In the waves, they are all surfers who have a shared passion for the waves they ride.
The salt-water sea doesn’t care if they are missing limbs or have impaired eyesight, a degenerative disease or paralysis that has stopped their bodies from moving. The ocean is their competitive arena, a place they can showcase their stellar surfing skills.
“Being on land is like walking on mud, but being in the water is weightless,” said Mark Hagger, a 49-year-old surfer from England who is losing the use of his legs due to a degenerative multiple sclerosis. “So you feel more unshackled when you are out there.”
The International Surfing Association’s World Para Surfing Championship, an Olympic-style event being held for the first time in Huntington Beach, has brought about 200 surfers from 30 countries to compete this week – and give a glimpse at how surfing could be added if it were to be accepted into the Los Angeles 2028 Para Olympic Games.
All week, surfers have been hanging out proudly near their country flags on the sand, surrounded by supporters and volunteers on hand to assist the athletes. The championship event kicked off with a parade down Main Street on Sunday, Nov. 5, and runs through Saturday, Nov. 11, with closing ceremonies to be held on the sand.
Life Rolls On founder Jesse Billauer is one of the more well-known Southern California surfers competing in the championships. A pro surfer who was paralyzed during a surf accident on his 16th birthday, Billauer was inducted over the summer into the Surfing Walk of Fame across from the pier in front of Jack’s Surfboards.
“It’s rad to have it in Huntington Beach, in Southern California, instead of driving far or flying somewhere,” said Billauer, from Pacific Palisades. “We’re lucky to have it here.”
He knows it was no easy task for those who came from overseas for the competition – from places as far as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Spain and beyond.
“It…
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