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To say that the 3rd Annual Childrens Home Event was the best EVER would be an understatement! For three years now, watersports enthusiasts, pro athletes, and local businesses have come together to "do some good in the neighborhood" and pulled off the best day of the year for these kids. With perfect sunny weather, the kids and staff of The Childrens Home were treated to an action-packed day of watersports fun on beautiful Lake Seminole that included wakeboard and waterski lessons, stand up paddleboarding, kayaking, jet-skiing, tubing, and sailing. This event has become a favorite of the kids, staff, and all the volunteers- getting these kids stoked on the sports we love its what it's all about!
To start the day, the kids were welcomed by Event Coordinator, Mike Hall, who introduced the group of volunteers, laid out the game plan for the day, and got the kids pumped up and ready to hit the water. Mike gave a brief overview of the watersports they would be learning, and the kids were separated into groups and posted up at the stations that were set up for each activity. The kids had not one, but TWO, top of the line wakeboarding boats to use for the entire day to learn wakeboarding and waterskiing, graciously provided by Forte's Inboard Connection of St Petersburg. Liquid Force Team Riders, Aaron Abel and Chad Worrall, were on hand to give instruction and encouragement to the kids, and of course, threw down some of the latest tricks for the crowd.
For the sailing portion of the clinics, the kids got to try their hand at sailing a Laser racing hull, which is a type of sailboat used in Olympic racing. Mary and the other volunteers had those kids speeding all around Lake Seminole in the steady afternoon breeze. The winds were also good enough for a brief kiteboarding exhibition, where the unknown kiter somehow managed to pull several 30' jumps in virtually no wind! No word on how he managed that one...;)
Many of the volunteers brought out their SUP's and kayaks for the kids and all of them spent some quality one-on-one time working with the kids on their technique, and helping the newer ones build the confidence to stand up on the board and take that first stroke with the paddle. Special thanks to Water Monkey and Watersports West for the use of the equipment, and for the sacrifice of several paddles to the "lake gods".
All these watersports can sure make a kid hungry, so everybody headed back to the shelter for a classic lakeside lunch of burgers, dogs, brats, and all the trimmings. I have to give a special shout-out to Justin "Chef Squazz" Pasquazzi, who would not stop 'till the last burger flopped! The grill master duties are definitely the hottest job of the day, so props to him for manning the grills in that heat.
Tucked in between the watersports action and the shade trees of a perfect picnic area, were two GIANT inflatables provided by Bounce-A-Lot Inflatables of Tampa. These things were massive to say the least, and despite equipment failure early in the morning, the owner made the trip to Tampa and back to make sure those kids could enjoy them to the fullest. The obstacle course was the favorite among the kids, and included some full contact races among the volunteers!
After the egg toss, it was time to wrap things up and say our goodbyes until next time. Before heading back to Tampa, the group was given a huge box of rash guards and beach toys, donated by Watersports West. These items will be used by the staff as incentives and rewards to the kids for good behavior back at their homes, and may just help make a kid's day a little bit brighter.
This event would not have been possible without the selfless acts of kindness by members of our watersports community, who together logged over 250 "man hours" of service to the community at this event. ASF and its supporters believe that with this proactive approach in the community, we are greatly increasing our chances of success to preserve and increase access for the watersports we love.
Please take a moment to join our Cause on Facebook at: http://www.causes.com/causes/402934/about?m=
Thanks to the following event sponsors: Lynch Industries, Vestar Capital, Water Monkey, Watersports West, and In'DaBurg.com.
Action Sports Foundation/ Kite4Life is teaming up with the Junior League of St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay Watch, and Friends of Ft. Desoto to host a coastal cleanup at Ft. Desoto Park.
The event runs from at 9:00 A.M.- 12:00 P.M., Saturday, Feb. 27th.
We will be meeting at Shelter 12 and a potluck lunch will be served after the cleanup.
Visit the ASF Event Calendar for complete details of this event.
The second annual Childrens Home Beach Day for the Kids went down Wed. Aug. 5th on North Beach at Ft. Desoto Park. This is the most highly anticipated event of the year, not only for the kids and staff of the Childrens Home, but for the large crowd of volunteers who help make this happen! This event was put together by local homey, Mike Hall, who is a Cabrinha sponsored pro kiter. Mike is known for throwing down a great party, and this event was no exception! The entire Hall family stepped it up and laid out a giant spread of food that included treats from the grill such as burgers, hot dogs, and some REALLY good sausage, as well as chicken wings, baked beans, chips, and other good munchie food. Mike's mom knows a good meal isn't complete without a good dessert, so she baked up a massive amount of homemade brownies to feed the troops.
