Occidental surfers hopeful for funding

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Occidental is 22 miles from Santa Monica Beach and 28 miles from the Manhattan and El Porto Beaches — popular spots for Southern California surfers and tanning enthusiasts year-round. But despite the close proximity and favorable weather, the Tiger community has yet to establish an official surf club to take advantage of Los Angeles’ geographical benefits.

Sophomores Will Ayres, Isaac Dalsheimer and Jackson Dayton have taken it upon themselves to fill this void in Occidental student life. Last semester, they worked to garner student interest and have now moved on to the application process to receive funding and recognition as an official student club.

“When I came to Occidental, I was surprised to find out that there was not an organized surf club, especially since there are quite a few students on campus who do surf on a somewhat regular basis,” Ayres said.

Occidental has been slow to get up on the board — schools like Loyola Marymount, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Southern California (USC) have all established recreational surf clubs. USC has even taken surfing a step further by forming a competitive team to attend competitions and events in Southern California.

Occidental Surf Club is trying to create an inclusive atmosphere for surfers of every level. Ayres said the club members are planning to offer peer-taught lessons for those who have never tried surfing or want to hone their skills. For the more advanced surfers, they are trying to form regular groups to go out and share the waves with.

“Almost everyone of us has experience teaching friends the basics of surfing. One of the guys actually gave paid lessons over the summer, so we welcome surfers of any level,” Ayres said. “And if we receive some funding, we will be able to expand on how many people we can teach at once by getting some extra foam boards.”

Eventually, if students show enough interest, they may even try to participate in surfing competitions. Still, the club will always retain its recreational foundation, according to Dalsheimer.

“Ultimately, we just want to have fun at the beach with a good group of people, whether it be by helping someone stand up on a board for the first time, or just meeting people who appreciate the waves as much as you,” Dalsheimer said.

In trying to cater to the varying skill levels of students who might want to join, the club will be traveling to several different beaches, such as El Porto, Manhattan, Malibu and Venice. To help accommodate schedules, the club will most likely meet on weekends, although there will probably be several members, such as Dayton, who will go out before classes on some of the weekdays.

“Right now, we are usually going over around 5:30 a.m. on weekday mornings to surf. This eliminates most of the traffic and allows us to see beautiful Los Angeles while most people are still asleep,” Dayton said.

Although the club is not yet officially formed, Ayres, Dalsheimer and Dayton are still trying to grow interest in the group. Having more members will make for a more interactive experience for surfers of all levels, as well as more flexible scheduling.

“At the end of the day we are just trying to get to know the same people who share similar interests and enjoy the water and sunshine at the beach,” Dalsheimer said.

As of Oct. 1 at 1:13 p.m., Will Ayres’ name was changed from “Ayers” to “Ayres.” 

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