With the sun high in the sky and the temperature reading 75 degrees, it was a perfect day for the surf team to catch some waves while raising money at the same time.

On Saturday, March 22, the UNC Wilmington Surf Club put on a surf competition at Carolina Beach. After the competition was inactive for seven years, president Alek Rockrise and faculty advisor Peter Fritzler thought it would be a great idea to reactivate the competition to fund money for their club.

“We weren’t expecting that great of a turn out after seven years but we were all really impressed,” said treasurer Alexis Goss. “There were at least a hundred people there at any particular time. It was an awesome event, a great turn out, and we couldn’t have done it without all the sponsors and great support from the community.”

Several local shops around the area entered a team of four into the competition. Other participants included individual surfers and surf club members. Each participant entered into a variety of divisions including pro long board, women’s short and long board, and pro men’s division.

With $1,000 raised, the Surf Club was able to fund their trip to regionals in Florida where they won first place for the sixth year in a row. Their next stop is nationals in California.

“The money that we raised went towards Regionals and will go towards nationals,” said Goss. “It also goes towards gas when we drive, hotels, airplane tickets, and team dinners.”

The fundraiser not only raised money for the team but it allowed them to come together and bond. It’s something they don’t get to do often.

“I thought it would be cool to revive the contest but it also gave the club members something to do,” said Rockrise. “Apart from our meetings, it’s hard to get everyone together.”

Club members not only had a chance to bond and meet a variety of new people at the event, but they also learned skills and lessons while planning the fundraiser.

“It was really cool to have a student planned event that you had something to put your name,” said Goss. “It was also a great way to make some new friends and meet different people. I met two girls that I didn’t know before.”

“I think he’s (Alek) learned some invaluable skills (e.g. time management, delegation, sponsor relations, etc.) and lessons that will help him going forward,” said Fritzler. “Alumni were excited to see the Surf Club host the contest. It helped reenergize alumni on the club and build goodwill towards future activities.”

The next stop for the Surf Club is nationals. With the team stronger than ever, they hope for a strong end to the season.

“We have a stronger team than we did last year and we are looking really good,” said Rockrise. “Our girl division was lacking in the previous years but now we have some really good surfers. It will help us out a lot.”