Skimboarders hit Aliso Beach to raise funds for Laguna marine mammal center
Amateur and professional skimboarders maneuvered the surf at Aliso Beach Park in Laguna Beach on Saturday in the second annual SeaDog Skim Challenge.
Sam Stinnett, who grew up in Laguna and is a three-time champion of the World Championships of Skimboarding professional men’s division, established the event as a way to give back in the city where he grew up.
Stinnett said he was inspired to develop the event after attending the annual Waterman’s Ball, a two-day fundraising event that benefits the Surf Industry Manufacturers Assn. Environmental Fund, a nonprofit foundation that awards grants to various groups based on their dedication to preserving and protecting the world’s oceans and beaches, according to the association’s website.
“I thought to myself, ‘The only thing I know how to do is run a skim contest,’ ” Stinnett said in an interview Friday.
“The Pacific Marine Mammal Center is in the town I grew up in. One way I can give back is to save the seals.”
All net proceeds from the contest, an awards ceremony and individual donations will go directly to the mammal center at 20612 Laguna Canyon Road, according to a news release.
Center staff members rescue and rehabilitate stranded and/or sick marine mammals, such as sea lions, from Seal Beach south to San Onofre.
As of Friday, the center had one sea lion, one harbor seal and one northern fur seal in its care, said public relations coordinator Krysta Higuchi.
Twitter: @AldertonBryce
