urf contest intended to raise awareness about issues impacting our oceans, waves, and beaches along the west coast of the US/Mexico border has been canceled for two very ironic reasons: a sewage flow and high surf.
The idea behind the event is an interesting one. Surfrider San Diego and Surfrider Baja hold two surfing events at the same time, one on either side of the border. Surfrider Baja’s occurs at Playas de Tijuana with Surfrider San Diego’s at Border Field State Park. This year was the first time the events were to be held.
“The surf competitions are intended to raise awareness in the border region and help inspire local surfers on both sides of the border to protect the quality of our ocean,” reads the website. “They will also mark the end of Tijuana River Action Month (TRAM) which is a series of education and stewardship events held during September and October to benefit the Tijuana River Watershed.
According to a statement from Surfrider, both chapters had been rigorously testing the contest waters since October 26th. On Saturday, just a day before they were to get under way, the combination of high surf and a sewage leak from a construction site in Tijuana forced organizers to call the contests off. Although the events were initially given a green light on Saturday morning, a few hours later things changed.
“Due to dangerously high surf and flooding of Monument Road from a sewage flow, the Surfrider Foundation of San Diego No Border Sewage Committee has decided to postpone the Surf the Border surf contest,” spokeswoman Nairin Collardey said. “We have yet to determine a postponement date, but will be deciding this in the coming weeks. We apologize for any inconveniences due to this last minute decision.
Surfrider San Diego explained more in a Facebook update:
“The surf contest location, Border Field State Park, is a beach break that is unable to hold high surf. Contest organizers from Revolt as well as Imperial Beach lifeguards reported consistent closeout waves with 10ft+ faces as of 10am this morning (11/5). Additionally, they also noticed a strong south current which could potentially push contestants across the border into Mexico. Finally, Surfline forecasts are predicting even larger surf tomorrow. Thus, in order to ensure contestant’s safety, Surfrider has decided to postpone the contest until further notice.
The sewage flow adds another logistical complexity to the surf contest as it is currently flooding the road to the contest location. Unfortunately, sewage spills are common in the Tijuana River Valley, subsequently threatening ocean water quality, estuary ecosystems, and human health. It is the mission of Surfrider’s NoBS Committee to address and eliminate the sewage, trash, sediment and chemical waste that plagues our ocean, waves, and beaches in the border region. The sewage flow currently flooding Monument Road is part of a long list of incidents that exemplify the urgency of pollution related issues in the Tijuana River Valley.”
In a news report from November 4th, concerns were raised about the spill.
