By Jennika Ingram
The rainy weather didn’t stop the surfers and community from coming out and supporting the first-ever Breakwater Open, hosted by the newly formed Venice Surf Association
“I couldn’t stay away,” says Elijah Labb, 20, who came from San Luis Obispo especially for the event, which took place at the Venice breakwater. “I drove down because I love this group of people and I love this area and I couldn’t imagine missing it.” He’s a competitor who grew up in Venice. There are other surf competitions, but the breakwater is a staple, he says.
The members-only surf contest took place on Saturday, October 15, with the first surfers in the water at 8 am, and it finished just before sunset. Although there was a cold thick mist at the outset, the sun peeked out later in the day. When asked about the weather, one local supporter standing on the sand chimed in: “I think it’s pretty cool it’s raining, it’s harsh, it’s pretty classic.”
The board members of the VSA knew it was a challenge to pick the right date. “We had to pick a date ahead of time hoping for a proper swell, so it’s really dealing with nature. That’s universal. All surf contests have to deal with the vagaries of surfing,” says Board President Guy Okazaki, a skilled surfboard shaper and a Venice legend.
“Our membership grew from that Friday to the following Tuesday. We got 150 new members, so we did something right,” adds Okazaki, a VSA founder and ex-surf coach at Santa Monica High School. The VSA, which began with about 200 members last May, has grown to 350 and is on its way to 400 members.
In the past six months since its inception, the new VSA has hosted its launch event, a beach cleanup, the surf competition, and a film screening of some rare surf footage.
“They’re a great group of locals determined to create a long overdue solid Venice presence, including youth water safety, beach cleanups, and sanctioned surf contests as a regular event,” says Ben Kleiman, a VSA member who was easily spotted prior to the event, because he was sporting a VSA T-shirt.”
“We aim to empower future generations of surfers through competition and charitable action centered around coastal protection,” says the VSA website.
First-place winners for the competition included: Yves Bright for the Open Men, Stephanie Wise for the Open Women, Fiona Duerr for the Open Longboard Women, West Adler for the Open Longboard Men, Jeff Shelp for the Legends Men, and Liz Montgomery for the Legends Women. Theo Fedorux won the Master Mens division. As for the groms, Dylan Morrisroe won the top spot both for Boys Under 18 and Boys Under 14 divisions, Dot Powell won for Girls Under 14, and Jacob Packham won for the Under 9 years old category.
The VSA encourages all levels of surfers from nearby communities to join in, and they are also encouraging sponsorships. For more information: visit vsa.la or
@venicesurfingassociation
