10th Annual Wildcoast Dempsey Pro-Am Is Sept. 28-29

Written by Fay Crevoshay

On Sept. 28 and 29, WILDCOAST will host the 10th Annual WILDCOAST Dempsey Pro-Am at the Imperial Beach Pier in Imperial Beach. This year, the annual charity event, the largest of its kind in South San Diego County, is expected to draw over 250 competitors as well as thousands of spectators.

In celebration of the event’s 10-year anniversary, WILDCOAST will host a professional division and five-mile MPA Paddle Race on Saturday, Sept. 28, and the traditional amateur surf contest on Sunday, Sept. 29. The pro surf contest will offer $2,500 in prize money.

“We are especially excited to bring back professional surfing to Imperial Beach, which hasn’t been here since the Bud Pro Tour ended decades ago.” said event director Zach Plopper.

Proceeds from the event will support WILDCOAST’s efforts to protect the most iconic and ecologically important coastal and marine ecosystems in Southern California and Mexico.

“The WILDCOAST Dempsey Pro-Am will bring pro surfers to compete in Imperial Beach where Dempsey Holder, one of California’s most iconic watermen, helped pioneer big wave surfing at the infamous Sloughs Reef, now the Tijuana River Mouth Marine Protected Area,” said WILDCOAST Executive Director Serge Dedina.

The WILDCOAST Dempsey Pro-Am provides the first organized surfing competition experience for many young surfers in south San Diego County. Thanks to a partnership with the United Athletes of the Pacific Ocean (UAPO), surfers from Baja California and Latin America will be well represented at the Dempsey, making it a truly international event.

Thanks to individual donations to the Dempsey Scholarship Fund, WILDCOAST provides scholarships so that every child can have the opportunity to experience the joy and challenge of competition.  

WILDCOAST currently seeks sponsorship support to carry out this year’s event.  Financial donations allow us to host an event in which under-served youths from the surrounding south San Diego County community, the lowest income coastal urban area in Southern California, participate free of charge.

WILDCOAST also welcomes product donations for the surf competition and prizes for attendees. For more information about donating, please contact our Special Events Coordinator, Stephanie Batt 619-423-8665 ext. 200 or stephanie@wildcoast.net. Register for the event at: wildcoast.net.