The surf team is a special edition to the normal basic sports like baseball and football. Santa Cruz County is known for surfing, and this can be seen in everyday Santa Cruz culture. The team meets every week for surf and at school meets at lunch on Thursdays.
Their first contest was on November at The Hook. Although they lost to Aptos (41-63), Half Moon Bay lost by a greater margin to Santa Cruz (38-66). Jazz Khokhar came close to advancing with a 4th place finish.
The next meet is on November 20th and is sure to be tight between the schools. To understand how the surfers are judged, the points system needs to be understood. Points are awarded based on number of maneuvers, and having power, speed, flow and control while surfing the most powerful part of the wave. Each participant need two waves to qualify for the tournament.
The rules are that longboards must be a minimum of 9 feet and shortboards can’t be longer than 7’6”. Additionally, surfers are not allowed to drop in. This means that they can’t join in on someone else’s wave. It’s the law of surfers to never do this in or out of competition.
Surfing is definitely a growing sport and every year the waves seem to be more crowded. The team is as big as it’s ever been and the club is even bigger. The club is for people that are less serious and just want to hone their skills.
The surf coach, Joni Martin, gives some wonderful advice for the surfers before they compete: “It’s a very good idea to watch conditions long enough so you feel you understand where the waves are breaking, how frequently, where the best ones are breaking, where you could imagine yourself sitting to get them, and what you’d want to do riding them.” This is a good lesson if you want to be safe and have fun.
Overall, surfing is something everybody should try while living in an ideal place to do it. Surf’s up!
By Joshua Forst
The Claw 