Ohana Nalu: Santa Monica Surf Team

Our Collective is entrenched in the local community! Surf Academy provides weekly coaching for two Santa Monica middle schools: Lincoln and John Adams!

We compete in Scholastic Surf Series , a division of the Western Surfing Association. There are five local contests from Santa Monica up to Santa Barbara starting in October and going through all of winter. Our season culminates with two days of Surfing Championships in Oceanside (San Diego). All the high schools and middle schools from three counties -- San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles -- come together to surf and foster community.

Ohana Nalu Practice Location and Practice Schedule

All Practices for Middle Schools are held at Tower 24 in Santa Monica. High School Practices are held at Tower 22 in Santa Monica.

  • Santa Monica High School: Late Start Wednesday 6:30-8am, Saturday 7-9am
  • Lincoln Middle School: Late Start Wednesday 6:30am-8am, Saturday 7-9am
  • JAMS and SMASH: Late Start Friday 6:30-8am, Saturday 7-9am
  • Independent PE (All Schools): Monday and Wednesday 3:30-5:30pm

Scholastic Surf Series: All schools have registered teams with the SSS, a division of the Western Surfing Association in service to middle and high schools in Los Angeles/Santa Barbara/Ventura Counties, Orange County, and San Diego County. Participating schools compete in five (5) regular season contests once a month starting in October and running through April/May. All SoCal Counties come together to compete at the Championships. Championship Contests are open to all team members who have competed in at least two regular season contests and are held at Oceanside Harbor one to two months after the last regular season contest.

High School Scoring: Competitions will start with a team versus team format. Individual competition will follow immediately. Team points only accumulate in the ‘team v. team’ portion of the contest. After the team heats, all advancing surfers compete on an individual level until they advance to the finals in their division or are eliminated.

There are six shortboard spots for boys and three for girls in each contest. There are three longboard spots for boys and girls. There is one spot for bodyboarders (co-ed).

Middle School Scoring: Competitions will use an individual advancement format. Team and individual rankings will be maintained throughout the season. All schools are represented by individuals in each heat and earn points both for their team and themselves as they advance through their heats.

Per team, there are nine shortboard spots for boys and two for girls. There are three longboard spots for boys and two for girls. There are three bodyboard spots available (co-ed).

Attitude, Ability, Attendance

High school athletes are chosen to represent their school for competition based on points earned in three categories: Attitude, Ability, and Attendance. Ohana Nalu strives to turn out surfers who epitomize the qualities put forth in The Surfer Code. Students who exhibit high quality sportsmanship at practice, showing talent and hard work on a consistent basis. Students must have good attendance at all regularly scheduled practices and team bonding events. Only surfers who exemplify ‘The Stoke,’ exhibit the highest ethics, in and out of the water, and make themselves a fixture at all practices and team events are asked to compete for SSS.

Uniform: All team members must wear a brightly colored Ohana Nalu rashguard to every practice. These identifying rashguards help County Lifeguards, parents, and Coaches keep track of surfers in the water. No rashguard, no water entry, no exceptions.

ISPE (independent PE credit in SMMUSD)

Surf Team Members can earn PE credit for surfing! STOKE!

The school district requires a minimum of 200 minutes a week of sports activity for students who do not participate in weekly PE “in house.” Students must petition for independent PE with their appropriate school administrator and get permission from Head Coach Marion Clark or Jamie Shindle for Surf Academy approval.

SMMUSD approves the surf program for pe credit--they make sure that we have the proper coaching credentials, insurance policies, and practice schedule that can accommodate the 200 minutes-a-week participation requirement. All team members who choose to participate in practices and competitions do so of their own free will and in accordance with SSS and Surf Academy guidelines.

Dates for Middle/High School PE requests:

  • Lincoln: May 1 (Spring before Fall PE request)
  • JAMS: May 15 (Spring before Fall PE request)
  • Samohi: Two weeks before the start of Fall Semester and Two weeks before the end of Fall Semester (for the Winter/Spring Semester).

For more information, please contact Head Coach Marion Clark: 424.903.9500 or email: marion@surfacademy.com

Interested in getting your high school or middle school involved?

All it takes is at least 20 members from one school to create a team for the SSS. Don’t have that many? Individuals from other schools can join a middle school already signed up!

Your grom can earn Independent P.E. Credit for surfing!

Contact Head Coach Marion Clark with questions. Call: 424.903.9500 or email: Marion@surfacademy.com

 

Garrett McNamara snakes our surf practice!