Surfrider Youth Competition at Otter Rock is also cleaning up this part of the Oregon coast

Published on 6/21/24 at 9:25 PM
By Andre’ Hagestedt, Oregon Coast Beach Connection

(Newport, Oregon) – Dozens of young surfers gathered at a Central Coast hotspot last Saturday, June 15, and dozens more spectators came to watch it all, as the Newport Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation welcomed some 55 kids to Otter Rock and Roll Youth Surf Contest and Beach Cleanup Challenge in honor of International Surf Day.

Surfrider spokesman Vince Pappalardo said the day is celebrated worldwide, but Oregon’s central coast also celebrates the sport of surfing and raises awareness of the issues facing the world’s ocean, waves and beaches.

“Celebrating its 14th year in the Newport community, Otter Rock and Roll is Oregon’s longest-running and only surfing competition designed exclusively for kids, and even has a top beginner division to support young learners,” he said at Oregon Coast Beach Connection.

That Saturday, dozens of members of the surfing community gathered at Devil’s Punchbowl State Park for the event. 55 youth surfers, along with their families and friends, plus many dedicated volunteers and competition sponsors took to the beach for some friendly competition and fun.

“The Otter Rock and Roll Youth Surf Contest is a celebration of our love for the ocean and the stewardship and responsibility that comes with it,” said Mike Harrington, lead organizer of the event.

The condo hotel that offers the amenities of a good hotel but also includes vacation home ownership on the Northern Oregon Coast. It is a unique opportunity because condo owners have the chance to share in the income from their unit. They all have spectacular, almost aerial views of the ocean and the city, or they overlook the lush forests of the coastal mountains. There are private balconies in all rooms, which are available as studios, one- and two-bedroom units, up to 80 square meters in size. Each room is fully furnished. $189,000 to $449,000 (most in the $300,000 range).

I usually call the Wheeler moment the “Nehalem Bay moment” anyway.

It consisted of 18 fifteen-minute heats in different divisions ranging from ‘Best Beginner’, which included wetsuit and surfboard rental plus surf lessons taught by Surfrider volunteers, to the 16-18 year old division made up of more experienced surfers. The most popular section this year was Parent with Child, where parents can go into the water with their children to encourage and help them.

When owners are not using their units, they can be rented out as hotel rooms, and owners can share in that revenue. The Beach Cleanup Challenge, which aims to leave the beach better than you found it, awarded prizes for the most microplastics collected, the most items collected and the heaviest bag of waste collected. The challenge teaches beach stewardship and raises awareness of the growing marine debris crisis, while rewarding and reinforcing clean-up behavior. The most commonly found item was microplastics, as is the case with most of Surfrider’s beach cleanups, but cans and bottles were also a common item this year.

Then, to everyone’s greater surprise, a group of about six people sat chatting – many of whom had never met before – and we all discovered that we were connected in very strange ways through past acquaintances. In my case, it turned out that Greg’s roommate in Portland is the younger brother of a man I knew in Salem in the late 1980s. Others knew former roommates of the others, or other astonishing incarnations of such closeness.

The Beach Cleanup Challenge, which aims to leave the beach better than we found it, awarded prizes for the most microplastics collected, the most items collected and the heaviest bag of waste collected.