere on their body. The brand can be created with sunscreen, tape, stencil, etc. and winner will be the best branded logo.
DVS
CHALLENGE: “Most Alternative Material Rode on a Wave” The person to send in a video of themselves riding the most unique piece of trash or object on a wave.
O’Neill
CHALLENGE #1: “Eco-Friendly Video Contest” Video submission contest that must contain eco-friendly content (beach clean-up, environmental restoration, etc.) The video can be no more than 3 minutes long.
CHALLENGE #2: “Best Trash Sculpture” Submit a photo that contains the best trash sculpture built or collected at the official ISD locations and pertaining to the O’Neill brand (logo, brand name. etc.)
Reef
CHALLENGE: “Be In Reef’s New Ad Campaign alongside Rob Machado” Submit your best photos from your ISD experience. One hundred of the best photos will be selected to be a part of the next Reef ad in the Green Issue of Surfing Magazine.
Sector 9: 
CHALLENGE: “Make the Best Trash Skateboard” The person to build the most creative skateboard out of some sort of trash on June 20th.
Globe
CHALLENGE: “Most Plastic Bottles” Participant who picks up the most plastic bottles onsite at an ISD official location.
Vans
CHALLENGE: “Styrofoam Collection” Participant who picks up the most Styrofoam onsite at an ISD official location.
Volcom
CHALLENGE: “Biggest Piece of Trash” Participant who finds the biggest piece of trash onsite at an ISD official location.
Body Glove
CHALLENGE: Longest Wave Ridden on International Surfing Day. The person to send in a video of themselves riding the longest wave on International Surfing Day.
Patagonia
CHALLENGE: “Butt Challenge” Participant who finds the most cigarette butts onsite at an ISD official location.
Oakley
CHALLENGE: “Power Hour Contest” The person that catches the most waves in an hour. The winner at each location must give their name, email, phone number to the Chapter leader. Chapter leaders must record the winner’s wave count and report it on the Oakley ISD community page.
Billabong
CHALLENGE: “Most Plastic Materials” The person that collects the most plastic materials at an official ISD location.

Posted in: Beach culture • Environment • Surfing |

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