The 15th annual Tony Mezzadri Surf Classic launches into action at the Ocean Beach Pier on Saturday, Sept. 27 beginning at 7 a.m. In conjunction with the annual surf event will be a fundraiser spaghetti dinner on Friday, Sept. 26 at the Ocean Beach Masonic Temple, 1711 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. The dinner and surf event — a collaboration between the Sunset Cliffs Surfing Association (SCSA) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) — generates money for spinal cord injury research. The dinner takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. Tickets for the event are $8. Mezzadri was injured in 1994 while surfing near the Ocean Beach Pier. He suffered a serious neck injury in which his spinal cord was damaged. The injury left Mezzadri a paraplegic. Shortly after the accident, members of the SCSA approached Mezzadri and suggested putting together an event to help raise money for spinal cord injury research. “The surf contest started off when my buddies got together and decided to raise money for my medical expenses,” Mezzadri said. The surf contest began small but eventually grew to include 100 spots that are now filled annually. “The contest started to take off in the late ’90s when we had the sponsors,” Mezzadri said. When the contest was first organized, Mezzadri decided to use the proceeds from the event to help raise money for the research. “Then we had to figure out who the proceeds would go to,” Mezzadri said. “I met Dr. [Mark] Tuczynski when I was working on my research paper in biology class at UCSD. It all came together. I realize that we may not find a cure, but at least we can find something that can help someone else who has had the injury.” In addition to the contest and spaghetti dinner there will be live music, a silent auction, a surfboard drawing and a new feature this year — an Aloha Beer Garden. All proceeds from the surf contest, which include the $50 entry fees, T-shirt sales and donations, go to the UCSD Center for Neural Repair and Spinal Cord Regeneration Program. Today, Mezzadri has put his life on track. He has worked in real estate the last few years at Coldwell Banker, has been married to his wife, Stacy, for two years and has recently learned they are expecting twins. Mezzadri graduated from the University of San Diego in 2003 with a degree in communications and media studies and a minor in Spanish. “One of the greatest things about this event is being able to connect with the people who support it,” said Mezzadri. “It is so generous of them. It is great to see everyone having a good time in a supportive and caring way.” Mezzadri’s mother, Suzanne, said she continues to hold out hope that money raised for research will pay off for others. “I think of how wonderful it would be in the lifetime of Tony’s children if there would be an effective treatment for spinal cord injury,” Suzanne said.