“If everybody had an ocean…Across the USA.. Then everybody’d be surfin’ …Like Californ – i – a… ”
No surprise that this Beach Boys song links surfing with California. The majority of the surfing spots named in this vintage ‘60s song are located in the Golden State which has continued to be the US mecca for surfers. But on June 19th, the beach at Rambler Road in Wildwood Crest will host a very special event, one that empowers individuals with spinal cord injury to surf despite paralysis.
This “They Will Surf Again (TWSA)” event is the only New Jersey stop on a nine-city national tour sponsored by the Life Rolls On Foundation. And yes, you guessed it, three of the other cities on this tour are in California.
Life Rolls On, which just this past year became a division of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, was established in 2002 by Jesse Billauer. Jesse was one of the world’s top amateur surfers when he broke his neck surfing off a Southern California beach in 1996.
To pay forward the financial support he received from his local community and the surfing industry, Jesse and his brother were moved to raise money for others. The 501(c)(3) charity they created raises money for spinal-cord-injury research, engages professional athletes to talk to young people about accident prevention and produces unique quality of life programs utilizing action sports.
The purpose of the award-winning, adaptive surfing program, “They Will Surf Again,” is not just about the sport, but about inspiring infinite possibilities despite paralysis.
Because of the generous support of the Life Rolls On Foundation, the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) and Global Surf Industries (GSI), the event in Wildwood Crest as in all nine cities on the tour is free to all participants.
The Foundation provides wetsuits, life vests and soft top surfboards for use at the event, as well as surf chairs for transport to the water’s edge. TWSA typically pairs about seven volunteers (many of whom are lifeguards or ex-lifeguards) with each surfer, some of whom may not have surfed since their injury or may never have surfed at all.
Even those who have limited or no use of their arms can usually be accommodated. Above all, the day is designed to provide inspiration, camaraderie and fun.
In Cape May County, the local community is pitching in to show its support. On May 15th, the 31st Annual Cape May Charity Footrace, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May, will support the efforts of the Life Rolls On Foundation.
Proceeds from this event will be donated to the foundation and, for the first time, participation in the race has been opened to include a Wheelchair Division. The deadline for registration is May 13th and the cost to register is $20. For more information, contact Barbara Downs at the Chamber of Commerce (884-5538 Ext. 104) or visit www.active.com.
For the past four years, a local disabilities advocate, Chad de Satnick, who experienced a spinal cord injury on Sept. 25, 2001, has organized an annual golf tournament to support the work of the Life Rolls On Foundation and the TWSA event. The fifth annual East Coast Golf Tournament will get under way at 1 p.m. on Sept. 25, at the Cape May National Golf Course in Erma.
An after party-fundraiser will follow on the deck at the Harbor View Restaurant on Ocean Drive from 6 to 10 p.m. For more information about this tournament as well as the surfing event on June 19th, email Chad at chad@liferollson.org.
Although the main mission of the Life Rolls On Foundation (www.liferolls on.org) is to serve individuals with spinal cord injury, if there is space available participation in “They Will Surf Again” will be extended to individuals using wheelchairs as a result of any disability.
Local volunteers are also most welcome both for land and water tasks. I’m told that the Wildwood Crest event can accommodate 40 to 50 participants. So let’s spread the word about this wonderful national program coming literally to our local shores.
Pierson is the Coordinator of the Cape May County Office of Disability Services
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