Sunny Surfing Event Captures Surfer’s Legacy, Awards Scholarships
By Lenore McKenzie-Morris
Guy Daniels' legacy is the sound of the surf, the power of a wave, the artistry of balance and the joy of the moment.
Ten years ago Daniels, a resident of Surfside Beach, surfer and rising sophomore at the College of Charleston, went jogging one day after working at a local surf shop and died of heart failure.
His friends and family met on the beach a month later to surf in his honor.
Today, his legacy continues to grow in scope as scholarships and environmental efforts are undertaken in his name, with funding from a full weekend of surfing events at the Guy Daniels Memorial Surfoff.
"For the last three years, we've been able to give five $1,000 scholarships to local kids," said Jim Daniels, Guy's father and chairman of the surfoff's board. The growing number of scholarships brings the total of funds raised to more than $25,000 since the event's inception as a private gathering.
Now in its 10th year, the surfoff attracted 120 participants this year. The event has grown so well and has become such a regional draw that the town of Surfside Beach added an offshore regatta and water sports equipment expo to the August event this year.
The surfoff remains the centerpiece of the event. Held at 13th Avenue South, the competition consists of multiple heats open to surfers of all ages. No surfing association memberships are required, so the event draws a lot of new participants every year.
"It's become an outreach for younger surfers," Jim said. "It's a good event for those who want to enter a surfing competition but don't want to have a membership to a surfing organization.
"We love that," he said. "Surfing can be intimidating, just the sport itself. Surfing in a competition can really be intimidating. Young surfers can be turned off by that, but we really want them to be introduced to the sport. We're able to see kids come in here and surf in our competition that started with us eight or nine years ago and that's important to us."
The competition attracted a group of young teens from Folly Beach who spent the summer surfing from dawn to dusk.
"We set four to five alarms - all of our phones - to get up at 5:30 a.m.," said Chance Price, a 13-year-old from Mt. Pleasant.
Price and two of his friends heard about the competition at the last minute and arrived in time to register for the event. It was the young surfers' first competition.
"It's fun," said Patrick Lloyd, 14. "There's no pressure."
The two-day surfing event was open to spectators who gathered along the shore to watch participants in the event, or lounged in the shade under tents.
At the concession booth, Rhonda Daniels greeted surfers who had come from all over the East Coast to remember her son. She wore her favorite flip flops - a gift from Guy she traditionally wears on the second day of the surfoff - and recounted the days when her son competed as a surfer up and down the coast.
"He never got upset if he didn't win," she said.
For Laurie Vaigneur, an Isle of Palms mother who played host to the Mt. Pleasant teens who surfed from dawn to dusk, the event gave her family and friends a chance to try a stress-free, friendly competition.
"This is a great group of people," she said.
http://www.mbsun.com/assets_c/2009/08/Surfoff Winners-thumb-540x548-2197.jpg
Guy was the Best!