While other Ohio State students think about the bitter cold and snowy hike to campus, members of OSU’s Surfing Club are thinking of warmer weather as they hope to be approved as an official club sport by the Review and Appeal Board at Larkins Hall tomorrow.
“We’re thrilled to finally have this opportunity,” said sophomore Katie McDonald, president and one of the founders of the club. “We’ve had tons of interest just from us talking it up.”
The board will review the club by looking over the mission statement, constitution, medical release forms, faculty advisor, and number of members, said sophomore Melissa Diethelm, treasurer and co-founder of the club.
If the club passes the review, it will be an official club sport, meaning it will receive some funding through Larkins, said Kevin Degnan, an English graduate student and faculty advisor of the club.
The money can be used to designate practice areas and times or help fund club sport trips.
Larkins has not made it clear on how much money would be available for the club, but details will be discussed after the hearing, Degnan said.
If the club does not pass the review, McDonald said they would be a club through the Ohio Union.
The club wants to become an official club sport through Larkins because Larkins allows non-faculty members to start up clubs, while clubs through the Ohio Union do not, Degnan said.
The idea of starting a surfing club at OSU began last year during McDonald’s freshman year, she said.
“One of my best friends is in a surfing club at OU (Ohio University),” McDonald said. “I wanted to get a general background on how it works and if I liked it, I decided I’d try to start one.”
McDonald traveled with OU’s Surfing Club to North Carolina during spring break last year and realized OSU needed a surfing club as well.
“I realized the sports was a lot more challenging than it appears on TV or the movies,” McDonald said.
McDonald got the support of her friends Diethelm and Amanda Taylor, sophomore, and decided to found The Ohio State Surfing Club.
The women also received the support of Degnan as the faculty advisor.
Degnan met McDonald last year through another graduate student, heard she was interested in starting a surfing club and wanted to help get the club started, he said.
“I had heard that OU had a club. What they do is hang out, watch movies, and every once in a while sponsor trips,” Degnan said. “We figured we’d get a club started here.”
Degnan, McDonald, Diethelm, Taylor, and two other members of the club, sophomores Ty Shepfer and Brian Schoo traveled to San Diego, Cal. the week after autumn quarter final exams to surf.
They camped out at night and surfed all day at San Onofre State Beach and Huntington Beach for a week. However, when the group first arrived, no one in the club knew how to surf except for Degnan, so he taught the group how to surf, Diethelm said.
“Kevin is a great teacher,” McDonald said. “He made it so easy for us to learn. It was so much fun to learn.”
While in San Onofre, the members met long-board surfing legend Skip Frye.
They also met Sam August, son of world-famous surfer Robert August, while in Huntington Beach. They toured the Robert August Surf Board Factory with Sam.
Both McDonald and Diethelm said learning how to surf in California was an amazing experience.
The club now has 23 members and Shepfer hopes this number will grow.
“I want to extend the membership,” Shepfer said. “I want to get it up to 50 or so.”
“We’re going to set up a booth at Involvement Fairs and pass out fliers around campus,” Diethelm said.
We want to have ambitious trips and can make that possible by gaining more funding and attracting more members, Degnan said.
“The whole experience of the sport is a whole lot more fun with people to share it with,” Degnan said. “I really love the whole sport of surfing.”
He wants to introduce students to the surfing culture as well as emphasize the athleticism that accompanies the sport.
The founders hope the club will promote water recreation outside of Columbus, mainly on the coasts, Diethelm said.
“Our next trip will probably be to the Outer Banks in North Carolina,” she said.
Degnan, however, is considering another destination.
“We had an offer to stay at Robert August’s house in Costa Rica right on the beach,” he said.
The surfing club is still uncertain if they will be a competitive club sport.
“It could be something serious, and seriously a lot of fun,” Degnan said.
“We are really excited and open to new members,” Diethelm said. “If anyone’s ever wanted to learn how to surf, don’t be afraid to try it.”
