A record number of ISA World Junior Competitors are currently in Pedasi, Panama to compete for individual and team glory. This event, which brings together the best under-18 surfers from around the world, marks the third time that Panama Tourism and the ISA have partnered to host an ISA World Championship event.

Nearly 300 surfers are competing in three divisions (Boys Under-18, Boys Under-16, and Girls Under-18) over the course of eight days of competition at Playa Venao, a beach-break located on the Pacific Ocean side of the country.

The ISA World Junior Surfing Championship, sponsored by Dakine and presented by Billabong, officially began this weekend with the parade of nations and opening ceremony. On Saturday, the streets of Pedasi were flooded with the flags and the colors of the 31 competing nations, making this the largest juniors event in history.

“Regardless of the color of our skin, the country we come from, our religion or anything that may seem to divide us, we are all connected through surfing,” said Fernando Aguerre, the President of the ISA, in his opening remarks.

As a symbol of the global surfing connection, each team sent a flag bearer and a representative onto the stage after the Parade of the Nations came to a close for the traditional ISA Sands of the World Ceremony. Sands from home beaches are poured into a glass container, representing the peaceful gathering of nations through the love of surfing.

The action started yesterday with the schedule devoted entirely to the boys, with 48 Qualifying Round 1 heats running in both the Under-18s and Under-16s. USA’s Trevor Thornton and Hawaii’s Koa Smith emerged as top contenders as they finished their heats.

According to Surfline, the Official Forecaster of the event, waves should be increasing in size for the next couple days, capping out in the six- to seven-foot range. It should make for some interesting competition this week. The event ends next Sunday, April 22^nd, when it will be the Finals and Closing Ceremony.

To check out the event webcast live, log onto dakineisawjsc.com/live. The day’s webcast begins at 8:00am local time (6:00am PST; 2:00pm in London). Continue reading →

If you haven’t already heard about One Day Without Shoes, mark your calendar for April 10th. TOMS, the shoe brand (and clothing and eyewear brand, too), whose business is more of a movement than a traditional company, has set their annual One Day Without Shoes for next Tuesday.

As many of you already know, the TOMS business model is based on the premise of a worldwide movement called One for One, which combines commerce with social responsibility. The One for One vision is that for every pair of shoes TOMS sell, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. Unfortunately, millions of children live without proper footwear, exposing them to injury and disease every day. But, over 1,000,000 pairs of shoes have been given to children under the One for One program since TOMS launched in 2006.

One Day Without Shoes hopes to draw awareness of the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child’s life by taking off our own. Some illnesses due to the lack of proper footwear include:

• Podoconiosis: 4,000,000 have podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring soil-based disease
• Hookworm: 740,000,000 people are affected by hookworm which can cause intestinal pain, weakness and cognitive impairment.
• Dangerous Debris: 30,000 people live on one landfill in the Philippines, where many are without shoes and are exposed to broken glass, syringes and debris.
• Jiggers: 1,890,000 Kenyan children are infected by jiggers, burrowing fleas that cause painful infection.

People in over 25 countries will begin hosting thousands of local events to celebrate this cause. Over 500 schools and 1400 companies will join in the effort. Celebrities who will go without their shoes to raise awareness include Lenny Kravitz, Charlize Theron, Donna Karan, Sara Bareilles, The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Kris Allen, Arianna Huffington, One Republic, Hands, Ryan Eggold, Matisyahu and dozens of others. Microsoft, AOL, Nordstrom and many other companies will participate. The official Twitter Hash Tag for April 10th, 2012 – #OneDayWithoutShoes.

Will you be joining the movement? For more information, check out: http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com/ Continue reading →

It started in 2007 when the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Australia inspired 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses in Sydney to show their support for climate change action in the first ever Earth Hour event. 5 years later, Earth Hour has become an annual and global event.

It’s scheduled on the last Saturday of every March to closely coincide with the equinox to ensure most cities are in darkness as it is rolled out around the Earth. This year, Earth Hour will take place on March 31, 2012 from 8:30p.m. to 9:30p.m., at the participant’s local time.

