STOP SURFING CONTESTS AT SWAMIS

9:20 am PST, Feb 7, Roz Light, California
The flower fields are a huge Target shopping center now. Let's preserve what is left of our magical town. The SRF ashram and meditation gardens are directly above the beach, the monks live there. It seems disrespectful to them to erect scaffolding and introduce BLOW HORNS directly below our beautiful meditators...

10:43 pm PST, Feb 6, Herb Bradley, California
I don't surf Swami's much, but when I do I have a great time. I never get any hastles and always leave satasfied with a big smile and totally drained. Out of respect for the Local's that Surf there and the Swami's Surfing Association, I will sign this petition and many others like it for any other beaches. For the Contest poeple not to include Local Surfers is wrong PERIOD. But to not have access to your own beach for 4 days is just Lame. I don't do contest very often but when I do its usually for a good cause not for selfpleasure. There s plenty of beach at Carlsbad that hardly anyone ever surfs, I don't think they would have a trouble there. Becides where is everyone going to park. Its hard enough to find parking when the have contest at Cardiff. Then there is the train tracks that people run across because the park on the other side of the street because of lack of parking. And as for the guy talking about parking meters. I really dont think thats going to solve the City of Encinitas's money problem. They wont put up pay parking if we keep signing petitions. Swami's doesnt need a contest to raise money I dont see how the City will benifit from that. Maybe I'm just blind. Respect the Beach the Locals and all Beach goers the beach is for everyone all day all the time. Keep it clean. Aloha

12:29 pm PST, Feb 5, Name not displayed, California
Hold it at La Jolla Shores.

10:04 pm PST, Feb 1, Barbara Jacobsen, Hawaii
The way we can have an impact is to boycott any sponsors who do not respect the wishes of the community. Vote with your $$$ in all things support the local economy, boycott robber banks go to local credit unions and local shops, shapers... we are strong if we work together and support each other.

9:42 am PST, Jan 29, Tom Parrish, Hawaii
Contests suck anywhere and everywhere, good for JP for telling it like it is, whores extolling the virtues of virginity are not credible.

10:21 am PST, Jan 25, David Jenkins, California

6:28 am PST, Jan 23, Keith Hedgecock, California

6:41 pm PST, Jan 22, Mike M, California
I Surf and I think it's great to have the occasional contest at Seaside, Cardiff Reef, South Ponto, etc...but Swamis? no, not a good idea for for many reasons. Thank You.

7:23 am PST, Jan 19, David Swenson, California
No contest at Swamis! Leave it alone.

8:09 pm PST, Jan 14, Jed Scallion, California
Swamis is a sacred spot with spiritual roots and beauty beyond words,the fact that contests have not been held here in decades is not a coincidence,lets keep it that way!

6:24 am PST, Jan 12, Stacey Parker, California

11:18 am PST, Jan 6, Kevin Hafner, California
I just don't get it. No contests at Swamis!! Surfing has never been about what other people see, it's about what you FEEL!!! The commercialization of surfing comes with a steep price. Every true surfer pays it time and time again when they enter the water. No soul, no Aloha, no rotation in the line-up and now a contest? God help us.

2:03 pm PST, Jan 4, Marc Cavallaro, California

12:23 am PST, Jan 2, Name not displayed, California

2:30 pm PST, Dec 29, Name not displayed, California

3:31 am PST, Dec 28, Nxfbkyno LzIcGbGDiWdmTezSNn, Suriname
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1:02 pm PST, Dec 27, Byron Lev, California
I have surfed for 40 years and can remember a day at this beach when it was double over head, there were several times I got Pitched over backwards when I tried to punch through the lip and was body slammed hard enough to clean my clock. The few waves I did catch were amazing and it's a memory locked in my head forever. I would like to think that there are other memories for future surfers that won't be tainted by professional events. mass public attendance, and congestion at one of GOD's most BEAUTIFUL surf spot in california.

1:08 pm PST, Dec 22, Michael Cunnison, California
No contests at Swamis....... it will set a precedent which we do not need to have........... at swamis.......... signed by a orginial member of Swamis surfing club founded in 1964........... Michael Cunnison

9:19 am PST, Dec 22, John Fodor, California
our beaches and oceans are a natural wonder that should be kept free of commerical venues. These beautiful recreational resourses are for all people to use and enjoy on a year round, 24/7 basis.

