The American surfing community is divided on COVID-19 restrictions with some arguing surfing should be exempt from closures while others support restrictions. Beaches up and down the coast have taken different approaches, with some fully closed, some open only for surfing, and opinions varying among surfers, shop owners, and medical professionals on the risk level of surfing during the pandemic. This has left surfers and beach communities confused on how to balance public health risks with access to the ocean.

1. SPORTS (HTTPS://WWW.INSIDEHOOK.COM/CATEGORY/SECTIONS/SPORTS)
The American Surf Community Stands
Divided Over COVID-19 Restrictions
On navigating the ultimate bummer
“Surfing is one of the last really free activities that hasn’t been oppressed by the
government, and we want to keep it that way"
GETTY IMAGES/EYEEM
BY JOSH MARCUS (HTTPS://WWW.INSIDEHOOK.COM/AUTHOR/JOSH-MARCUS) / MAY 14, 2020 6:31
AM
On April 16, about 20 people in the small town of Emerald Isle, o North Carolina’s
Crystal Coast, joined America’s growing ranks of coronavirus protesters
(https://www.denverpost.com/2020/04/20/coronavirus-protest-photos-alyson-
mcclaran/) — and they brought their surfboards along. They hit the streets
(https://www.facebook.com/BBCPEXP/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARAuky-
FxaTFXJ6VtS7xRL1X4xS3t8bUUfJCF8R_kyS8dg_QYp0DVtLgaHNa9LsBQZV7g49XvlWQAwsQ)
protesting beach closures, raising shakas rather than fists, keeping six-ish feet apart.
One carried an American flag and a sign reading “Surfing Matters.” An online petition
(https://www.change.org/p/carteret-county-elected-o icials-carteret-county-surf-
now?
recruiter=1074160961&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition&fbclid=IwAR2ZBN1w-
b7tfrx1rC00OqeYubGZe0gLkrAcafEy0DXnSt3TIuXPDNacfuk) in support of reopening
the beaches attracted more than 8,800 signatures.
Michael Crews owns Hot Wax, a local surf shop. He tells InsideHook that the surf
community, a tight-knit group in the already cozy island town of about 3,800, obeyed
the shutdown, but felt singled out.
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2. “Surfing is one of the last really free activities that hasn’t been oppressed by the
government, and we want to keep it that way,” he says. “It’s a lifestyle. It’s a
rejuvenation.” Beach access was reopened
(https://www.carolinacoastonline.com/news_times/article_153801ba-8021-11ea-
8386-ef235de03f90.html?fbclid=IwAR12hB2tso93-
FKxEdxgr6NdWYUGaZvgwHFpkBf_2mrnMil3bUMvaSrNEEA) April 18. Crews, a 66-
year-old man, is statistically in a high-risk coronavirus demographic, but plans on
paddling out anyway.
Whenever a surfer rides a wave, those few seconds of ecstasy are the result of a
days-long alchemy. You have to find the right wave, which requires the right beach,
weather and tide. Then you make your move, the result of instant mental math: risk
versus reward, plus timing.
Now beach communities across America are experiencing their own version of this
with coronavirus, trying to time things just right by way of deliberate, calculated risk.
But there are a lot of factors standing in their way: incomplete science, a patchwork
governmental response and, of course, the surf community’s notorious independent
streak — some keep (https://www.newsweek.com/man-given-1000-fine-surfing-
during-coronavirus-lockdown-1494956) hitting
(https://www.carolinacoastonline.com/news_times/article_7f62a718-7f6b-11ea-ad20-
e7a08b83b5a3.html) the (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-52225031)
water (https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/story/2020-03-30/surfing-
social-distancing-beaches-closed-san-diego) no matter what. The confusion can
leave even the most well-informed boarder confused, and their town at risk.
