Cynthia Munoz
Published: December 6, 2006
The winter is approaching and the ice cold water is not going to get in the way of a wetsuit and a surfer’s passion. In fact, PJC’s Surf Club is still recruiting members.
The group has high hopes to exploit their passion and start getting involved with conservational service.
The problem is that no one is going to the meetings.
“It’s been a hard time getting [the club] going,” said Charlie Schuler, club advisor. “With the poor attendance, it’s hard getting the word out to go to the beach.”
Surf Club President Ashley Pollard has also noticed the downshift in attendance. She hopes that encouraging younger students and non-surfers to come to the meetings may help the club survive.
“We have around 15 members, which is a good size, but the thing is we haven’t had much participation,” Pollard said. “We’ve been trying to change the meetings to later times to make it possible for more students, like dual enrolled, to attend and changing meets to Saturdays when everyone is out of school.”
According to Pollard and Schuler, there is no limit to the number of students that can join.
“Even if you don’t know how to surf, but if you have an inner passion for it and want to get out there and learn, there are enough of us that are more than capable of teaching,” Pollard said. “When I was 13, I picked it up in two weeks and have been surfing ever since.”
Pollard also encourages the plan of trips to nearby beaches, such as Cocoa Beach, in hopes that travel may persuade more students to join.
“But it’s not just trips; [The club] is a combination of service and doing good for the community and the environment,” Pollard said.
Cleaning a section of the beach is on the club’s to-do list.
“The main thing we wanted to do is get involved with <a href=”http://www.nps.gov/archive/guis/extended/home.htm”>Gulf Islands National Seashore</a> to do clean up,” Schuler said.
“We’ve got a full load planned,” Pollard said. “Even though we’re all pretty laid back, it’s a misconception of surfers being slackers.”
In fact, Pollard plans to do a fundraiser for <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism “>autism</a>.
“According to studies, surfing can actually alleviate some of the symptoms of autism,” Pollard said. “We would really like to get [autism sufferers] out there.”
If the merit of working with the environment and surfing on the weekend is alluring, contact Pollard or Schuler to “take an interest on a Saturday and learn.”
<i>For more information, contact Charlie Schuler at 484-2543, or email cschuler@pjc.edu</i>