From the Eiffel Tower in Paris to the Empire State Building in New York City, the world’s tallest building the Burj Khalifa to the Leaning Tower in Pisa in Italy, the world’s most captivating icons will go dark for Earth Hour 2012. Earth Hour will also extend to the International Space Station for the first time, where astronaut and WWF ambassador Andre Kuipers will experience Earth Hour watching over the planet for the European Space Agency (ESA).

Last year’s Earth Hour was the biggest year in the campaign’s five year history. More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 alone, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. More importantly, members went Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet.

For 2012, with the power of social networks behind the Earth Hour message, Earth Hour organizers are hoping to attract even more participation to build a truly global community committed to creating a more sustainable planet. In February, Earth Hour launched its 2012 campaign, “I Will If You Will”, with the intention of engaging its growing global community to go beyond the hour and coordinate their efforts publicly through social media.

So, don’t forget to turn off all non-essential lights this Saturday for an hour. It’s a small gesture to show your commitment to the environment.

Image Source: guardian.co.uk Continue reading →

Urban Surf 4 Kids, a San Diego-based non-profit group that encourages orphans and foster children to get in the water to not only help them learn how to swim, but also to help build their self-esteem and confidence, is looking for volunteers for this weekend’s surf camp.

The event, held at Blackies on the north side of the Newport Beach Pier at tower 24, will be this Saturday, March 24 from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. This will be Urban Surf 4 Kids’s second Orange County event. They launched their first OC event late last month, and taught the kids how to Stand Up Paddle with Tom Jones.

This weekend, the group is looking for volunteers to help out, and is looking for qualified lifeguards, surf instructors, and any other volunteers who have experience working with children. They could also use a few soft top surfboards, SUP’s, kayaks and wetsuits that anyone could spare for the afternoon.

This Saturday’s Blackies event is being sponsored by several local surf organizations including Clint Carroll’s Surf School. Clint is the son of world-famous surfing icon, Corky Carroll. Corky is a five time US Surfing Champion, three time international Champion, International Big Wave Champion, and was named the number one surfer in the world by Surfer magazine. The Urban Surf 4 Kids Surf Camp will be held on the beach located directly in front of Corky Carroll’s newest boardwalk location in Newport Beach.

UrbanSurf4kids was started in 2009 by Wesley Stewart to help orphans in Mexico, Haiti and other areas get involved in sports programs, and encourage the kids to give back to their communities. Their very simple motto is Surf and Serve! The goal is to teach surfing with the agreement of kids to volunteer in their choice of community service.

If you’re interested in helping, please contact Mark Ralph, the Volunteer Event Director of Urban Surf 4 Kids at markralph@cox.net or (949) 297-8598. For further information on the organization, check out their site at www.urbansurf4kids.org.

Image source: surfwithtom.com Continue reading →

Want a good reason to head down to Mexico for some fun in the sun? The 3rd Annual Punta Sayulita Classic is coming up from March 9th to the 11th in the beautiful surfside village of Sayulita, Mexico, 40 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta along Mexico’s tropical pacific coastline known as the “Riviera Nayarit.”

Over the past two years, the Punta Sayulita Classic has developed into one of the premier surfing and stand-up paddle events in North America. It has been attracting thousands of spectators and one of the deepest international fields of professional athletes as well as talented amateurs competing head-to-head in longboard and SUP surfing.

This year’s field of surfers and paddlers is one of the strongest yet and features top pros including defending champions Sean Poynter, Slater Trout, Candice Appleby, Mary Osborne and Darren Eudaly as well as a group of formidable challengers including 2011 BOP California Champion Connor Baxter, 2011 SUP World Tour Champion Kai Lenny, and a host of proven champions including Zane Schweitzer, Chuck Patterson, Anthony Vela, Aaron Napoleon and many more.

In addition to the action packed weekend of surf competitions and SUP races on the water, on-land festivities include a reggae benefit concert featuring Common Sense, and a surfing clinic for special needs and underprivileged children under the supervision of renowned Malibu, CA longboard surfer, Jimmy Gamboa, and members of his TheraSURF Foundation.

Proceeds raised at the 3rd Annual Punta Sayulita Classic will be donated to support the important environmental and community programs established by the Reef Check and Punta Sayulita Foundations.

For more information, go to http://puntasayulitasurfclassic.com/. Continue reading →