The day began with fresh donuts and cloudy skies, which eventually turned into a typical Florida summertime thunderstorm, but the rain was not enough to wash away the motivation of the volunteers or the kids! As the volunteers pulled in and unloaded their cars, trucks, and trailers, the event pavillion went from an empty shell with some lonely picnic tables into a full on party station, complete with live music, courtesy of a local kiter friendly band. The band was cranking out the tunes all day, and we even got a few audible treats from everybody's favorite rocker, "Bayflite" Bryan. Bryan is a fixture on the local kiting scene, and you can bet that if there's a grill around, he'll be behind it! He jumped in on the cooking duties to help out and after everyone was stuffed to the gills with burgers, dogs, and sausage, he borrowed a guitar and threw down some tunes. Other notable chefs included "Wild Bill" Parker, Mitch Hall, and of course, Mike's mom!
As the food was being prepared, the kids all did what they came to do- have FUN! Mike had many fun things planned for them, as well as an arsenal of Frisbees, skim boards, water noodles, and even a slip-n-slide! The volunteer chefs and servers made quick work of getting everyone's plates filled with all the goods, and its teamwork like that which makes an event run so smoothly.
Once the food was served and the skies cleared, the entire troop hit the beach to soak up some sun and get in the water. The kids were greeted by a flotilla of skim boards, surf boards, and stand up paddle boards, complete with professional athletes and instructors to get these kids stoked on the water sports we love!
Of course, all of the kids took right to the boards and were ripping it up in no time! Standing there on the beach was simply an amazing sight, with all the kids and the staff smiling, laughing, and reveling in their accomplishments on the boards, and really was the highlight this perfect day. Many of the kids displayed a promising future in water-sports, but one of them really stood out from the crowd with his determination and progression on the skim boards. As a result, he was awarded one of the boards by Nekton Surf Shop and presented by host Mike Hall. Mike also donated all the frisbees and pool toys to the group, so these kids can continue their newfound beach lifestyles back in Tampa.
ASF and Kite4Life would like to thank all the volunteers and sponsors of this event, including the Hall family, Nekton Surf Shop, Watersports West, and the Tampa Bay Rays. Even in these tough economic times, these fine locals, kiters, and businesses pulled together an amazing event that, at the end of the day, sent every single person home with a smile!
Mission accomplished! See ya next year....
The day began bright and early at 8:00 AM at one our finest kiteboarding spots, East Beach at Ft. Desoto Park in Pinellas county, Fl.. We arrived to an unexpected breeze, so before setting up the cookout station, we took the opportunity to teach a few of our younger volunteers the finer points of flying a trainer kite. None of them had flown a trainer kiter before, but within a few minutes all three of them were working the kite around the wind window with relative ease. After seeing their smiles and sense of accomplishment, I am fairly certain they will be asking for kites on their next birthday!
As more volunteers were arriving and the wind was dying, we decided to get the cleanup done before it got too hot. We snacked on donuts and orange juice before grabbing our gloves and trash bags to see what kind of trash we could round up. We were able to cover "our" end of East Beach on both sides, all the way to the end of the fitness trail. Overall, the park workers keep that place immaculate, so we were able to spend more time in the mangrove areas where the higher tides drop lots of garbage. We recovered many bottles and cans, plastic bags, wrappers, shoes, and everything else you can think of! Skyway Scott braved the stench of a rotting fish to get it off the beach and into the garbage, which is a danger to the feet of every beach-goer. Many kiters have suffered puncture wounds from fish bones, especially after a fish kill from red tide.
After cleaning the beach, TBKA's own "Bayflite" Bryan, served up the hungry volunteers a hearty beach breakfast. Bryan is well known by the locals for his tasty beachside meals, and once again he came through with a great menu of: western omelets, hash browns, toast, and even toaster strudel with icing! We also had fresh fruit and plenty of drinks to help beat the heat as we discussed past and future seasons among the newer kiters and veterans. Since Bryan had some afternoon work to do, he turned over the cooking duties to Joe M., who cooked up burgers, dogs, and BBQ chicken for everyone.
After roasting in the sun all day, everyone was ready for a swim, so the festivities wrapped up at East Beach around 3:00, and we headed to Steve and Sue's house for a pool party. What a great end to a good day at the beach! Many of this events volunteers were new or prospective kiters, and plenty of new ideas were flowing, especially in working with other local groups to help protect the environment. Jim, who is a dive coordinator at the Florida Aquarium and an active volunteer with Tampa Bay Watch, gave us some great insight on the history of hang gliding in Florida and their favorite place, Wallaby Field near Orlando. Their website is http://www.wallaby.com those interested in taking up hang gliding as an off season sport. Jim is going to keep us posted on volunteer opportunities with Tampa Bay Watch, as they may welcome our group of eager volunteers to assist in their projects. Thanks to all the friends and family of ASF/ Kite4Life, its volunteers, and to Ft. Desoto Park, for helping to preserve such a wonderful spot!