There was a lot of free surfing going on near the Ocean Park Surf Contest. Here's some of the action captured by Six12 Media














There's a lot more photos in the Ocean Park - Saturday 7-23-2016 Gallery .

Photos by Six12 Media








There's a lot more photos in the Venice Pier - Thursday 7-21-2016 Gallery .

Photos by Six12 Media






There's a couple more photos in the Venice Breakwater - Thursday 7-21-2016 Gallery .

WHO?
A WALK ON WATER is a family made up of men, women and youths who desire to share the therapeutic powers of the ocean with others. Our primary goal is to provide relief to special needs children and their families.

WHAT?
AWOW provides water therapy through guided surf instruction or “surf therapy”. Surfing's physical and repetitive nature produces a therapeutic effect and helps build self confidence. Children experience the true stoke of surfing and a renewed sense of accomplishment as family and friends cheer them on from the beach. Often shadowed by their special needs brother or sister siblings are also encouraged to participate. Our surf events focus on both the athletes and their families, who are treated to a well-deserved day of relaxation and pampering.

WHEN?
Surf events are currently held only in California and run concurrent to warm weather and favorable surf conditions, which is generally early spring to late fall. Private surf therapy sessions are available year-round for families willing to brave colder water and less predictable surf. As an athlete is treated to additional rounds of surf therapy, one will generally see an increase in efficacy. This can often spell the difference between good and bad days for a family. As we scale AWOW, we plan to establish multiple regional chapters in tropical locales, enabling surf therapy to be offered year-round.

WHERE?
Surf therapy event dates have yet to be determined for the 2014 calendar year. We plan to host a minimum of four events, including:

Hollister Ranch - June Season Opener Event
Hollister Ranch - August Ventura County
Bolsa Chica - September Orange County Event
Hollister Ranch - October Season Roundup

WHY?
A common bond, desire to help those in need, shared love of the ocean and surfing brought the AWOW team together. The inspiration for A Walk On Water was sparked in 2000 at the 1st annual “Surfers Healing Pat Notaro Day” at Malibu’s Surfrider Beach in Los Angeles, CA. Hosted by Variety The Children’s Charity this event pays homage to Pat Notaro Jr., father of AWOW’s founder. Pat Jr. was a well respected, Malibu surfer, member of Variety The Children’s Charity and Sony Films Executive. Every year, over 100 special needs children experience the thrill of surfing and its therapeutic qualities.

When the opportunity arose to create a new surf event experience based out of Hollister Ranch, CA – one that was open to entire families and children of all disabilities – A Walk On Water was born. AWOW was established at Hollister Ranch thanks to the kindness of its philanthropically inclined property owners.

AWOW exists solely because of our amazing volunteers and the support of generous donors. These volunteers share a respect for their fellow man, the ocean and environment, and most importantly: people in need. Our events are meant to raise awareness not only to humanitarian needs, but environmental ones as well. Without a clean and safe environment, surfing cannot continue to be experienced by the athletes and their families. The “A Walk On Water” name is derived from a movie script Pat's grandfather was going to produce before he passed away in 1970.

HOW YOU CAN HELP?
A Walk On Water events are, and will always be, free to families and all who attend. However, these moments we create do indeed have costs. The unique benefit of joining the AWOW family is that you can personally witness the effects of your donation, whether it be time, money or both. We welcome any and all to join us in our mission to better the lives of those around us.

You can help make a difference in the lives of a special needs child and their family by visiting WALK ON WATER to donate. You may also sign up to become a part of the AWOW family by visiting WALK ON WATER and sign-up as a volunteer.

THANK YOU!

Andy Hampton shared these photos of the L.A. surf scene from the late '30s and early '40s.

The L.A. County Lifeguards in front of an early version of the Venice Pier. August 1st, 1937.


A local surfer with his hollow, framed surfboard in front of a palm frond shack with classic early 1930s cars in the background.


And that same surfer dropping in on a wave.


Taking off on a wave in Santa Monica.

Click: Throwback Thursday for the previous Throwback photo sets and videos.

Here's another set of wipeout photos. These were all shot by Six12 Media .









Click: Wednesday Wipeouts for the previous wipeout photo sets.

Photos by Six12 Media










There's a lot more photos in the Venice Pier - Wednesday 7-20-2016 Gallery .

Here's all the info and times for the upcoming Ocean Park Surf Contest:

THE POSTER

This year's surf contest poster is by Gregory Evans . Greg is from this area and understands the history and vibe that make this place special. We wanted to do something that had a an old-school, underground comics look to it, and Greg really captured that feeling. With a nod to one of our favorite surf artists, Rick Griffin, Greg created a classic scene of a beach girl and boy at Ocean Park with a peaky swell behind them. The tattered remains of pier pilings in the background are all that is left of the famous P.O.P. Look closely and you'll notice that the pier pilings spell out 26 in Roman numerals (XXVI). And there are even 26 barnacles on the pilings.

THE TROPHIES

In an incredible mixture of art, history, and luck, this year's contest trophies have been made by Robert Asher from actual salvaged wood from the P.O.P. pier. The wood is a tight-grain Fir that has been beveled and sanded on the top where the metal plaques have been screwed to the surface. The rest of the wood has been left in its original state and in areas traces of the paint used on the pier are still visible. One end of the trophies has been stamped "POP 1958" with a wood punch and inked. P.O.P. was founded in 1958.

HOSTED BY
The Ocean Park Surf Club

CONTEST SOUVENIR & GIFT BAGS
As with the past years, every surfer gets a contest souvenir and a bag filled with swag and products from the contest sponsors. This year's souvenir is an Ocean Park 26 Army Knife. The gift bags will be randomly stuffed with with swag and products from the following companies:

Arbor skateboards
Bagel Nosh Deli
Bay St. Boards
Bennett Truks
Blocksurf
Bob's Market
Chano Surfboards
Green Goo
Hecho en Venice
Kind Snacks
NRC
O'Neill
Ocean Park 26 Clothing
Rip City Skates
Rip Curl
Santa Monica Airlines Skateboards
Scott Anderson / Aquatech
Shaka Shack
SlipIns
Skater Made
Sticky Bumps
ZJ Boarding House



ENTRY The contest is filled as of right now, but there is a waiting list you can sign on to. The entry fee is $20, along with the gift bag, a contest t-shirt is included.

Need even more info? Hit up Kevin on the OP26 Facebook Page:
Ocean Park 26 Facebook Page

Wanna check at last years contest and results? Click the link:
2015 Ocean Park Surf Contest Coverage