Yes, there are waves in New Hampshire. There are also waves in New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts, where Princeton, Yale and Harvard have all started their own surf teams. So why shouldn't Dartmouth have one? The history of the school proves we have a crowd of students far more outgoing and exciting than any of our neighboring schools, so why did we fail when our surf team started and why do we fail now to start a new one?
For the past four years, Tony Balsamo '04 has been trying to get a surf team put together. There has been a large amount of interest, but with a small group, organizing trips, as well as finding suits and boards, was difficult.
"The biggest problem," Balsamo said, "is the need for gear."
If the surf team is to be open to the entire school, as all club sports are, wet suits and boards are needed as resources. The Dartmouth Outing Club has a locker for climbing equipment, a whole barn filled with kayaks and life jackets, and all sorts of rooms of Frisbees, board games and other amusement for students to borrow.
The Outing Club also offers many different grants to groups of students. Because private requests to alumni for funding are unwelcome from Dartmouth students, the Outing Club offered a ride share blitz list as the only source of help, and since the 25 available club sport spots are filled in the Athletic Department, the surf team would need to be composed in an entirely different manner than any other team on campus. The most likely possibility for this would be to apply for different grants, and to hope for enough money to start an Outing Club locker of wetsuits and boards for a surfing group.
In regards to actually surfing, some students complain that the waves are too small or the water's too cold for a successful team to be started, but when asked, many Dartmouth surfers expressed interest in at least going for group surfs, whether with or without a team.
"I would love to go surfing if I had a chance and other people were heading out," said Kristin Simunovich '06.
Hampton Beach is the spot, but it is in the middle of a 12.6 mile New Hampshire coastal stretch with about half a dozen good spots. Though the waves can be a bit small in spring and summer (the optimal team seasons), fall hurricane season tosses the east coast some good swell reliably every year. Hampton is about an hour and 45 minutes away.
When asked how the distance to the beach and the East coast location would compare to the shore-line of the West coast, Joe Killefer '06 said, "As far as a comparison, I don't think the East coast can come close to the variety and quality of the spots in [the West]."
However, he added, "If surfing is really important to you, it is definitely worth the time. I haven't surfed the East coast yet, but as long as there are some ripples, it is better than nothing."
A surf team on the East coast might not be "legitimate in the way traditional sports teams are viewed," Erik Kankainen '05 said.
As a club sport at Dartmouth College, all students would be allowed to participate. Perhaps with enough student participation, the team could come up with some extra boards and suits, allowing universal participation, even in fall weather.
Size, distance and temperature included, Dartmouth surfers seem enthusiastic about giving the East coast some credit and heading out as a team. After consideration of on-campus activities the team could do as a whole, most recommendations centered around paddles on the river or riding standing-waves at Hartland whitewater.
Marty Odlin '04 said, "We could have movie night too, watch surf movies and eat popcorn and tell ghost stories."
Even if Dartmouth didn't win every competition, Kankainen backs up the idea, saying, "It would definitely be fun."