8:44 pm PST, Dec 19, Name not displayed, California
Leave Swamis alone.

8:36 am PST, Dec 19, Phyllis Orman, California
keep Swamis "surf contest free"!

1:20 pm PST, Dec 18, David King, California
Don't do it!!

12:34 pm PST, Dec 18, Scott Platenberg, California
Hold the contest at Cardiff. Pay the fee.

10:01 am PST, Dec 17, Michael Lawler, California
I agree with the above said statement & voice my opinion for the preservation that the community of Swamis surfer's has cultivated.

8:50 am PST, Dec 17, Fabrizio Corucci, Italy

8:20 am PST, Dec 17, David Penman, California

12:50 am PST, Dec 17, Chiara Bellini, Italy
http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?v=info&gid=181518902926 Here You can find all reasons...

11:05 pm PST, Dec 16, Toni Bowman, California

9:22 pm PST, Dec 16, Jason Perry, California
Leave Swamis alone!! There's already enough spots in the area that have been screwed up by the masses of people that visit . More people mean more trash!!!

9:02 pm PST, Dec 16, Diana DiCarlo, California

8:48 pm PST, Dec 16, Samuel Gordon, California

7:11 pm PST, Dec 16, Nunya Bizness, California
Well , well, well you stupid so called locals and all you haters like the idiot Brolaski morons, Keith (red head idiot who can't surf), O' Reilly/Baums from Jersey Kooks, MArk, and all the rest of you haters can suck it. Do you want meters up? Well, they said that they would never do it, but we already have timed parking....The city is 60% below profit and we are seeing most family style shops close down. We need the money for the businesses. Swami's is on Google maps..we drive and live by it and surf it.......On a good swell, people block 101 and Vulcan just to watch it because it's a secret spot....It's so sacred and secret that surfline has a camera pointed on the lineup...do you guys ever try to tug the camera down? probably not because practically all of you idiot f'n haters are either transplants or live in La Costa picking up after your trophy waves and driving your BMW's...oh yeah, I can't forget all of the losers on the rocks smoking there weed and talking about if, had, or could a been comments..you guys are losers..get a real job. 99% of the "real locals" (I was born and raised here) are for it. It probably will happen when it's small anyway.....

7:06 pm PST, Dec 16, David "Big Wave Dave" Burns, Nevada
Brah's, let's clean it up and maintain the awesome pleasure of just visiting the green room and not all the people pollution of contests that have left pro surfers forgetting where they came from. Let's keep it clean and keep it tight brah's. OMO can relate and recover as always, however, we all need to act now! Save Swamis and do it now!!

6:33 pm PST, Dec 16, David Adler, California
Enough with the relentless promotion of surfing...it's losing it's soul.

6:16 pm PST, Dec 16, David McArthur, New Jersey
It would be perfectly acceptable if pollution was non-existant during these constests, or if maybe a group of environmental activists went around after the tourny and picked up all the trash like a beach sweep.

6:13 pm PST, Dec 16, Staci Reeves, California

6:00 pm PST, Dec 16, Peter Van Allen, Pennsylvania
This past summer, I made a list of 5 iconic surf spots in California that i had to surf -- a bucket list, of sorts. Malibu, Salt Creek, Trestles, San O and Swami's. These are places that surfers hold dear. OK, I live on the East Coast, so i didn't know Salt Creek was surrounded by a Ritz Carlton. Still a great wave - but not as Art Brewer pictured it in his famous pic of the 70s. But man Swami's was everything I dreamed it would be: the parking lot with the classic surf wagons, the group of surfers trading stories, the cliff, the scary stairs and one after another perfect waves coming around the point. It was everything I dreamed of and even more. Keep it cool

5:49 pm PST, Dec 16, MAYA SENESE, California

5:42 pm PST, Dec 16, Lennie Collins, Hawaii
Born in Carlsbad and surfed there as a kid. I remember one contest at Stonesteps in the early 70's. What a zoo that would be to host one at Swami's.

5:03 pm PST, Dec 16, Name not displayed, California

4:53 pm PST, Dec 16, James Robertson, New Zealand

4:51 pm PST, Dec 16, Stephen Jordan, California

4:43 pm PST, Dec 16, Erin Sullivan, California

4:23 pm PST, Dec 16, Kym McQuiston, California

4:17 pm PST, Dec 16, Boaz Roberts, California
Contests should never ruin my home break and my fathers home break. Contests destroy the soul of the sport. Keep a legendary point break pure.

