2014 Santa Monica Pier Paddleboard Ocean Festival

SATURDAY JUNE 7, 2014

7:30 AM - 4:30PM

presented by

2014 EVENT GUIDE

PADDLEBOARD & DORY RACES 1-MILE OCEAN SWIM YOUTH BEACH & WATER EVENTS POP-UP MUSEUM OF VINTAGE SURF & BEACH CULTURE LIVE MUSIC & HULA DANCES Rum and Beer Garden BOARD & GEAR EXPO benefitting

#PIERPADDLE

www.PierPaddle.com

INTRO

W ELCOME BACK to the birthplace of beach culture

YOU’RE INVITED

The Santa Monica Pier Paddleboard Race & Ocean Festival presented by Tommy Bahama is a full day of fun – with competitions, entertainment and activities for all ages.

Santa Monica’s own Heal the Bay is offering educational experiences and contests throughout the day and will receive a portion of net proceeds from the event.

Come cheer on the hundreds of waterman and women who are competing or just enjoy a rum drink in the Tommy Bahama lounge or a beer in the Sierra Nevada beer garden. It’s the best day of the year at the Santa Monica Pier.

Now one of the fastest growing sports in the county, paddleboarding’s roots date back to the historic paddleboard races that took place right here at the Santa Monica Pier from the 1930s to the 1950s.

Now in its fifth year, the event has grown from a simple paddleboard race into a celebration of the California beach lifestyle. Last year’s races matched competitors against huge ocean waves and drew athletes from all over the U.S., Hawaii and Mexico.

Explore our “Museum for a Day” featuring a large one-of-a-kind exhibition of historic surfboards, paddleboards, lifeguard equipment and skateboards.

Meet surfing legends and authors of surf history books.

Hula dance groups and live musicians, including the original Ska band The Untouchables will perform from the stage while spectators enjoy the races, beer garden and rum lounge, museum and a large expo of paddleboards, accessories and souvenirs.

Presented by Tommy Bahama, other major partners include Heal the Bay, Sierra Nevada, Frappuccino by Starbucks, Suplove, Honest Tea, Quickblade Paddles, Shore Hotel, Arrowhead, Clif Bar, ZJ Boarding House, Santa Monica Daily Press, World Paddle Association, KIIS-FM, ALT 987 FM, Studio16 CityTV, Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier, ProSUP Shop, and National Doryman’s Association.

Check out our pier-side relaxation lounge.

There’s comfortable seating and a great view of the race. You can shop your favorite Tommy Bahama apparel, eyewear, watches and fragrances. And stop by the rum garden for a refreshing Mai Tai.

Check our website for more information: www.pierpaddle.com.

Proud Sponsor of the Santa Monica Pier Paddleboard Race and Ocean Festival.

HISTORY

THE HI STORY OF PADDLEBOARD RACI N G AT THE SANTA MONICA PIER

Paddleboarding becomes an official part of Santa Monica history when the Lifeguard Service adopts the wooden paddleboard as part of their lifesaving equipment. It is quickly adapted to recreational use by ocean enthusiasts.

Legendary watermen Tom Blake and Pete Peterson begin crafting their own paddle boards. In 1932, the two of them along with fellow waterman Wally Burton paddle 27 miles from Santa Monica to Catalina Island on custom made paddleboards.

On February 23, the Catalina to Santa Monica Relay Race makes headlines as a premiere team paddleboarding event ending at the Pier. The race becomes an annual event.

On July 20, The first all-women paddleboard program is staged at Pier, hosted by Santa Monica’s own Hui Maiokioki paddleboard club.

The first official Santa Monica paddleboard race is organized inside the confines of the newly christened Santa Monica Yacht Harbor next to the Pier.

HISTORY

The Pier hosts the Pacific Coast Paddleboard Championships. Olympic swimming gold medalist Johnny Weissmuller enlisted to entertain the crowd between races.

The first annual Preston Peterson Perpetual Trophy race is held to promote youth paddleboard racing

Standup paddleboarding (SUP), technically practiced since the 1960’s, suddenly erupts in popularity throughout the United States.

