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Looking back on Brooks Street surfing

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Ironic. I leave for Chicago to celebrate the legalization of surfing there, and I miss the swell of the summer. But I wouldn’t change those circumstances for anything, not even another victory in the Brooks Street surfing championships.

Although I do really miss competing in it. It’s been 13 long years, and I was really hoping to compete in it again.

Maybe next year.

However, after three years of absence, the contest finally got the waves surfers have been waiting for, and it really seemed to reinvigorate the surfing community here in Laguna. I have heard so many great surfing stories over the weekend. From the highlights to the injuries, the Brooks Street surfing championships is the heart and soul of surfing in Laguna.

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With some many great past champions having won the event, it’s every young surfers dream to add their name to the winners’ circle, and what a swell to showcase Laguna’s best talent.

I loved seeing the pictures and videos of everyone competing. It was even more special to see all the spectators line up on the new staircase watching. It brought back a lot of good memories for me. There was no better feeling than competing in that event and seeing my parents standing on the beach.

It’s amazing how an event like this can bring our community closer together, and to see all of the support it gets from our local retailers, especially when our economy is stuck in that cold Humboldt Current.

With surfing now brand new and legal in Chicago, who knows, maybe one day they’ll have a Brooks Street of their own.

Peace.


JAMES PRIBRAM is a Laguna Beach native, professional surfer and John Kelly Environmental Award winner. His websites include AlohaSchoolofSurfing and ECOWarrior Surf.com. He can be reached at Jamo@Aloha SchoolofSurfing.com

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