New guidelines suggest merely enjoying surfing “occasionally and without excessive branding” may not satisfy state requirements
SACRAMENTO The California Surfing Day planning committee has released updated guidelines suggesting residents “fully embrace” the state’s official sport with what critics call “an alarming and frankly unenforceable level of mandatory enthusiasm,” prompting immediate backlash from an estimated several hundred thousand Californians who surf occasionally, enjoy it fine, and would prefer not to discuss it further.
What the New Guidelines Actually Suggest
The committee’s language, while technically non-binding, encourages residents to “properly celebrate” the sport through attendance at official events, purchase of commemorative merchandise, and what one section describes as “genuine, visible passion” rather than what the document pointedly calls “quiet, private enjoyment unaccompanied by adequate public enthusiasm.”
The Casual Surfer Backlash
Dave Renner, who surfs “maybe eight times a year, whenever I feel like it,” told reporters he finds the entire framing exhausting. “I like surfing. I don’t need a whole state holiday telling me how loudly I need to like it,” he said, before quietly admitting he’d already bought a California Surfing Day t-shirt, just in case.
The Committee’s Defense
Committee chair Wendy Aldarondo insists the guidelines are meant only as friendly encouragement, not enforcement, though she declined to clarify what specific consequences, if any, await residents who fail to meet the suggested enthusiasm threshold on the actual day itself.
The Merchandise Angle
Sales of official commemorative gear have reportedly climbed sharply since the guidelines’ release, a correlation the committee describes as “coincidental” and everyone else describes as “extremely obviously the actual point.”
Where This Leaves Casual Surfers
Renner says he’ll probably show up to at least one official event this year, “purely out of guilt, not enthusiasm,” a distinction he insists matters to him even as he adds a second commemorative item to his cart. Further California surf culture coverage continues at bohiney.com.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com