High Life: A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Pro Surfers Enlist in the Fight on Drug Abuse

Pro surfer Richie Collins and an Orange County student anti-drug organization have joined forces to present a two-day beach event in Huntington Beach this weekend.

The Richie Collins/ Drug Use Is Life Abuse Surfing Contest will be held at Huntington State Beach at Brookhurst Street, Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event is believed to be the first surfing tie-in with the anti-drug movement.

Members of Students Against Drug Abuse, a countywide arm of Drug Use Is Life Abuse, will volunteer for four-hour shifts at the event, staffing information booths and distributing flyers. The student group is composed of more than 200 students from 45 county high schools.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, there will be special activities for families, including a bounce room for kids, a kite demonstration and other games.

An autograph session and Celebrity Surfing Contest, featuring nearly two dozen participants, will take place Saturday. Jerry Mathers, star of “Leave It to Beaver,” will serve as judge.

Among the celebrities will be five-time surfing champion Corky Carroll; Matt Adler, star of the movie “North Shore”; Bojesse Christopher, who played in “Point Break”; TV actor Kelly Packard, and Bill Zabka, who appeared in the “Karate Kid” films.

The contest, co-sponsored by the nonprofit Byron Scott Children’s Fund, will be broadcast live by KROQ radio and filmed by Prime Ticket, which will air the contest July 8 at 7 p.m.

Hoping to serve as a role model, Collins, who is currently rated third on the Bud Pro Tour, said: “The professionals who are serious about surfing do not use drugs. Stay clean, stay in school and study hard.”

Volunteer information: (714) 567-3900.