The 25th Annual Venice Surf-A-Thon was held on Saturday, December 8, once again taking place at the Venice Pier. The contest is a grassroots local tradition that has evolved from a mentorship gathering for youth beset by gang violence to an inter-generational celebration of community. The contest has been a labor of love for it's founder Ger-I Lewis .
Ger-I founded the Venice Surf-A-Thon in 1993 after returning home from military service. "I wished to do something for the children , young adults and the community in general that is fun and has a positive influence on everyone." says Ger-I. "For sure back in the day the contest was edgy as so was I! Instead of handing out trophies at the beach like most contests, I incorporated the awards party to give everyone a chance to shine. Inviting local talent as well the bikini contest was also a strategy to enhance and create a Venice culture showcase. Well times have changed and folks have mellowed, the bikini contest is no longer a part of the event as many of the original contestants are grandfathers now! The event has a generational community expectation and Surf-A-thon has taken on a family atmosphere. Many world class surfers, celebrities, have supported and donated to The Venice Surf-A-Thon including Mimi Miyagi,Peter Destafino, Perry Ferral, C.R. Stecyk , Danny Trejo, Robert Trujillo (of Metallica), Noah Budroe, Chris Ward, Tonan, Tina Cheri, DJ Muggs, Kid Frost, and Beowulf. Moreover the contest has provided a an opportunity for surfers to get a start in competition surfing."


Here's the contest recap/resullts from Ger-I:

The contest started off early with Body surfing. First place went Steve Shop, 2nd to Place Mike Wood, and in Third place was Johnny.

Two Groms Mixed Heats followed. The Groms Mixed Heat #1 winners were Logan in First, Kay got Second, and Third went to Parker.




Groms Mixed #2 winners were Dean Pitari in First, Bradley getting Second, and Kay following with Third.


Girls division was next. First Place going to Mimi Sullivan, Second Place went to Oshi Massey, and Third Place was Kay (again).



Longboards winners were Mr Cortez taking First, Tonan Ruiz placing Second, and Third Place going to Billy Bong.







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ZJ Boarding House held their annual Haunted Heats Surf Contest. As always, it took place in between Towers 26 and 27 in Ocean Park. This year in the Grom heats, we saw a 3 year old, who was the youngest surfer ever to compete in Haunted Heats, ride his Game Of Thrones decorated longboard solo. Along with a Jack Skeleton, Friday The 13th's Jason, some crooks, a little Incredible Hulk, and a Kook Of The Day. Among the adults, the stand outs were the Bird and Lime Scooters, the cast of Aladdin, some drunk judges, a down on his luck Captain Planet, some wrestlers, and a vacationing Darth Vader. Here are some of the more than 300 photos we got from the contest:


















You can find well over 300 more photos from this contest, including photos from the awards, all full size and in high-resolution, in this huge photo gallery:

ZJ Boarding House Haunted Heats Photo Gallery

If you were out there, we probably got some cool surfing shots of you, go check them out!


Results

Best Grom Surfer Runner-Up
Jason from Friday The 13th


Best Grom Costume Runner-Up
Otto The Night King

Best Grom Surfer
Zach as Jeff Spicolli

Best Grom Costume
Ollie the Incredible Hulk

Best Grom Overall
Diego

Best Adult Surfer Runner-Up
Timmy as James Bond

Best Adult Costume Runner-Up
The Supreme Court Injustices

Best Costume Adult
The Bird and Lime Scooters

Best Adult Surfer
Hulk Hogan

Best Overall Adult
The Lime Scooter

California's surfing culture is very rich. Every year the Malibu Surfing Association holds their signature The Classic event at famous Malibu Beach. There you will find some of the best longboarders from California and other states. This footage from Longboardarian is a snapshot of the event. Recorded while Surf Aid had their specialty heat.

