{"id":462351,"date":"2026-09-13T06:56:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T06:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/462351\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T06:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T06:56:11","slug":"ombac-surf-classic-fundraises-to-prevent-drownings-at-beaches-nbc-7-san-diego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/462351\/","title":{"rendered":"OMBAC Surf Classic fundraises to prevent drownings at beaches \u2013 NBC 7 San Diego"},"content":{"rendered":"

Surfers rode the waves off Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach, Saturday, for the 32nd annual OMBAC Surf Classic<\/a>. They were only allowed to compete with vintage long boards designed before 1970.<\/p>\n

The event reached full capacity with 50 surfers registered ranging from college-aged to ‘old school’ men and women with decades of experience.<\/p>\n

The late-summer swells gave competitors a chance to enjoy the experience that has kept them coming back to the ocean.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of just like this surreal feeling of awesomeness, you know, washing your day off and gliding on the water,\u201d said surfer Waylen Chanzer, a 17-year old freshman at San Diego State University.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Trevor<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tM.G. PerezM.G. Perez<\/p>\n

Trevor Holloway rides a wave, Saturday, during a 15 minute competition heat off Crystal Pier, September 12, 2026.<\/p>\n

The annual Old Mission Beach Athletic Club (OMBAC) fundraiser benefits the Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego<\/a>, whose mission includes teaching lifesaving strategies to people getting in the water. <\/p>\n

\u201cEach competitors entry fee today will cover about 10 swim lessons for a child who otherwise could not afford it,” Ronan Gray, the foundation’s president told NBC 7.<\/p>\n

The foundation reports that drowning remains the leading cause of death for children under age 5.<\/p>\n

\u201c…and that\u2019s such a tragedy because it\u2019s preventable. It’s not just the ocean and the bays, but backyard pools are another place where tragedies happen,\u201d Gray said.<\/p>\n

The Surf Classic combines the fundraising event with a celebration of California’s Golden Age of surfing history. <\/p>\n

It was a time where boards could be taller than the people riding them and surfers didn’t use leashes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just something about knowing the history that informs the present. It’s paying homage to the originators pre-1970s. This contest is all early boards,\u201d old-school surfer Marc Whitney Mehran said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Surfers<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tM.G. PerezM.G. Perez<\/p>\n

Surfers prepare to compete, Saturday, making their way out to the surf, September 12, 2026.<\/p>\n

Event chairman, Chad Baker, has been surfing for 40 years and said, “Old Mission Beach Athletic Club supports youth events and charitable causes that help people who need it.” <\/p>\n

For surfers like Trevor Holloway, another San Diego State freshman, riding the waves and enjoying the ocean is a life style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t ever really remember not being able to swim at any point, honestly,\u201d Holloway said. “It’s a fundamental life skill as essential as walking or running.”<\/p>\n

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Surfers rode the waves off Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach, Saturday, for the 32nd annual OMBAC Surf Classic.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[12258,74,76,75,13006],"class_list":["post-462351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-pacific-beach","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-surfing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}