SLVHS, SVHS, Saint Francis High School, and schools from over-the-hill make up The Santa Cruz Mountain Surf Team. Students from these schools range from ages 13-18 years old. The surf team consists of many students from other schools and six from San Lorenzo Valley.
The team has had 2 competitions so far and has 3 left until the season closes in March. So far, they have done well during both of their competitions. Contributing to this success was surfers April Martin-Hansen and Sophie Northcott. April Martin-Hansen competed successfully in the longboard competition, while Sophie Northcott also placed highly in the shortboard competition, as well as also doing well in the longboard competition.
The team has another 3 competitions that students can attend at Pleasure Point, or the Hook, against Soquel High on January 30th or 31st. On February 20th or 21st, there is a competition at Steamer Lane against Santa Cruz High. On March 19th or 20th, there is a competition at Manresa (or Half Moon Bay) against Aptos High.
The Santa Cruz Mountain Surf Team was created in 2012 by April Martin-Hansen and the surf team has consistently grown since its creation and this seems to be a persistent trend with the club. Many students who surf on the team enjoy more than just their time in the water during practices and competitions, but they also savor spending time with the other members of the team. The team has had great success what with the team placing third in both of their first two years placing fourth in their 2014 season.
In recent times the surf team has had star-surfers, April Martin-Hansen and Sophie Northcott perform exceptionally well and the team has faced waves up to six or seven feet tall.
It was a great start to the year for the surfers from SLV. The win over the Harbor High and Carmel High team helped with the positive view that the surfers have looking ahead into the season. With this optimistic outlook, it is hard not to believe that the surf team will continue to succeed and compete well as the year goes on.
As the Santa Cruz Mountain surf team’s season comes to a midpoint, the surfers are competing at their very best. While there may only be five competitions, the team looks forward to improving their skill and improving their ranking.
By Andy Wise
The Claw 