Official Newsletter of the The California Surf Lifesaving C alSurf Association Spring 2020 V o l u m e 25 N o . 1 [ Justin Meek Hometown Hero Page 4 Full -Faced Snorkeling Masks Page 9 2020 EXECUTIVE BOARD COMMITTEES Bylaws/Policies & Procedures……… Bill Richardson, President Bill Humphreys Bob Moore Vice-President Gus Avila Certification.………… Vince Lombardi Past President Mike Beuerlein Exchange………….… Vincent Fiamengo Secretary Leslie Schwene Grants……..….……… Diego Busatto Treasurer Bryan Etnyre Junior Lifeguards….. Casey Graham & Chris Egan 1st Delegate Jay Butki Legislation…………... Adam Sandler Liaison………………. Vacant 2nd Delegate Casey Graham Sport/Fitness…….…. Jay Butki & (Vice) 3rd Delegate Jim Hughes Membership…Charlotte Graham & Leslie Schwene 4th Delegate Vacant Newsletter…………… Jim Hughes Original Founders…..Rob McGowan Professional Standards…Shea Gipti & (Vice) Public Education…... Mike Silvestri Public Information Officer…….. Adam Sandler INSIDE THE CALSURF NEWS Public Relations……. Renae Jackson Social Media………… Sierra Page Special Awards ……. Bill Richardson Statistics.……………. Ian Burton President’s Message Page 3 Training ……..………. Mark Allen Justin Meek Page 4 Ways and Means…… Bryan Etnyre California Gold Race Pages 5 Website………………. Byran Kine & Bryan Etnyre Bob Burnside Page 7 Full-Face Snorkels Page 9 Athlete’s Journal Page 12 with Renae Jackson THE CALSURF NEWS The EVENTS CALENDAR 2020/21 CalSurf News Magazine is the official publication of the Spring CSLSA 2020 Board of Directors Meeting California Surf Lifesaving Association April 2 & 3, 2020 CANCELED P.O. Box 366, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 www.CSLSA.org FAX 714/374-1500 Location: LA County Lakes Editor Spring USLA 2020 Board of Directors Meeting Jim Hughes April 22 - 25, 2020 CANCELED for ad/article submission: Location: Pittsburg PA [email protected] Contributors CSLSA Regional Jr. Lifeguard/Lifeguard Adam Sandler, Renae Jackson, Colin Yamamoto, Championships July 24 & 25 (respectively) Bill Richardson Location: Carpinteria City Beach Photo Contributors Fall CSLSA 2020 Board of Directors Meeting Joel Gitelson, Adam Sandler October 8,& 9, 2020 Public Information Officer (PIO) Location: LA County Lakes Adam Sandler [email protected] Fall USLA 2020 Board of Directors Meeting @CSLSAPIO November 5 - 7, 2020 Seattle WA Marketing & Promotion Scott Hubbell – Sponsorship The Cal Surf News Page #2 As you have seen and heard, this is an ongoing, ex- treme situation, with many adverse impacts on many people. Sincerely, William J. Humphreys, Jr., President California Surf Lifesaving Congratulations to the following award recipients: PRESIDENT’S o MERITORIOUS ACT AWARDS MESSAGE Bill Humphreys, President San Clemente - Friday, 11/16/2018 California Surf Lifesaving Association Christopher Billy, Carter Vasnder Broek, Dylan Wersching After the national and statewide Declaration of …for the successful rescue of a 12-year-old boy who Emergency by President Trump and Governor New- was caught in a rip current 75 yards from shore. som, the Executive Board of CSLSA had to cancel the nd rd April 2 & 3 Board of Director’s meeting in Castaic. We apologize for this inconvenience, realizing that HEROIC ACT AWARD many of you had previously booked lodging in the Santa Clarita/Valencia area. It is our hope that our notification in February, aided you in cancelling your Huntington State Beach - Tuesday, June 11, 2019 reservations, and allowed you to receive refunds in Brandon Brown light of this nationwide emergency. …for the rescue of two male victims at the head of a rip current approximately 350 yards offshore, in ex- We now know that the National Board of Director’s treme peril. meeting in Pittsburg will be canceled in a similar way, especially because of the added requirement of air travel to and from Pennsylvania for that meeting. HEROIC & MERITORIOUS The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is having far reach- ing impact on the community, businesses, and our ACT AWARDS membership, both personally and professionally, and we believe that the safety and health of our Santa Cruz - Monday, September 2, 2019 members, and the public, must be our primary con- Morgan Clayton – Heroic Act cern. Jack Michaelis– Meritorious Act We are disappointed but, looking forward to our re- Cole Renfro Meritorious Act scheduled meeting at Castaic in October of 2020. …for the rescue of a man who fell off the cliff adja- cent Steamer Lane in an area known as the “Toilet We will be updating you via e-mail and our website Bowl.” with further details. The Cal Surf News Page #3 Justin Meek, Hometown Hero skills, he took a job at Borderline Bar and Grill in By Sean Carey Thousand Oaks. He served as both a Promoter and a Security Guard which allowed him to pursue his pas- sions of music and protecting others. Justin attended Your whole universe can several security training programs and grew into