June 13-17: Oceanside Celebrates Surfing! (press release)
WHO
USA Surfing and Visit Oceanside, along with the Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego (PDFSD) and City of Oceanside are joining forces to kick off the 2023 O’side summer season with a spotlight on the largely unknown and underappreciated relationship between surfers and lifeguards, who together keep the ocean safe and fun.
WHEN
June 13-17 – International Surfing Day week
June 13 – USA Surfing Championship para surfing competition
June 14 – USA Surfing Championship para surfing and longboard competition
June 15 – Longboard (Open div. ISA Trials), SUP & Prone Distance Race (ISA Trials)
June 16 – USA Surfing Championship adult shortboard and SUP surf
June 17 – USA Surfing Championship SUP Age Group Races, SUP Tech Races (ISA Trials)
*heats will run 8am – 5 pm each day.
June 17 – 7:30 pm, a free, family-friendly public screening at the Oceanside pier amphitheater of two surf films: a new film short featuring Oceanside surf greats like world junior Gold Medalist and WSL CT pro Caitlin Simmers, and “Big Wave Guardians: First Responders of the Sea,” a documentary film written by California Surf Museum Oceanside President Jim Kempton.
WHAT
The “O’side Celebrates Surf” week starts with USA Surfing’s elite Championship event June 13-17 at Oceanside Harbor, drawing the world’s best surfers from multiple disciplines.
We cap off the week June 17 – International Surfing Day – with a free, family-friendly public screening at the Oceanside pier amphitheater of two surf films: a new film short featuring Oceanside surf greats like world junior Gold Medalist and WSL CT pro Caitlin Simmers, and “Big Wave Guardians: First Responders of the Sea,” a documentary film written by California Surf Museum Oceanside President Jim Kempton.The film showcases the important and ever-evolving role lifeguards and surfers play in keeping the ocean safe and fun.
WHERE
USA Surfing’s elite Championship event June 13-17 takes place at Oceanside Harbor North Jetty.
The new “O’side Celebrates Surf” film short and “Big Wave Guardians” screening will be shown on the big screen at Oceanside’s Pier Amphitheater on International Surfing Day – Saturday, June 17 at 7:30 p.m.
WHY
The first recorded lifeguards in history were surfers, and surfers have pioneered significant advances in rescue techniques, tools, and training.
Surfers are behind an international movement to train more surfers to make or assist in rescues. Their position in the lineup, surfboards, and knowledge of ocean currents, waves, and tides make them valuable partners in ocean safety. The Big Wave Risk Assessment Group and Surfer Awareness in Lifesaving Techniques (SALT) are training thousands of surfers across the world every year.
- California is the first state in the nation to have a comprehensive strategy to raise awareness and engage more people and organizations in ensuring everyone is safe in and around the water.
- Southern California has the lowest drowning rates in the state.
- The first recorded lifeguards in history were surfers, and surfers have pioneered significant advances in rescue techniques, tools, and training from rescue boards to jet skis.
- The Big Wave Risk Assessment Group (BWRAG) and Surfer Awareness in Lifesaving Techniques (SALT) are training thousands of surfers across the world every year. BWRAG summits have evolved into comprehensive in-person and online trainings in high-surf risk management, including case scenario analysis, apnea training, safety product showcases, CPR/AED training and open-ocean first-responder training.
- America’s first woman ocean lifeguard Joyce Hoffman said she passed lifeguard tryouts in San Diego County, because of her world champion surf skills and ocean knowledge.
