For a Sunday morning, the bus was packed. Miles, a friend from our U of M group, had his skateboarder friends met us early to take us to Miramar, the next neighborhood over, for a surf competition that they invited us to the day before. Having never been to one, I was curious to see how it worked, would it be similar to the many snowboarding competitions I've been to in Michigan, or is it a completely different type of extreme sport?

We got there early, before most of the other spectators arrived. The surfers and body-borders were warming up with push-ups, crunches, and stretches, a few were out practicing in the ocean before the competition started at 9am. A friend of Miles', Luis Enrique, whom he met at the skate park the previous week, offered for us to store our bags in his his small tent, which was posted up on the rocky beach apparently since the night before.

Prior to the start of the competition, a Cuban flag was zip-tied to a piece of drift wood by one of the surfer groupies and wedged into one of the many jagged boulders scattered along the beach, which doubled as bleachers. The extremely forceful wind helped create the perfect wave to surf and body-board. The waves kept rolling in all day long, one falling over the next.

As locals, tourists, and Cuban and foreign contestants congregated to check out the action, the announcer yelled through his megaphone “Primera heat, cinco minutos! First heat, five minutes!” For the first round of the competition, four surfers hustled over and put on their designated rash guard, each a different color so the judges could tell who's who out in the rolling waves of the endless carribean ocean.

As the competing surfers carved their way through the waves, I looked around at all the different people that were there. Whether they were local kids, tourists that meandered over from their luxurious hotels, or study abroad students who were just trying to experience another aspect of Cuba, the people that were at this event were all so friendly and welcoming. Everybody seemed to know everyone, and if not, they'd introduce themselves.

The surfing community's love of surfing is apparent from the way the surfers get pumped up before their ride, their exhilarated faces as they leave the water and the exuberant cheers from the entertained crowd. Surfing is a life long sport, evident from the young beginners to the now coaches. Many of these surfers have the phrase “Never stop surfing” tatooed on their toned arms, ripped torso, or sculpted legs.

I noticed the t-shirt that many of them were wearing said Pan American Surf Association Uniting the Americas through Surf. On the back, there were the flags of every American country of which they travel to for competitions. Thinking about how their passion for the sport is bringing together more than just surfers through their travels, I hope that maybe one day I could do the equivalent through my love of snowboarding.