4:09 pm PST, Dec 16, Mark McNaught, California
As know to alot of us, and well know traveler's Swamis is a place to enjoy the site and views of our coast. With that said I feel that there is no need for contest surfing at this location. I have been a local althele of over 30 years and ONE to stand tall and sign NO CONTEST for SWAMIS. It is just not the right spot for an event and several safety reasons. Go to Cardiff by the sea or Seaside parking lot. Or if you feel u need the monies for the city of ENCINITAS then GO TO MOONLIGHT it has plently of safe parking for all ages. MM

4:04 pm PST, Dec 16, Michael Holbrook, California

3:38 pm PST, Dec 16, Scott Campbell, California
Please do a cost/benefits analysis. This will COST the city money!

9:21 am PST, Dec 16, People For Swamis, California
We are a group of like minded individual and interests in favor of preserving and protecting the crown Jewel of Encinitas, the Swamis Beach Park, and for insuring access for everyone all the time. We are against any and all surfing competitions or contests at the city's crown jewel, Swamis Beach Park. Why? At first we struggled with this. In 1964 Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously stated, "I don't know how to define pornography, but I know it when I see it". Deep down in our bones, we know a surfing competition at Swamis is wrong, but much like the honorable Justice Stewart, at first we too struggled to explain exactly why it was wrong. There are many obvious quantifiable and objective reasons which are many: the lack of parking, the cliff erosion, no handicap access to the beach, the environmental concerns, the loud public address systems, the blaring fog horns, no crosswalk, people crossing the train tracks, public safety, sanitation isues, setting a precedent, opening the door for more promoters to take over the citys Crown Jewel, and all the costs and litigation that surrounds mitigating those issues; beyond all of that, our struggle with defining why a competition at the Swamis Beach Park is wrong is because our reasoning is unquantifiable. Our reasoning is based in the aesthetic of the community. Our reasoning is more art than science. We proudly point to the features of Encinitas, to funky downtown Leucadia, the Longboard Grotto, the donut shop, the Boat Houses near Moonlight Beach and the San Elijo lagoon. We point out all the surf spots from Grandview to Beacons, to Stonesteps to D-street all the way down Cardiff and Seaside Reef. All of that, and then mix in resident Pipeline Master Rob Machado, historic Hansens Surf Shop; and of course, there is the Swamis Beach Park and its namesake, the Self Realization Fellowship. All of this adds up to The City of Encinitas, a groovy, unique humble, surf hamlet. Encinitas as a surf hamlet has distinguished itself from Santa Cruz, Huntington Beach and Malibu, it is a surf community true to its own values as a surf community. At the very heart of the Swamis surfing experience is the number one core value of surfing and of surfers everywhere: Access for everyone, all the time. In Encinitas, at Swamis, at the Crown Jewel of Encinitas, surfing is about a lot of things, both good and bad, but the one thing that surfing is NOT about at Swamis is horns and jerseys and scaffolding and winners and losers. The powers that be in Encinitas don't allow for that stuff at Swamis. We think this to be... pretty cool. Contests are NOT what surfing is about. Winning a trophy is not a core value of surfing. The number one core value for surfers everywhere, around the world, is access for everyone, all the time. In fact, that is the core value of the Surfrider Foundation. The city residents of Encinitas got it right. That is why our Crown Jewel, your crown jewel, the Swamis Beach Park, is so special. It has, we have, you have stayed true to the core value of surfing. No other so-called surf town, has ever embraced the number one core value. In our eyes, Encinitas, at Swamis no less, has got it right. We'd like to leave you with this thought: The decision to NOT hold surfing contests at Swamis was made close to 40 years ago. There's a reason the Swamis Surfing Association in its 40 year history as proxy overseer of the Swamis beach has never held it's annual contest at their home break. The Malibu club holds their event at world class Malibu. The Santa Cruz club holds their event at world class Steamer Lane. The HB club holds their contest at the HB Pier. But the Swamis Surfing Association, way back when, had the foresight and common sense to do what was right for the community. The SSA knew that for the sanctity of the community's crown jewel, it would better to host their own Swamis club event at someplace other than Swamis beach park. Simple. Yet profound. Take a look at the Swamis Beach Park today. Residents and citizens from ALL walks of life: the young mother with her baby stroller, the guitar dude strumming melodically, the joggers, the watercolor artists, the coffee drinkers, the boot camp Marines, the newspaper readers, the bike riders, the dog walkers, the exercise folks, the daily swimmers, the divers, the Yoga classes, the young families, the lady hawking egg rolls, the balancing wire folks, the exercise classes, the fisherman, sadly a few homeless folks -- and yes the surfers, all of them and many, many more enjoyed the peace and serenity that the Swamis park and the Swamis beach below offered. They all had access. It is theirs, it is yours, it is ours. It belongs to them. It belongs to you. It belongs to the citizens. We humbly ask you to do what is right for this surf community. We ask you to please join us, Say NO to any surfing contests at Swamis -- ever. Not today, Not tomorrow. Please join us in proclaiming: ACCESS FOR EVERYONE ALL THE TIME. Please No Contests at Swamis. We respect Linda Benson. We are in favor of stimulating the local economy. We are also fans of competitive surfing- there is a place for it. We are also in favor of Linda Benson having a professional womens LB contest. Our group is solution oriented and offers many alternatives for the promoters so that they can have their event within the City and not ruin the crown jewel of Encinitas surfing, the Swamis Beach Park. Encinitas is not Huntington Beach, let's keep it that way. Thank you! And Please sign the petition!

