7/31/2019 South Bay Scene: The International Surf Festival

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/south-bay-scene-the-international-surf-festival 1/2

SOMETHING AWESOME FOR EVERYONE

THE

SURF FESTIVAL

Only at our local International Sur Festival will you fndparticipants ranging in age rom 8 years old to the late80s. From the Sand Castle Design Contest to the SurfngChampionships, there is something or everyone, whetheryou are a participant or enthusiastic observer.

For the 51st year, this anticipated annual event promotesour o the South Bay beach cities: Manhattan Beach,Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance.

Three o the most well-known events are the JudgeTaplin Lieguard Medley Relay, the colorul CharleySaikley 6-Man Volleyball Tournament, and the DwightCrum Pier-to-Pier Swim.

Dwight Crum’s Legacy

Dwight Crum started as a part-time lieguard in the South Bay around the time o World War II,

until he went o to USC. Ater graduating, he became a permanent lieguard and quickly rosethrough the ranks, as in those days, lieguards did not have college degrees, unlike today. Crumquickly went rom lieguard to lieutenant to captain, in charge o all the South Bay beaches.

“In 1962, my dad and the cities and chambers o Redondo, Hermosa, and Manhattan, decided tostart the International Sur Festival,” says Gary Crum, Retired Southern Section Lieguard Chie.“He was the frst chairman, or about 20 years.”

This frst committee had almost no commercial sponsorship or the event – it was hostedprimarily by the cities and chambers o commerce. Dwight Crum and his committee concludedthat the best time to hold the lieguard events was at night, since during the day many o the

lieguards were working. Old diesel lights were brought in to illuminate the ocean or these

nighttime events, providing a dramatic atmosphere. (Today there are more high-tech lights,similar to those used in the movie industry.)

Dwight Crum always started the Pier-to-Pier Swim, and always wore his avorite straw hat whiledoing so. In those early days the swim had approximately 300 participants.

“Dad would oten start the race and then jump into the race,” says Crum. “He swam the race

every year until he was 72 years old.”

When Dwight Crum retired in 1972, the swim was renamed the Dwight Crum Pier-to-Pier Swim,

in honor o his contributions to the event. When he passed away, the race continued on in hisname, as did the tradition o the race being started by a Crum amily member wearing Dwight’savorite straw hat.

“It’s our amily tradition to have someone in our amily wear that hat and start the race, to carryon my dad’s legacy,” says Crum.

The Pier-to-Pier Swim now has over 1,000 participants and is one o the most anticipated events

o the weeklong estival.

Lifeguarding – A Tight Fraternity

“L.A. County lieguards average over 10,000 rescues a year, and the South Bay tends to have alarge percentage o them,” says Crum. “The job requires you to be in good physical condition in

order to be successul at it. It’s a tight raternity o people who work together, sur together, andhang out together on their days o.”

Crum recalls his dad having Tuesdays and Wednesdays o because the beach was busier on theweekends.

“My whole upbringing was raised around the beach,” says Crum. “It’s not a bad way to grow up.And dad did a huge amount to proessionalize the lieguard service. He and others o that eraturned it into a wonderul career opportunity. Following in those ootsteps was a pretty easydecision.”

The L.A. County Lieguard Medal o Valor Dinner takes place on Thursday, August 2, at theSeaside Lagoon. This is a great opportunity to honor those who work tirelessly to keep our

beaches sae.

International Surf Festival Schedule of Events

Tuesday, July 31 & Wednesday, August 1

9:00 a.m. Charlie Saikley Volleyball Tournament- Manhattan Beach Pier. 6-Man / 6-Woman.

Thursday, August 2

6:00 p.m. L.A. County Lieguard Medal o Valor Dinner- Redondo Beach - Seaside Lagoon.

Friday, August 3

7:00 p.m. L.A. County Lieguard Championships

- Hermosa Beach Pier.U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter and L.A. County LieguardRescue Demo, 6-Lieguard Run Relay, Lieguard Events,Bud Stevenson Intracrew Medley.

Saturday, August 4

6:45 a.m. International Body Surfng Championship– Manhattan Beach Pier, North side.

7:30 a.m. Surfng Championships– Manhattan Beach Pier, South side.

8:00 a.m. Sand Soccer– The 6th Annual Sand Soccer Challenge.

8:00 a.m. Dick Fitzgerald Two-Mile Beach Run– Hermosa Beach Pier.

9:00 a.m. Caliornia Beach Volleyball – New ISF Event– Hermosa Beach Pier.

7:00 p.m. So. Cali. Lieguard Championships

– Hermosa Beach Pier,U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter & Los Angeles CountyLieguard Demo, Lieguard Events / Junior LieguardTaplin / Lieguard Beach Flags, Judge Taplin Three-Mile

Lieguard Medley Relay.

Sunday, August 5

7:30 a.m. Velzy-Stevens Pier-to-Pier Paddleboard Championship

– Manhattan Beach Pier, North side.8:00 a.m. Sand Soccer

– Torrance Beach.9:00 a.m. Caliornia Beach Volleyball – New ISF Event

– Hermosa Beach Pier.9:00 a.m. Dwight Crum Pier-to-Pier Swim

– Hermosa Beach Pier to Manhattan Beach Pier.No Race Day entries. Contestants must pre-qualiy.Inormation: pier2pier_swim@verizon.net.Pre-registration only.

9:30 a.m. Lieguard Dory Race– Hermosa Beach Pier (8:30 a.m. check-in).

1:00 p.m. South Bay Youth Swim and Paddle– Hermosa Beach Pier, North side.

 PHOtOgRaPHS COURtESy Of CHRiS MillER.

SOUTH BAY SCENE

BY DENISE KANO

7/31/2019 South Bay Scene: The International Surf Festival

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/south-bay-scene-the-international-surf-festival 2/2

Lifeguard Stats:

L.A. County has 132 year-round lieguardsand over 650 seasonal lieguards.

Dwight Crum introduced CPR to the L.A.

County Lieguard Program in 1957.

L.A. County lieguards perorm over 10,000

rescues and protect an estimated 55 million

beachgoers on an annual basis.

L.A. County became the frst lieguardagency in the world to have everylieguard AED trained (Automatic External

Defbrillator).

The Junior Lieguard program has over

2400 participants.

7.27.2012 | SouthBayDigS.com 31