by Mailani McKelvy
Sunday, October 21st, the Morro Bay High School Surf team hosted a surf contest at the Rock. They competed against Arroyo Grande, Ventura, and Dos Pueblos/Santa Maria. The combined effort of all Morro Bay Surf Team members in both the longboard and shortboard competitions resulted in their first place team finish and a strong start to their season.
Notable performances included that by Kendra Twist (placing 1st in the Women’s Long Board competition), Kayla Burke (placing 2nd in the Women’s Long Board competition), Sydney Beckett (placing 2nd in Women’s Short Board), and Nick Murphy (placing 1st in the Co Ed bodyboard competition).
Though the contest was delayed for 45-minutes due to thick fog, the contest started at 8:45 a.m. with glassy, jumbled peaks that were about shoulder to head high. Head Coach Daniel Fahy described the conditions, stating, “The waves are not great, but perfect for a contest- lots of opportunities [to catch one].” Unfortunately by 11:30, conditions became more challenging with springlike onshore winds that were blowing hard enough for white caps, which made the final heats more difficult for everyone.
The contest itself was organized by the Scholastic Surf Series, which recently created a new division that includes contests hosted at the Rock in Morro Bay. This contest was the first to be held in Morro Bay by the MBHS surf team. Many Morro Bay families and friends were able to attend the event. Fahy was excited about the prospect, stating “Now the other schools know what it’s like- we leave for some of these [competitions] at sometimes 5 or 6 in the morning!”
The next contest will be held on Sunday, November 4th at the Pismo pier. For more information on results and contests, visit https://www.surfsss.org.
