By Danny Teigman
If "fin," "longboard" and "set interval" sound scientific, not to worry, says Danny Bobis, a math teacher at Long Beach Middle School. The new club welcomes all who wish to learn about the surfing culture and pick up valuable lessons in environmental preservation and community service in the process.
"One of the things I always said was that if I ever had a career teaching in Long Beach school district, I would want to start up a surf club," Bobis said. "Because when I was a student, it was always something I wanted to have."
Bobis, a 1997 Long Beach High graduate, estimates that nearly half of the school's students have tried surfing or are dedicated surfers. With those numbers in mind, he decided to pitch his idea to the high school's principal, Nicholas Restivo. Rather than focusing only on surfing, the club plans to organize beach cleanups as well as fund-raisers for the not-for-profit Surfrider Foundation and Surf Aid International, a group that raises money for impoverished nations.
Bobis said that in the short term he has no plans to actually take a group of students into the water, since insurance and liability issues would be too problematic. But in his spring proposal letter, he noted that the club's formation was "the first logical step towards moving in that direction some time in the future."
"I'm a little upset" that they won't be going in the water, said Long Beach High School junior and lifelong surfer Robbie Bonanno. "But there's plenty of other things to do."
Those other things include studying the craft and sport of surfing. Students will learn how to shape surfboards as well as water safety, and will watch surfing videos for tips on style and performance. Bobis also said that with his connections in the surfing community, he might be able to attract a traveling group of professional surfers to Long Beach, and have guest speakers at meetings as well.
Bobis hopes that the club would eventually become affiliated with the National Scholastic Surfing Association, which organizes amateur surfing teams, or the Eastern Surfing Association, and compete with other coastal schools on Long Island and in New Jersey.
Bruce Lieberman, the advisor for East Hampton High School's surf club, said that gaining entrance into the NSSA may be difficult. In order to become its own region, New York state must have at least five teams that compete in the sport. Although two other schools besides East Hampton High have surf clubs, others have yet to materialize. While Long Beach would be a part of the same region, the distance between the schools would make competing difficult. "I gave it a hundred percent and thought it would happen quicker," Lieberman said.
This is not Long Beach High's first surf club, Restivo said. While he expressed optimism that Bobis and his students have the energy and enthusiasm to sustain a surfing club that doesn't actually offer surfing, previous attempts to do so have not succeeded. The difference, Restivo said, was that this new club would offer a compelling blend of community activism and surfing education that would potentially hold students' attention until they go out and try the sport on their own. "I'm looking forward to seeing the number of kids who will come out for this club, given what its stated intentions are," he said.
The club won't officially exist until after the Board of Education formally ratifies it, and signs off on a stipend for Bobis. Bobis estimated that 120 students had already signed up. "I think that the surfing culture is gaining more acceptance in the mainstream, and it's not viewed as a rebel, anti-social activity," he said.
Bonanno, meanwhile, has given Bobis and the club his full support. "Mr. Bobis is a great teacher, he surfs well and he'll be great for this position," Bonanno added. "I've been waiting for a surf club to happen in the high school for a long time."
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