For those who love sand and waves, the lack of a beach near Charlottesville is a bummer – so the Surf Club does all it can to keep students’ love of the sport alive.
--“That’s one of our goals – to promote surfing by education and teaching,” said President Chris Winstead-Derlega, a fourth-year College student.
According to Vice President Peter Soroka, a second-year College student, one past club member had no surfing experience but enjoyed the beach and watching surfing. He was able to surf for the first time on a trip with the club.
“We will encourage people who don’t know how to surf to watch surfing videos or to just come to the beach with the club and watch,” Soroka said.
The club provides surfing equipment, including a long board that is easy to use and ideal for teaching.
“We try to match the surfboard with the person’s ability, and the wave conditions,” Winstead-Derlega said.
The club has remained relatively small because many University students are unfamiliar with surfing, according to Soroka.
“A lot of people wear the Quicksilver surf brands, but not too many people actually surf, so the club is really underground,” Soroka said.
The club is mostly comprised of people who live close to the beach, said second-year College student Clark Belote. Lack of experience should not deter hopeful members from joining the club, however; although new members are often nervous, club members are enthusiastic to welcome them.
“We like to encourage the beach culture — laid-back lifestyle, no worries, people hanging out and having a good time,” Winstead-Derlega said.
Surfing is a state of mind, according to Soroka.
“You pick up life lessons from surfing,” he said. “I feel that surfing teaches lessons such as independence and brotherhood with other surfers. For example, you can go to California and talk to a surfer — both of you will instantly have a connection.”
The club offers trips to Ocean City, Md., Virginia Beach, UNC Wilmington and Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. The beaches are three to five hours away, which makes frequent surf trips difficult. The club tries to go surfing about four or five times a semester, Winstead-Derlega said.
Club members who live near the beach also make an effort to frequently visit the beach during breaks from school. Clarke said he goes to the beach once or twice a week when he is at home in Newport News, Va.
“Not having a beach nearby makes you appreciate the beach a lot more, because every time I go home, I have to go to the beach, even in the dead winter,” Winstead-Derlega said.
In addition to taking recreational trips, some club members also participate in competitions.
“We do maybe one or two contests every year,” Soroka said. “For the most part, the majority of the trips is free surfing — surfing just to have fun. There’s this big split in the surfing world. Not to sound corny, but there’s the soul surfers and the competitors ... There are different types of people, [and] I’m not really that competitive.”
Whether traveling for fun or to compete, the worst part of the trips is the long distance from the University to the beach; however, finally being able to surf again makes the trip worth it, Soroka said.
“Every trip we have been on, someone learns and catches the waves,” Winstead-Derlega added. “You see the twinkle in their eye and you know that when they come back to the beach, they’ll be surfing again.”
Considering that expanding their community is the Surf Club’s objective, it helps that the sport sticks with you: Once you make a connection with the ocean, it is impossible to lose, according to Soroka.
“I realized this isn’t something I’m only going to do when I’m young,” Soroka said. “I know plenty of fat, old guys who go out in longboards and surf.”
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