“Between over-burdened hospitals, healthcare workers putting their health on the
line, millions of people getting sick and thousands of people dying, temporarily
avoiding crowded, public places is something we can all do to protect ourselves and
others,” says Katie Day, a scientist at the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental
group.
Scientists are racing to understand COVID-19, how it spreads and, hopefully, how to
cure it. But big gaps remain in our knowledge of the virus, with some of them
pertinent to the surfing community. Day, for example, points out that it’s still unclear if
COVID-19 can survive in sewage or seawater.
Not everyone in the science community has the same take. Dr. Mark Renneker, a
surfer, medical professor at UCSF and founder of the Surfer’s Medical Association,
says surfing itself isn’t that risky, as long as riders keep 15 or more feet between them
— which most already do. He says he still surfs most days.
“It’s stupid to go hang out in the parking lot with your buddies,” he says. “That’s going
to have more risk than going out [in the water].”
Communities across the country have reached similarly di erent conclusions. Some
have completely shut down beaches (https://www.surfline.com/surf-news/east-
coast-caribbean-beach-closures-rise-amid-coronavirus-restrictions/80757). Santa
Monica deployed loud speakers and patrol cars
(https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-02/coronavirus-ocean-swimming-
surfing-safe-beaches-los-angeles) at one point to keep people away. Puerto Rico’s
beach ban carries a $5,000 fine. Hawaii, surfing’s heartland, has banned most beach
use (https://apnews.com/609931180e6a544c6f84543805e10031), but still allows
surfing, while Santa Cruz, a surf mecca in Northern California, closed
(https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2020/04/08/coronavirus-santa-cruz-county-
temporarily-closes-parks-and-beaches-bans-surfing/) beaches in early April to avoid
big crowds, then reopened in mid-April (https://www.theinertia.com/surf/santa-cruz-
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3. county-to-lift-ban-on-surfing-today-as-it-re-opens-beaches-and-parks/). At the
beginning of May, California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered closures in Orange
County (https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/01/us/california-orange-county-injunction-
beaches/index.html), but thousands turned out to protest, and legislators soon
reversed course (https://ktla.com/news/local-news/2-arrested-after-running-onto-
closed-pier-during-protest-against-stay-at-home-orders-in-huntington-beach/).
“We’ve done such a great job as a community to follow the shelter-in-place guidelines
that our disease burden has really stayed pretty low,” says Santa Cruz County Health
O icer Dr. Gail Newel. “We felt that if we could keep the beaches and parks open, it
would benefit our community both physically and mentally.”
These varying opinions leave surfers largely policing themselves. Nigel Lewis owns
Rockaway Beach’s Station RBNY surf shop, a train ride away from central New York
City, the epicenter of coronavirus. He’s still surfing, but worries about inexperienced
riders’ impact on themselves and the system.
“If you get hurt, you’re taking a bed away from someone who needs it,” he says. “It’s
about the other people they put into harm’s way.”
Even those who pack up the Subaru to travel to a remote beach pose a problem:
conspicuously lacking local knowledge, they could inadvertently shut down someone
else’s spot.
“During these trying times, many state parks and beaches have experienced visitation
surges that make it impossible for the public to implement physical distancing,” says
Adeline Yee, a spokesperson for California State Parks. Beaches across the state have
been shuttered because of flocking out-of-towners, she adds.
Kevyn Dean, the national surf team’s medical director, understands surfers’ deep
commitment to their craft more than most. “People surf to the core, it’s not a way to
exercise,” he says. “It’s who they are and what they do. It’s their lives.” He recalls a
scene at last year’s nationals when a shark appeared
(https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/usa-surfing-championships-paused-
after-shark-sighting-near-trestles/133480/), briefly pausing the competition. Within
minutes, some wanted back in.
Still, he’s staying home, “watching every surf movie known to man,” and avoiding
travel. He’ll only surf if he’s alone. “It’s not fair to the people who live there,” he says.
“There needs to be a systematic and common-sensical way of getting back in the
water.”
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