Below is an analysis of a circulating email from I*** B******* and responses to I.B. in italics. Point number 6 is the absolute best:1. I'm sorry, but I beg to differ. I see [the] petition as extremely selfish and self serving. How many of the current contests serve the female surfing population?
[None because there are no contests, period. Everyone was very happy with that until a commercial promoter made it an issue and allowed folks like I.B. to become misinformed.
Note that many of the people opposed to the contest being held @ Swamis don't even surf Swamis very often. Some don't even surf.]
2. You are actually complaining that you don't have access to Swami's 365 days a year?
[That does sound bad if you put it that way. Maybe that is too extreme. On the other hand, it is public infrastructure and why should the community be denied access at all so that a promoter, professional surfers, and Miley Cyrus can make some money?
Isn't this like shutting down interstate 5 on a work day so a promoter could run commercial drag races? For $300 a day.
Please note that the Leucadia bloggers don't surf Swamis daily and they base their critiques on principle not personal stakes.]
3. Who said you were entitled to such a privilege in the first place?
[Who said celebrities are entitled to own an entire surf break for the purpose of making money at the expense of the community? Also, you probably support organizations dedicated to ensuring that right. The promoters even support them and in California we actual have legislation that guarantees access to the beach under the principle that beaches are a public resource and should not be privatized. The contest privatizes the beach for $300/day.
It looks like people with special relationships to the city council will be able to run contests. The promoters are not calling for a competitive process for the contest slots.
No one said that we have right to use Interstate 5 everyday but that is a reasonable expectation of the taxpayer, no? ]
4. Wake up - ALL the good breaks are extremely crowded now and access is a problem for everyone.
[Exactly, so please sign the petition. There is no surplus of waves anymore. There are too many people for a limited number of waves. Contests only make it worse and this Gidget International thing is going to be the grand finale to So Cal surfing.]
5. You want to deny some women a contest so you can have access EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR!?
[This issue is about access for everyone. Access for Kevin's wife. Access for Michelle W. Access for Darcy D.M. It is a public beach. Why should the community give up weekends of Swamis surf so that a few professionals, a promoter, and Miley Cyrus make some money? Why should Cardiff Reef surfers have to deal with the extra crowds during those weekends? So far the major reasons seem to be that the Promoter is awesome, it will be good for the environment, and Swamis is already so crowded we should nuke it with a contest. What else?
As you know, some years we only get a few good weekend swells, so why should the public risk potentially giving up the best days of the year. Why put the reason so many people live in Encinitas at risk? Maybe the next point answers this question.]
6a. The Women's contest at Swami's would actually IMPROVE access for me!!! I might be able to surf in an amateur heat (if they have one) without competing with a gazillion hot shots...
[Selfish]
7. Linda Benson has worked tirelessly on behalf of half the population to promote the wonderful sport of surfing - and to raise funds for environmental awareness - I say let the contest go on!
[This is not a charity contest. What should qualify someone for getting temporary ownership of our most popular surf breaks, for $300/day?]
8. If a women's surf contest at Swami's cramps your style, maybe one of the other contests at Swami's should be eliminated due to redundancy in the audience it serves.
[Given that you were misinformed and believe that there are "male" contests at Swamis, it is understandable that you were led to believe that the issue has something to do with sexism. But, there are currently no contests at Swamis. The issue is about keeping Swamis free of contests and access open to everyone. There is an ironic sexist slant to comment 8. The majority of women longboarders at Swamis are opposed to contests @ SWAMIS and the Leucadia bloggers' families contain multiple generations of women surfers. ]
Respectfully,
I. B.
Cardiff, CA
6b. The Women's contest at Swami's would actually IMPROVE access for me!!! I might be able to surf in an amateur heat (if they have one) without competing with a gazillion hot shots who have no problem running over and into me. I was hit twice this summer by reckless surfers and didn't appreciate their attitudes afterwards.
ReplyDelete[Wouldn't we all like Swamis to be less crowded?
Many nonsurfers are not going to understand how sad the statement about being run over twice might be. It is a good indication that she was having fun at the unbalanced expense of others in the water and has no clue.
Most sessions at Swamis you don't get many waves, because it is heavily used by the community. After investing a couple hours waiting to get a good one it is terrible to get half way through a wave to have some oblivious/selfish dude paddle up the face in front of you. 99% of the time that dude made many wrong decisions that put him in a spot that forced the surfer riding the wave to either: 1) kick out of the wave and wait another hour for the next one, or 2) cut it close to the dude who should not have been in the open face of the wave. Many times that dude went up the face infront of you because he did not want to take the beating of having to dive under the wave. Experienced surfer suffer the beating so their fellow surfers can finally enjoy their wave.
Where there is strong localism dudes that paddle up in front of surfers are figuratively tossed out of the water immediately. I** B** received some "attitude" and she probably remains dangerous because she does not understand that she had also made a mistake and does not seem embarrassed by it one bit.
Unfortunately, surfing has been marketed to the masses (e.g. Gidget International) and we have so many people in the water who don't realize how much they have left to figure out about surfing. They home right in on Swamis and if Swamis localism wasn't a myth I.B. would not have had the pleasure of being run over twice. At localized breaks she probably would have been barked out of the water for showing up again after getting in some "hotshot's" way. Sent back to the minor league breaks. If Swamis localism wasn't a myth surfers would not have to worry about beginners bailing their boards unnecessarily or falling in ways that are extra dangerous to others. Swamis is bloody dangerous because of the density of surfers combined with low skill levels. The whole community utilizes Swamis.
Localism was hyped as a way to dismiss the opposition.]
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ReplyDeleteThis is what those who run the city do. They use our public resources for the benefit of their select few friends or acquaintances. They don't surf and don't get it what it means to surf at Swami's.
ReplyDeleteI rarely get to surf there anymore because of the crowds, this will only add to the hundreds of novice surfers in the water at a high performance break.
Please Linda, show some respect to OUR town.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTo just go surf,
ReplyDeleteWe already surfed.
send us an email at leucadiablog@gmail.com
We know about your point. We've done our homework too and are storing your comment for a future post, hopefully after the promoters decide to meet with the public in a forum where we come up with a happy solution for everyone.
Leucadia Blog- why did you remove my post?? I didn't say anything offensive nor inflammatory, just stated my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think you guys are getting too sensitive for the holidays.
Tell you what I'll do, I'll bail you guys out of jail if you get busted by the surf police. How's that for Holiday cheer?? I'll post the bond. But if you miss your court hearing, I'll sic the DOG on you !!!
King Stahlman and I are tight!!!
There is nothing at all offensive in your post. Send us an email.
ReplyDeleteThose who can surf..surf the best breaks, those who are learning, learn elsewhere. I was taught this lesson early in the seventies. Back then though, it was real localism, now it is safety. 40 stiches later from somebody ditching on a wave he couldn't handle.
ReplyDeletethe best breaks are now the most dangerous because that is where the beginners go. In this generation of instant gratification they ignore the etiquette of learning how to surf before heading out at the best breaks. There is no localism at Swamis.
ReplyDelete