photo, caption, and citation #1

This photo shows surfers enjoying the sport they love with a caption stating “we surf we care”. This caption shows that surfers are created equally just like everyone else in the world and should not have their spots taken from them because they care. This relates to my topic because us surfers do care if you take our spots away from us and we feel that we should not be treated as though we do not deserve the privilege to surf our own beaches.
We Surf We Care. Photograph. Rip Curl Planet | Home | Rip Curl Planet. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. .

wordle #1

What I want to learn

What I want to learn is why do we have surf restricted areas? I am very curious as to what are the reasons they are in effect. The laws that keep surfers out of the water unless at designated surf spots are only in effect during tourist season; why are they only at this time? Is it because of the tourists? I want to know if there was something that happened or some kind of dispute or argument that persuaded the county/state to place laws against surfing in the beautiful months of the year. When the coastal area is thriving with vacationers, we locals would like to be able to remain on our beaches and surf whenever and wherever we want. Some tourists even vacation here just to surf or watch surfers, so why decrease the availability of the sport that attracts people from every hemisphere of the United States and even the world?

dont take our surf spots

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What I already know

What I already know about surfing and the restrictions placed upon the sport in South Carolina is that it is only in affect during “tourist season”. Tourist season is when all the tourists from all over the country and Canada come to our beaches. This lasts from the start of spring all the way to September. The law placed against surfers states that we can not surf from 9:00 AM through 6:00 PM unless at a designated surf area. I have been surfing ever since I moved here and taught myself how to do it. I live here so why should I have to stop where surf just for the convinience of the tourists who are only here for little time and crowd our beaches? Surfing doesn’t hurt anyone unless you hurt yourself doing it. I know that a lot of kids and adults surf because it is a passion they possess and they use it as a way to get away from the problems they encounter, they surf to get their aggression out, they surf for the love of it and to bond with their friends or family. I am among that crowd and we do not feel that our passion should be taken away from us. Would you rather allow people to surf wherever they want or have someone angry all the time causing mischeif because they can not clear their mind due to some uncalled for law that pertains to the satisfaction of some tourists? Let us surf where we please, we are the ones affected by the law.

backround story

Why do I feel that surf restricted areas should not exist in South Carolina? The law in south Carolina forbids anyone to surf in Horry county between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The only areas where surfing is allowed are designated areas. This law is only in effect during “tourist season” which is very irritating to me and majority of other surfers residing here. I feel as though I should be able to surf wherever I want. Why should I have to give up where I surf because of the overload of tourists bombarding the beaches? I live here and I don’t feel that it is fair that I have to give up where I surf so tourists can crowd up in the water. As a tax paying citizen, the county should meet our needs and requests first rather than calling to the tourists’ satisfaction. I live here all year and should not have to give up my surfing areas. South Carolina should not make surf restricted areas all year round. Surfing is something we do to stay out of trouble during the summer, to clear our minds of all the bad things, and to hang with our friends and share the love of the sport. Why would you want to take that away from us? Abolishing surf restrictions would be a great thing to help our passion carry on. "Surfing is for life" -Bruce Jenkins