The Mesa Surf Club formed this fall semester under the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA). According to their website, the National Scholastic Surfing Association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to encourage and assist its members in their interest to learn and develop the fundamentals and skills of surfing competition while competing in structured and quality events.
Oct. 24-25 marked the first contest of the year for the Southwest Conference and the Olympians first as club, and in their very first try they raised a champion; Jason Belgau competed and won the Men’s Shortboard division at Black’s Beach in La Jolla. Competing over two days, he out-surfed 150 other surfers from 28 different schools.
His win symbolizes the strong future that Mesa College has for its surf team. While Belgau’s win was a great individual achievement, it’s also a strong statement for the Olympians as a team. This win put the Olympians on the map as a team to be reckoned within the talent packed Southwest Conference. While Belgau’s performance stood out, so did many others. The Olympians actually had multiple surfers advance through the first round for both the men’s and the women’s brackets.
The NSSA is divided into 9 conferences nationwide, all centering out of their national office in Huntington Beach. The western coast consists of the Hawaii, Southwest, Gold Coast, Northwest, and NSSA Junior Novice conferences while the eastern coast consist of the Northeast, Southeast, Southeast/North, and Florida Gulf Conferences.
The Olympians joined the Southwest Conference, which stands as the largest membership conference in the NSSA according to its website. Competing against surfers from schools such as SDSU, UCSD, UCSC, Long Beach State, and countless others, Mesa College would seem to have its hands full.
Mesa Student Evan Sandison founded the team during the fall semester of 2015. While the program is young, they are excited about what has to come and the quick growth that is expected. As well as improving competitively, they also expect the team to grow in members.
They host a Facebook page named “San Diego Mesa Surf Club.” Their they will keep you updated throughout each competition and will post the results. If you are interested in joining the team you must be enrolled at any of the three community colleges in the San Diego district.
Looking forward the Olympians will be competing Nov. 14-15 at Seaside Reef in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, then again Jan. 23-24, 2016, in Huntington Beach, followed by an event in Ventura on Jan. 31, 2016. The State Championships will be hosted in San Onofre on March 4-6, 2016. Then in June 11-13, 2016, the National Interscholastic College Championships will be held at Salt Creek in Dana Point.