On Saturday, September 8th Malibu lit up with a head high south swell at the perfect angle for first point. The level of surfing was off the charts with longboarders perched on the nose and shortboarders throwing buckets of spray. Hoots were even heard from the judges tent as one epic performance after another fired up the beach.
Event Pro Dylan Goodale taking full advantage of an empty Malibu Lineup. (Photo by Grey Lockwood)
In partnership with Malibu Surfing Association (MSA) and the Classic Invitational, 11 teams competed and raised over $74,000 for SurfAid ’s Mother and Child Health Programmes. Foam Ballers Team Captain Zen Gesner and his teammates David Chokachi, Jon Mone, and Tom Triggs earned the prestigious Fundraising Cup after raising an astonishing $20,569 for SurfAid. Funds will help ensure SurfAid partner communities have access to clean water & sanitation, basic healthcare, and improved nutrition. Each of these factors have been proven to reduce maternal and child mortality rates by as much as 70%.
Zen Gesner, captain of the winning Fundraising Cup team, The Foam Ballers, flying down a perfectly groomed Malibu wall. (Photo by Gray Lockwood)
Zen shared this about their win, “An amazing day, shared with a fine group of amazing people, brought together for a true humanitarian effort…it just doesn’t get any better than this!”

It did get better for the Foam Ballers, as they were one of six teams who made it to the finals. Joining them were last year’s SurfAid Cup champs Team Becker, Team MSA, Malaria Sucks, Vote Pierson for City Council, and first-time competitors and the 2018 SurfAid Cup Malibu Surf Champions, The Relik Groms!

Sponsored by Danny Errico and coached by John Welch, the all grom dream team included up and coming longboarders Brooke Carlson, Haley Otto, John Michael Van Hohenstein, and Kevin Skvarna. Joining the Relik Grom team as their pro was Reilly Stone who as an 18-year-old out of Santa Cruz relied on his classic footwork to help lead the team towards an impressive final score of 368.
Kevin Skvarna of team Relik with classic Malibu Style. (Photo by Grey Lockwood)
John emphasized having the kids work together and they adopted an acronym that John learned a long time ago; TEAM - Together Everybody Achieves More. Their goal was to simply have fun and then everything else would fall into place. John was stoked with the teams results, “We were super blessed to have taken first place in light of the amazing teams we surfed with. On behalf of each and every Team Relik Grom member, we would like to congratulate all the teams that competed. You were all amazing!”

SurfAid takes a similar collective approach when working with our communities. Funds raised through the SurfAid Cup directly translate to transformational change in our communities. SurfAid ’s hand up – not a hand out philosophy is built to ensure lasting sustainability and the SurfAid Cup gives surfers a chance to work together to save the lives of mums and babies in places they love to surf.
Kevin Skvarna of team Relik with classic Malibu Style. (Photo by Grey Lockwood)

Check out all the photos:
SurfAid Cup Malibu Photo Gallery

SurfAid Cup Malibu 2018 Team Standings
Champions - Relik Groms
2nd - MSA
3rd - Becker
4th - Malaria Sucks
5th - Vote Pierson for City Council
6th - Foam Ballers
7th - Stay Committed Get Pitted
8th - Indoteak Design
9th - Dr. Dave’s Team
10th - Latigroms
11th - SurfAiders


SurfAid Cup Malibu 2018 Pro Roster:
Tim Curran
Leah Dawson
Dylan Goodale
Kyle Knox
Steven Lippman
Reef McIntosh
Mike McCabe
Johnny Noris
Reilly Stone
Kai Takayama
Joel Tudor
Tyler Warren

Video highlights from the 7th Annual SurfAid Cup Malibu

From Ger-I Lewis , Venice Surf -A_Thon Founder:

The Venice Surf-A-Thon Volunteer/ Sponsor Appreciation Night and Art Show went off as expected! $611.89 was raised for MLD School in Mindanao. I want to than all the artists, sponsors, volunteers and especially Mercedes of Mercedes restaurant. We had as blast! The 25th Annual Venice Surf-A-Thon Surf Contest will be held at Venice Pier on December the 8th 2018! One quarter century of more than a surf contest

On Saturday Boarding 4 Breast Cancer held their annual Skate The Coast event. A fundraising skate event where the participants skate, or bike, from the Santa Monica Pier down the coast to Redondo beach. This year, they raise $48,550!! That will go towards B4BC’s education and prevention programs and their young Survivor Mountain/ Ocean wellness retreats. Check out some photos from the Santa Monica and Venice portion of the skate journey.










There's a lot more photos from the entire event on the Boarding 4 Breast Cancer Facebook Page

Learn more about B4BC on the Boarding 4 Breast Cancer Website