2022_09_New_Jersey_Monthly

GARDEN VARIETY
s p o r t s
Surf ’s Up at Shore High Schools
New Jersey’s coastal teams have become highly competitive in East Coast events.
CATCH A WAVE
Audrey Iglay
(17) surfing for
Manasquan High
School Surf Team
in a contest between
Manasquan
and Point Pleasant
surf clubs.
It’s probably fair to say that
many haven’t heard of the
Manasquan High School vs.
Ocean City High School surfteam
rivalry.
But the schools, which represent
two of the Shore’s thriving surf communities,
dominate state competitions.
Ocean City has taken 12 titles
and Manasquan eight titles, since they
began competing against each other 20
years ago. No other school has managed
to win even a single championship.
They are just two of the dozen high
schools in the state that have surfing
teams and compete each year in meets
that run in September and October.
Since the inception of high school
surfing in the mid-1980s, New Jersey
has grown to feature one of the most
comprehensive and organized high
school surf networks of any state on the
East Coast. Ten of New Jersey’s high
school teams have competed in the National
Championships in California.
Surf teams are coached by teachers
who are usually surfers themselves, as
well as volunteers from the community.
Each school has surfers in three
divisions: boys, girls and longboard.
The school with the most top surfers
wins the National Scholastic Surfing
Association Joe Keenan High School
Championship Award. Some years,
the waves are tiny, but there have been
legendary events where the kids are
challenged by big nor’easter swells.
In Ocean City High School, the sport
fields meet right at the boardwalk.
Its surf team has produced more pro
surfers than anywhere in the state and
dominated the first 25 years of wave
riding, winning every year except one.
Its former coach, Mark Miedama, led
the Red Raiders for 35 years, with 23
titles and five trips to the National
Championships.
A surfer himself, Miedama retired
from teaching and coaching last year.
“I saw so many changes in high school
competitive surfing since 1986…mostly
positive. I got to witness the surfers
become recognized as true student athletes,
and unfortunately, a slower move
towards equity with girls’ representation
in contests. But it’s there now,” he says.
Schools that compete include St.
Augustine Prep, Southern Regional,
Ocean City, Mainland Regional, Atlantic
City, Lower Township, Holy Spirit,
Manasquan, Point Pleasant, Wall and
Donovan Catholic.
“It’s inspiring to see how many
schools have backed surfing as a legitimate
sport,” Miedama adds.
—Jon Coen
PHOTOGRAPH: CATALINA FRAGOSO
20 SEPTEMBER 2022 NJMONTHLY.COM