a change in the blink of an eye. th lead role at Borderline. Ironically one of his Senior On November 7 , 2018 the papers was on the topic of mass shootings, and he world was forever changed was very knowledgeable on the topic. again by another mass shoot- On the night that Justin died he ing. This time it was at the Bor- was doing what he loved, work- derline Bar and Grill in Thou- ing around his friends at Border- sand Oaks. Twelve innocent, line on “College Country Night” unarmed bar patrons and em- as a Bouncer. ployees were murdered that night. Among them was When the shooter entered the a Coronado Lifeguard, Justin Allen Meek. bar and started murdering bar Justin spent much of his youth in Coronado, playing patrons and employees, Justin water polo, enjoying the beach and developing his started breaking out windows in musical talents, among many other pursuits. As a Jr. the back and helping people Lifeguard Justin was not always the fastest but he climb out. He placed his huge was determined, and his Instructors recognized his body between the shooter and character early on. One of the things Justin excelled the bar patrons, trying to help as at was story telling. He would tell amazing stories many people as possible escape. Tragically two bul- that would captivate the younger Jr. Guards and for lets from the shooter struck him and he died almost that he earned the nickname “Justincredible”. instantly. Several witnesses attested to the fact that Over the years Justin worked his way up, becoming a Justin acted heroically that night and saved many Cadet, then Lifeguard Assistant, and finally a Beach lives. As his former captain and longtime friend, I was Lifeguard in 2014 when he graduated from Coronado not surprised in the least, that was Justin being Jus- High School. With his outgoing personality, love for tin. the ocean, and desire to protect and serve others it Over a year has passed since the shooting and as I was a natural progression. write this, it is August 31st, Justin’s 24th birthday. After graduation Justin attended That night the universe changed for many, many California Lutheran University people. My hope is that those of us who remain can (CLU) where he pursued his two learn something from this and become better peo- passions, music and service to oth- ple. My goal in writing this is for you the reader to ers. As a criminal justice major develop a renewed love and appreciation for the with a minor in music, he matured people in your life, because life is brief, and you into a remarkable young man who never know when it will be cut short. was just at home on the shooting “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that range or in the ocean as he was on count, it’s the life in your years” - Abraham Lincoln. the stage performing. One of Justin’s favorite songs Justin was a loving son, protective big brother, friend to perform was Blue Suede Shoes and he was spot and hero to all. on, sitting in with local bands in Coronado and Thou- A Criminal Justice Scholarship has been established sand Oaks. Justin was also on the CLU water polo at California Lutheran University in Justin’s memory. team and was involved in campus student organiza- If you would like to donate to the Justin Meek Me- tions. morial Scholarship fund at California Lutheran, you Justin had career goals after graduation to serve in can go to: the US Coast Guard and eventually go into a career https://www.callutheran.edu/emergency/give/# with the US Marshall service. In order to develop his The Cal Surf News Page #4 shooting individual scenes, the film was produced while athletes were racing the actual event. Since 2005 the Coolangatta Gold has been run consecu- tively, turning into the premier event held by Surf Lifesaving Australia, kicking off their Summer of Surf series. In 2011, California Lifeguard Sean Barlow watched video footage of Caine Eckstein winning his 4th con- secutive Coolangatta Gold Champion Title. Caine, a surf lifesaving legend in Australia who still competes and dominates lifesaving competitions to this day, inspired Sean to one day complete the Coolangatta Gold event. It wasn’t long after that Sean discovered the original movie, sparking conversations with his father (who worked as a lifeguard for the City of San Diego) regarding Surf Lifesaving Sport flourishing in the 90’s. Those conversations made him aware of the decline in lifesaving sport since those days. Many Californian Lifesaving Athletes from the 1990’s re- member the Bud Light Series, 10 events every week- end for the 10 weeks of Summer. The legacy of once a great staple of the sport in California now only lives on with the occasional Bud Light hat and one of the original Bud Light Series Events “The Greatest Show It started with a dream: “What if we could bring the on Surf”, also known as the San Clemente Ocean Fes- world’s most iconic surf race, The Coolangatta Gold, tival.