Surf Beyond Sight
Donation protected
My name is Joshua Loya, and I am the 2018 USA Surfing Visually Impaired Champion. This has been the year of surf, and it is, in no small part, because of your support. I sincerely thank you for being awesome!
I won the USA Surfing National Championship in June, guided by my coach, Coach Pat Weber of the San Diego Surfing Academy. Your support covered my $200 entrance fee. It was at Nationals that I earned a spot on the USA Adaptive Surf Team and a chance to represent the red, white, and blue at the ISA World Adaptives in La Jolla this coming December. Your donations covered a rather large portion of the cost of mine and my coach’s trip to Hawaii. While there, I competed on Oahu at the Access Surf Duke’s Oceanfest Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championships. I won my first heat less than 2 hours after landing in Honolulu, and I took 2nd over all in the visually impaired division of the contest. We were able to return to the mainland just before Hurricane Lane made it to Oahu. Thankfully, the strength of the storm drastically weakened by the time it reached where we would have been.
Your support also paid a significant portion of the expenses Coach Pat and I incurred on our top secret surf trip. On May 20, I was the first ever 100% blind surfer to get to ride Kelly Slater’s wave pool. If you search for “blind surfer Joshua Loya”, you should find a video documenting my experience there. It was an unforgettable and profoundly positive experience. Nothing can replace the natural ocean. That being said, the wave pool technology has the potential to revolutionize and change forever what surfing can be like for blind and visually impaired surfers.
I never thought for a million years that I’d ever be a competitive surfer. I found surfing quite by accident, and it is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. The calm that comes over me while I am riding a wave to shore is something that is better experienced than described with words. It is my hope by competing, that I can encourage other blind and visually impaired people to give surfing a try. Please partner with me in making this dream a reality for both me and those who crave a deeper, richer, more vibrant life.
I still have outstanding costs remaining from the trip to Hawaii. (An absolutely amazing experience!) I also have 3 more contests scheduled for this year, the US Open of Adaptive Surfing, the Adaptive Surf League Pro, and the ISA World Adaptives. I also have the potential to help make some of this surf adventuring self sustaining. I can only do this with your help. Please consider supporting me and my coach, so we can help others surf beyond sight.
I won the USA Surfing National Championship in June, guided by my coach, Coach Pat Weber of the San Diego Surfing Academy. Your support covered my $200 entrance fee. It was at Nationals that I earned a spot on the USA Adaptive Surf Team and a chance to represent the red, white, and blue at the ISA World Adaptives in La Jolla this coming December. Your donations covered a rather large portion of the cost of mine and my coach’s trip to Hawaii. While there, I competed on Oahu at the Access Surf Duke’s Oceanfest Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championships. I won my first heat less than 2 hours after landing in Honolulu, and I took 2nd over all in the visually impaired division of the contest. We were able to return to the mainland just before Hurricane Lane made it to Oahu. Thankfully, the strength of the storm drastically weakened by the time it reached where we would have been.
Your support also paid a significant portion of the expenses Coach Pat and I incurred on our top secret surf trip. On May 20, I was the first ever 100% blind surfer to get to ride Kelly Slater’s wave pool. If you search for “blind surfer Joshua Loya”, you should find a video documenting my experience there. It was an unforgettable and profoundly positive experience. Nothing can replace the natural ocean. That being said, the wave pool technology has the potential to revolutionize and change forever what surfing can be like for blind and visually impaired surfers.
I never thought for a million years that I’d ever be a competitive surfer. I found surfing quite by accident, and it is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. The calm that comes over me while I am riding a wave to shore is something that is better experienced than described with words. It is my hope by competing, that I can encourage other blind and visually impaired people to give surfing a try. Please partner with me in making this dream a reality for both me and those who crave a deeper, richer, more vibrant life.
I still have outstanding costs remaining from the trip to Hawaii. (An absolutely amazing experience!) I also have 3 more contests scheduled for this year, the US Open of Adaptive Surfing, the Adaptive Surf League Pro, and the ISA World Adaptives. I also have the potential to help make some of this surf adventuring self sustaining. I can only do this with your help. Please consider supporting me and my coach, so we can help others surf beyond sight.
Organizer
Joshua Loya
Organizer
La Mesa, CA
