Surfgimp Foundation supports Adaptive Surfing Championships

Volunteers from the Surfgimp Foundation traveled to Oceanside, Calif., to participate in the eighth annual U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships.

Over the course of four days, Sept. 4-8, the Surfgimp volunteers helped adaptive surfing athletes from around the world compete by assisting at the registration desk, on the sand transfer team and on the water safety team.

The Surfgimp Foundation is named after Milton resident and adaptive surfer Jay Liesener, who died in late 2017. In addition to crowning champions, the annual competition gives a surfer an award for embodying the grab-life-by-the-horns attitude Liesener displayed. This year’s winner was Annie Goldsmith, an athlete from Australia who finished third in women's prone assist division.

The Surfgimp Foundation has a mission to support, through financial grants, individuals with disabilities who require assistance to pursue an active lifestyle. Since its inception in 2018, the foundation has awarded more than $460,000 grants to more than 300 recipients.

The foundation’s seventh annual Winter Beach Bash takes place 6 to 11 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Rusty Rudder in Dewey Beach. The night includes dinner, live music by Bryen O'Boyle and Just The Tip, a four-hour open premium bar, and huge live and silent auctions.

For more information, go to surfgimpfoundation.org or email info@surfgimpfoundation.org.