By Ashlyn Beck | News Editor
After two years as an on-campus organization, OSO Stoked Surf made a splash on campus with club status for the first time this fall.
Huntington Beach, Calif., junior Tanner Hayden is the president of the Surf Club. According to Hayden, the group had been an organization at Baylor for two years, and this year they transitioned into an official club.
The club has organized a partnership with Waco Surf, a wave pool in Waco. Hayden is on staff at Waco Surf, and he said he worked to create the partnership the club now has with the company.
“Their sessions aren’t what I would call cheap, but they’re pretty reasonable with us, and they know that we’re students, so they’re accommodating to a certain degree,” Hayden said.
Members of the clubs pay dues at the beginning of the semester, Hayden said, which pay for the weekly surf practices.
Villa Park, Calif., senior Shannon Storer is the vice president of the club and said she had never surfed before joining. Despite growing up by the beach, she had never learned and now gets the opportunity to get her feet wet alongside other club members, some with much more experience and some learning alongside her.
“We have two different types of people,” Storer said. “We have people who have never surfed before but want to get better at surfing, and then those who have surfed before and want to just keep doing it.”
When the club meets at Waco Surf, they can choose between a beginner, intermediate or advanced session. Hayden said they choose whatever the majority of the club votes for that session.
Hayden and Storer said in past years, they have had around 20 members. After Late Night, however, Storer said they are hopeful to double their numbers. With 20 members, the club receives an hour of private time at Surf Waco, while 40 members would allow the club to use the pool for two hours a week.
The base fee for club membership is $400 per semester, Hayden said. The price seems steep, but it covers five sessions at Waco Surf at a discounted price.
According to Hayden, students can join the club as a non-surfing member for $35. Additionally, the club offers a 20% discount if members want to book their own session outside of the weekly club session.
Since awareness of and interest in the club has grown, Storer said that they have introduced a point system. Members get points from attending surfing sessions, profit shares and other activities. Points are compared at the end of the semester, and members with more points get priority membership at the beginning of the next semester.
“We don’t want to take away spots from somebody who actually wants to surf and go to every single thing versus somebody who just joins, pays and then doesn’t do anything,” Storer said.
The club is welcoming to experienced surfers, and several students from the coast use it as a way to bring a sense of home to Waco, according to Storer. Despite this, there are plenty of members who are just learning to surf, and the club is open to students of all different skill levels.
“Learning how to surf is one thing, but being in an environment where you’re supported and where people are always encouraging you… It’s just really cool to see that environment and to see how we all just support each other,” Storer said.
In addition to the supportive community in the club, Storer said a big draw of the club is getting to surf at one of the largest and most well-known wave pools in the country.
“People from all around come to Waco, literally for [Waco Surf],” Storer said. “So it’s just super cool to be like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve surfed there.’”