5:33 pm PST, Dec 15, Peter OBrien, California
Enough is enough. Sacred? Maybe not, but soon there will be nowhere left where natural beauty can remain free from crass commercialism. Encinitas must draw a line in the sand before its sand becomes as homogenized and uninteresting as the rest of the Southern CA coast.

10:44 am PST, Dec 15, Name not displayed, California

10:59 pm PST, Dec 13, Robert Tempchin, California
I do not fully agree with the wording of this petition but I do wish to express my opposition to allow surfing contests (or any kind of events that deny the public use of the beach) at Swami's. The beach belongs to everyone and is not something the city council can rent out at will.

12:12 pm PST, Dec 13, Max Dolberg, California

9:27 pm PST, Dec 12, Ken Kafka, California

10:48 pm PST, Dec 11, Julia Stormson, Nevada

11:32 am PST, Dec 10, Wes Carpenter, California

6:19 pm PST, Dec 7, Mike Oliver, California

2:31 pm PST, Dec 7, Name not displayed, California
I do not want any surf contests in the Swami's beach. It would deteriote the already feeble natural environment we have there.

1:43 pm PST, Dec 7, James Frazier, California
Keep Swamis meditating and mellow.....

8:40 pm PST, Dec 6, David Goodley, California
1) The citizens don't want it. 2) Environmentally fragile area that is already under pressure due to the popularity of it. Included in this is it's popularity during low tides for tidepool walkers. Also included is it's popularity for fishing/spearfishing. No more environmental stress. 3) Logistically not feasible. Parking nightmare, dangerous intersection traffic, dangerous to the thousands of cyclists that go by there, and dangerous to pedestrians on the sidewalk. 4) The most precious commodities in our urban cities are peace, quiet, and serenity. Swami's currently offers an environment for these, and they should be protected. Also included is the long-standing spiritual climate established at the SRF and it's meditation garden. Respect for this local and world recognized landmark should be observed. NO CONTEST AT SWAMIS.

3:26 pm PST, Dec 6, Justin Cunningham, California
The spirituality of Swami's and aloha are the antithesis of surf contests' commercialization. Only the self serving, arrogant and/or ignorant would consider it a good idea.

3:38 pm PST, Dec 5, Aldo Brazzoduro, California

6:36 am PST, Dec 4, Dennis Hoover, California
No contest at Swamis please. Have it somewhere else, like Cardiff or Seaside. In this case less is truly more. Dennis Hoover

4:30 am PST, Dec 4, Mark Harrington, Washington

2:05 pm PST, Dec 3, Name not displayed, California

11:29 am PST, Dec 3, Brock Tella, California
Traditions should be respected. There are other beaches to have an event.

10:58 am PST, Dec 3, Mark Brolaski, California

8:18 am PST, Dec 3, Lainey Carreno, California

11:02 pm PST, Dec 2, JODINA HAHN, California

8:02 pm PST, Dec 2, Michael Mendelson, Washington D.C.

7:03 pm PST, Dec 2, Summer Meyer, California

5:36 pm PST, Dec 2, Eli Miller, California
Good luck! There hasen't been a contest held at swami's in over 40 years. That says it all. Lets keep it that way.