South San Francisco, CA July 10, 2019 Submitted by Matt Skryja, Kaiser Permanente 
Organizers Proud to Say It’s the Only Surf Contest of its Kind in the World
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 11, 2019 – The 20th Annual Kahuna Kupuna Surf Contest in Pacifica, an amateur surf contest specifically designed for surfers age 40 and older, will be held Saturday, July 13, and is sponsored by Kaiser Permanente.
“Kaiser Permanente’s mission is supporting the well-being of the communities we serve,” said Randy Wittorp, public affairs director, Kaiser Permanente San Francisco. “We believe the outdoors are an essential component of total health and we’re proud to help sponsor this year’s surf contest. We encourage people to go outside and engage with nature while spending time with friends and family. What better way to thrive?”
The annual shortboard and longboard surf contest is the primary fundraiser for Pacifica’s Environmental Family (PEF), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting and protecting natural resources in Pacifica. Competitors pay an entry fee, but the event itself is free to the public. Proceeds from Kaiser Permanente’s sponsorship help underwrite PEF’s operating expenses.
“We are thrilled that Kaiser Permanente is one of our main sponsors this year,” said Contest Director, Roy Earnest. “The event is intended to inspire the general public to live healthy lifestyles as they grow older and to shine a spotlight on the growing numbers of older surfers who want to keep surfing for many years to come. Kaiser Permanente provides great health care for people of all ages, including the growing number of elders working to stay healthy, so they can enjoy the things they love, whether it’s surfing or other passions.”
The contest takes its name from words in the Hawaiian language. Kahuna means an expert in a given field and kupuna means an honored elder, like a grandparent or older member of the community who everyone turns to for advice and counsel. There is also an Intergenerational Team Division as part of the contest, in which each team must represent three generations or age groups. Each contest division is open to both male and female contestants.
Contest Location and Time
When: Saturday, July 13, 2019, 7:00 am – 5:30 pm
Where: Linda Mar Beach (Pacifica State Beach)
5000 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacifica, CA 94044
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NOTE: This competition is on the same day as the Grand Re-Opening Ribbon Cutting of the Taco Bell Cantina INFO HERE
Thanks to the Surf Contest website for this information on Parking/Transportation:
Transportation and Parking Information
Car pool as much as possible. Parking will be scarce after 7:30 AM.
For those without an annual beach parking pass, parking in the main south or north lots (either side of Taco Bell) closest to the beach costs $7.00 for 4 hours and $9.00 for the whole day.
Please don’t park in the Safeway shopping center’s lot or the Pedro Point Shopping Center’s lot. You’ll probably get a ticket or, worse, towed.
Free parking is available in the Cal Trans lot across the street from the Safeway Shopping Center along Linda Mar Blvd. It’s a short walk to the beach but watch out for drivers who are not paying attention to pedestrians. Make eye contact with them. Cross all intersections with thoughtful awareness. And stay off your phones!
Free parking is also available along Crespi Blvd. or Linda Mar Blvd. but it’s a bit of a hike from there – about a 1/4 mile or so – from these free parking zones to the contest site.
We will have drop off/pick up zones set up near Taco Bell and the Pump House for those who need to drop off your beach stuff and then find parking somewhere besides the beach parking lots. The time limit will be 10 minutes to unload your stuff. You’ll need to arrange for someone to watch your stuff when you leave and go find parking.
For local bus transportation, go to www.samtrans.com/schedulesandmaps.html
BART: The Colma BART station is the closest station to Linda Mar Beach. SamTrans buses, taxis, LYFT and UBER serve this station and can drop you off close to Linda Mar Beach. Or get a friend to pick you up.
20th Annual Kahuna Kupuna Benefit Surf ContestPacifica’s Environmental FamilySaturday, July 13, 2019 from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM (PDT) |
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