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Thousands of surf fans entered to win a surfing weekend in Santa Barbara with Lakey, and we gave away of Lakey-autographed gear every day of the event. We’re announcing here for the first time that our Grand Prize winner is Tessa R. of Long Beach, CA. “I’m really surprised. I never win anything!” she told us.

Tessa is a competitive swimmer as well as a surfer, and says she looks forward to meeting the USO champ. “I think professional female surfers are awesome,” she says. “They surf the big waves just as well as the guys do. They’re amazing.” After watching Lakey, we couldn’t agree more. Congratulations to Tessa and special thanks to all who entered. If you are new to the SCA community, continue reading to see how others are working for the planet and see which of our conservation service opportunities is right for you.

With longboards, shortboards, skateboards, and three SRO concerts, it was a wild scene at the Nike US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, CA – but SCA helped to ensure it was a clean scene, too.

SCA volunteers and staff removed copious amounts of litter from the beach which, as our own Joe Thurston tweeted, may have otherwise been headed to “one of those gargantuan offshore trash islands.” Seventeen-year-old world class surfer and SCA spokeswoman Lakey Peterson led the week’s biggest project, a Saturday sweep that left HB good to go for Sunday’s surfing finals, where Lakey absolutely rocked the house.

The Santa Barbara native scored a near-perfect 19.76 on her way to winning it all after finishing second in last year’s event and first in the Junior Division. Moments after she was carried off the beach by a buoyant mob, the new US Open champion found other reasons to celebrate. “I am so stoked that everything with SCA worked out so well!” Lakey shouted.

The beach clean-ups were a major success, SCA handed out more than 20,000 “Get On Board” wristbands with directions to our social media site: jointhesca.org, and our booth in the Festival Village drew daily crowds pumped about SCA crew and intern positions. We salute Lakey for an awesome victory and her generous support, and thank all the folks at IMG, Nike, Rainbow Environmental Services, and our super volunteers, especially the team from the California Conservation Corps.

SCA Senior Vice President Flip Hagood will deliver the opening address at the Wilderness Risk Management Conference in Portland, OR in October. In this Q&A with SCA's Risk Management Director Steve Smith, Flip offers a preview of his remarks.

What does the WRMC community need to hear that they're not accustomed to hearing?

We in the WRMC community have a role to play as leaders – thought leaders and action leaders – to engage more of youth in the outdoors, and be a catalyst for create a more diverse and inclusive youth community in the future.

What do today's youth need that the WRMC can help provide?

We have to offer hands-on and minds-on outdoor opportunities that create bridges to safe, risk-aware behaviors that enhance learning, and provide positive experiences for youth that lead to broader engagement and additional step experiences.

What barriers have kept the face of outdoor programming the same over the years?

Individual barriers include those generationally handed down. People worked hard to get away from the discomforts of the outdoors, why go back? The key is to see it as recreation rather than work.

As for institutional barriers, risk managers can be unintentionally unwelcoming, so a self-assessment is required – every one of us can be more culturally competent with a willingness to be supportive and engaged. Just sending out announcements or invitations alone isn’t enough.

How do we overcome those barriers?

We can open portals by letting young folks know it’s okay to be in wild places and the outdoors, and not let fears and anxieties be barriers. Use models of others who have had rewarding experiences and come back to tell about it – I paddled for the first time as a 30 year old and I’m not a great swimmer, but once I felt comfortable, a sense of enjoyment kicked in.

What specific challenges do you plan to issue to the WRMC community?

We must actively seek to build bridges to a more diverse student body and staff in outdoor programs. We need to embody organized activism, to provide leadership and ownership of diversity as an organizational value.

What steps do organizations need to take to increase their cultural competencies?

Self-Assessment for cultural competence, barrier identification, barrier removal, and provide opportunities. Be willing to expose ourselves to a certain amount of organizational discomfort. We need to be willing to do that as organizations in the same way that we ask our students to do so in a kayak or in the mountains.
We also have to build skills in home environments before placing them in new environments – a progression of skills that starts in familiar terrain before going into new terrain. Likewise, thoughtful processing of the return to their community, and how to transfer their skills back into the rest of their lives.

What role should program alumni play in the changes that we'd like to see in the industry?

Hiring your alumni is a testament to an organization’s willingness to walk the talk – if you’re not bringing in your diverse students as staff, then you’re perpetuating the common student complaint that they’re not welcome in the outdoor community because “they don’t see themselves there,” that they don’t see faces that look like their faces. When I can send a Latino kid to talk to another Latino alum or staff from one of our programs, it really increases the chance that we can reach the broadest range of students.

Learn More

• WRMC 2012 Speaker Bios
• Learn More and Register

“I’m super excited about welcoming my fellow SCA volunteers to the US Open of Surfing because when it comes to protecting nature, we all need to get on board,” says Lakey.

The US Open of Surfing is one of the biggest outdoor events of the year.  And our own SCA spokesperson Lakey Peterson is a top contender in the competition. Not only will SCA be there to cheer on our favorite surfer, but we’re also sponsoring a volunteer beach clean up and fabulous contest!

Fans can enter now to win a “Room and Board” prize pack including a trip for two to California, an autographed Lakey surfboard ,  surfing lessons from Lakey, and a weekend at the Petersons’ guest house in Santa Barbara.  We’ll also be giving away autographed Lakey gear every day of the competition.

Sponsored by Nike, Hurley, and Converse and presented by IMG, the global leader in sports and entertainment, the US Open of Surfing is expected to draw upwards of 750,000 people.  SCA volunteers will be on the scene to remove thousands of pounds of debris from the beach and protect the marine environment, with Lakey joining our crews when she’s not competing.

Last year, Lakey won six straight heats on her way to the US Open final before finishing second in the Women’s Division.  She is currently ranked among the top 10 female surfers in the world.

As Lakey says, “From the competition to the conservation, it’s going to be an awesome week.”

Congratulations to Amy Brown on winning the 2011 E3 Washington Award of Excellence in the Informal Educator category! She is an SCA Alumnus and a long-time partner with SCA in the North Cascades WILD partnership. Check out the full story and photos from the ceremony.