Santa Monica Pier introduces the First Annual Santa Monica Pier Paddleboard Race & Ocean Festival, returning the sport to its original roots.

The event becomes one of the Pier’s most popular events.

The popularity of paddleboard racing subsides, coinciding with the hysteria surrounding southern California’s newest water sports craze – competitive surfing.

W AN N A SEE MORE? Stop by the new Pier Shop at the carousel building for historic lifeguard and Dogtown displays.

LEGEND

W HEN THI RD PLACE BECAME W I N N ER

Santa Monica Pier’s Paddleboard Club

By James Harris

Ed Hawkins had a keen sense for talent. Or perhaps he was just trying to be the best father he knew how to be. In 1938 he entered his 9-year-old daughter Dottie into an all-ages ocean paddleboard race at Ballona Creek. Dottie placed third. Inspired, Ed created the Hui Maiokioki Paddleboard Club and built its clubhouse on the Santa Monica Pier. For a brief, shining moment in local history, the club was the Pier’s “Camelot”.

Paddleboarding was just beginning to become popular in the late 1930’s, ushered in by Santa Monica’s revered lifeguards. Membership in the Pier’s club quickly became the “in thing”. At the very least, the club offered a place to store members’ boards, a big plus since the boards in those days weighed anywhere from 40 to 90 pounds!

The Pier’s club members became a special attraction of their own. People flocked just to watch the paddlers practice racing or pushing the limits of what they could do on a paddleboard. Club initiation was a highlight, complete with members being inducted by King Neptune himself. Celebrities such as Arthur Lake and Johnny Weissmuller frequented the club. Ed Hawkins built a slide from the clubhouse to the ocean for members to enjoy, and for a while they even had a high-diving board. Every day was a show!

Other beach towns jumped on the paddleboard bandwagon, and soon there were paddleboard clubs in Hermosa Beach and Seal Beach. Competition between southern California’s beach towns began, and the Santa Monica paddlers quickly earned a reputation as the best.

Dottie, the club’s inspiration, lived up to her billing from day one. Respected for her racing talents as both a swimmer and paddler early on (that Ballona Creek race was the only time she finished less than first place!), Dottie was at the center of everything. Within the club’s first year she adopted two pet ducks, Skipper and Riptide. The ducks became the club mascots. Dottie’s outgoing personality, coupled with her talents, eventually drew enough attention to gain consideration as a candidate to swim for the United States Olympic Team.

As Dottie matured, so did the club. Eventually the club changed names from the tongue-twisting Hui Maiokioki (meaning “colorful club”) to the more refined sounding Manoa (named after a Hawaiian valley). Similarly, the activities that could be done on a paddleboard became more sophisticated.

Men formed a water polo team and gained a reputation as unbeatable. The women, under Dottie’s direction (of course!), choreographed water ballet routines and were soon enlisted to perform regionally as well as tour other states.

By definition, “brief, shining moments” always come to end, though. Such was true with the Manoa Paddleboard Club. While directing a water ballet performance, Dottie filled in for an injured performer, resulting in her disqualification from Olympic eligibility. At age 17 she left the Manoa club altogether, turning her sites toward a career away from the ocean. Not long after that the clubhouse failed to pass City standards and was ordered removed from the Pier. Boards needed to be stored elsewhere and, as they dispersed, so did the membership. By 1950, with Manoa’s star performer gone and its gathering place dismantled, the Pier’s once-famous paddleboard club was but a fantastic memory.

速

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Refreshingly

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A DAY OF RACI N G & FU N SATURDAY, JUNE 7

6:45 AM 7:45AM 8:00AM 8:30AM 8:45AM 9:15AM 9:25AM 9:30AM 10:00AM 10:30AM 11:00AM 11:40AM 11:45AM NOON 1:15PM 1:30PM 2:00PM 3:00PM Competitors: Mandatory pre-race briefings will be held on the sand 30 minutes prior to all paddleboard, SUP and swim races. You must have completed registration or check-in and be present in order to race.

Thank you to our 2014 Partners: