Aspiring young “groms” and “wahines,” “” surf lingo to describe boy and girl surfers “” will sometimes pay fees of up to $200 to enter surfing competitions. Not so with the fourth annual Gromfest Surfing Contest, hosted by the Sunset Cliffs Surfing Association (SCSA), whose 6-to-16-year-old participants will surf for free on Aug. 25.
“We wanted to do something just for all kids,” said SCSA treasurer Ken Sullivan. “Many kids who have never been in any kind of competitive situation can just get out in the water and have fun with their buddies. It’s like a big festival.”
Sullivan said the SCSA fosters that festive atmosphere on the day of the competition by distributing prizes and trophies to all participants, playing music and hosting a barbecue for the parents and competitors.
A panel of four judges will judge the 110 competitors in seven separate age and gender groups on any surfboard of their choosing. Panel members will include local surfing legends, such as Jim “Mouse” Rob, a lifelong Ocean Beach native and ex-lifeguard, according to Sullivan.
After a day of surfing festivities, Gromfest culminates in a beach and boardwalk cleanup intended to promote environmental awareness for all contest participants.
“What’s really neat is that over the years [the contest] pulls a lot of parents and community volunteer types just aching to do something to help,” Sullivan said.
The surfing contest, which is primarily sponsored by Mor Furniture for Less, is held in memory of Carl Warner, a former employee and Point Loma resident who Sullivan said “loved helping out kids before he passed away. It was a perfect fit to put on a free-of-charge surf contest [for him].”
The Gromfest surfing contest will begin at 7 a.m. on the north side of the Ocean Beach Pier on Saturday. The contest has no entry fee. However, competitors are asked to make a $20 donation.
For more information, visit www.scsasandiego.com.