How can surfing improve the lives of people in the Virgin Islands? The right answer could win 12 V.I. youngsters a free trip to participate in the Tortola Surf Classic. All they have to do is come up with a winning essay.
The essay contest—sponsored by local nonprofit Using Sport for Social Change (USSC), which holds the annual October Just Play Day on St. John—wants to get V.I. youth thinking about the positive aspects of surfing.
“We wanted to be able to fairly choose from kids who write the essay,” said USSC’s Dean Doeling, explaining why the organization decided on the essay format.
The group will be awarding 12 trips to three boys and three girls each on both St. Thomas and St. John. (Unfortunately, logistics prevented participation by St. Croix youths, but Doeling said he hopes to include them in the future.) Contestants must be 17 or under.
The prizes include ferry passage and taxi on Tortola for each winner and a chaperone over age 18. Lunch and beverages will be provided for the one-day trip.
Doeling said the date for the youth part of the Tortola Surf Classic has not yet been decided, but it will be April 23 or 24. Those dates are on Easter weekend.
Winners and chaperones must have passports for entry into Tortola.
Applications forms are available the USSC website.
For more info on contest rules and requirements, click here.
The judges are Doeling, a St. John Community Foundation member; staff at the V.I. Housing, Parks and Recreation Department; and a Southland Gaming representative. Doeling said Southland helps fund Using Sport for Social Change activities and the Tortola Surf Classic.
Send entries via email to dean.doeling@nike.com or by mail to Dean Doeling, USFSC, 20713 SW Imperial Lane, Aloha, OR 97006.
