Posted on: Tuesday, October 1, 2002

EDITORIAL
Surf contests shouldn't deny the other surfers

We acknowledge that surf contests are a wonderful way to promote the Islands, and the revenues they generate benefit the state and community. But they shouldn't monopolize the waves.

So we sympathize with recreational surfers who felt they were being denied access to the best waves of the North Shore because of back-to-back surf meets.

Fortunately, the Let's Surf Coalition brought their grievance to the city, which has since agreed to go by the book. If the rules fail to strike a balance between the needs of contests and recreational surfers, they should be reviewed and possibly modified. But until then, they should be observed.