Sure, it sucks sometimes. But there are reasons for the blackball. Photo: Gregory Swanson
Recently, I was asked to comment on the role blackballs play on our beaches, and what reason, if any, lifeguards have to enforce their existence. Do lifeguards have any valid reason for why you can’t enjoy the perfect A-frame in the middle of the swim-zone, or is there a secret conspiracy to further the blight of surfers and advance the supposed War on Surfing? While valid points can be made for both sides of this debate, I hope I’ll be able to bridge the gap between the surfing and lifeguard communities. The following opinion has developed from viewing the waves, general ocean conditions, and people who partake in the ocean’s playground through the lens of both a surfer and a professional lifeguard. Without further ado, let’s get to the bottom of this debate.
While I spent a handful of summers serving as a Laguna Beach Lifeguard through high school and college, I was a child of the beach and a surfer long before that. Even though I was a lifeguard, there have been (and continue to be) times when I’m frustrated by the seemingly arbitrary lines that cut through the middle of a perfectly good line-up. It is easy for someone who appreciates riding waves to understand why blackballs can lead to frustration. On any given stretch of coastline, there are only so many spots that will favorably accept a particular swell. Surfers pride their ability to determine what spots will be best for the given swell direction, tide, winds, etc., when making their rounds and determining where they want to spend their session. It seems that far too often the blackballs are in the one place that looks to be all-time, while the spots lifeguards allow you to access are too drained out, crowded, or just not happening. Is it a case of wanting what you can’t have or the grass always being greener? Maybe.
There is no question that surfers would have access to more waves if there wasn’t a blackball – it is, by no means, a perfect system, and I believe there is room for improvement. However, before claiming that the entire system should be done away with, there are certain benefits that surfers derive from having these protocols in place. First, the blackball works both ways. This means that while you may not be able to throw your fins and spray that cute tourist girl who is body surfing in the swim zone, her boyfriend and his five friends also can’t come drop in on your waves on their boogie boards. In most cities, lifeguards do their best to keep the most popular surfing beaches available for us surfers to enjoy all day. For my hometown friends in Laguna Beach who prompted me to write this article, this means you’ll be able to enjoy waves like Piles and Brooks with only fellow surfers. Probably a benefit you’ve never considered.
While these waves get intensely overcrowded, they attract so many people because they are the best summer magnets we have around our beachside town. When they’re on, you can see both reeling standing from Main Beach, for Christ’s sake. This means they are no secret to locals and tourists alike, and in my opinion, regardless of the blackball policy, the majority or surfers (and non-surfers) would continue to gravitate to these spots. I don’t think it would have some mystical crowd-thinning effect on the lineups in our city, and countless others, but it’d actually do the contrary.
Could certain blackball lines in our cities be shifted to more appropriately accommodate the surfers and swimmers? Definitely. If I were the guy drawing blackball lines, my first order of business would be reevaluating what stretches are deemed full-time surf zones. But for the time being, count your blessings that the most popular waves in our town and many others are limited to surfboards, without the extra presence added from body boarders and swimmers. For my Laguna friends, think of it this way: you’d probably prefer to drop into second reef bombs than pull into main beach closeouts all day anyway. At least I’d hope so.
While we have been over the more theoretical side of the blackball debate, it is also important to consider the main reasons for its existence: the practical side. The first reason blackballs are in place is to help prevent injury. It doesn’t take being a lifeguard to understand that hard boards and soft bodies don’t mix well together. This is because, simply put, most people are stupid. Not all surfers are masters of the ocean, and capable of competently and safely controlling both themselves and their boards. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen boards doing their closest interpretation of a guillotine from the vantage point of either a line-up or lifeguard tower.
Separating surfers from other beach-goers serves a purpose; I can assure you there is no secret lifeguard conspiracy to ruin a surfer’s good time. The majority of lifeguards chose the profession because they have a strong love for the ocean and a desire to keep people safe. Believe it or not, most lifeguards are also surfers and likely aren’t all that fond of every blackball when they are off duty themselves. But this brings us to a few points. First, just like you hate when someone comes to your work and purposefully makes your job harder on you over things you cannot control, purposefully ignoring the blackball is disrespectful and makes you seem like a tool. While the system isn’t perfect, the lifeguard you interact with at your local beach isn’t responsible for determining the location of the blackball. It is a tower lifeguard’s job to enforce the blackball where his supervisors have instructed him to.
Asking the guard to let you to break the blackball is asking him/her to put their job on the line. Frankly, there are more important things to do than argue face-to-face with people who don’t grasp the reality of this job and the number one priority (making sure someone isn’t drowning). If people have a strong desire to change or augment the current blackball system, I’d recommend starting a petition that can be sent to your local Marine Safety Department and other city officials showing how strongly you feel about the issue. Simply sitting around moping about current policies will do nothing to change these systems in the future, and if you do not have the willpower/commitment to take the necessary and legit steps to create real change, then accept the system and stop taking it out on your local lifeguard who is just trying to do his job.
While the system isn’t perfect, there are reasons for a blackball’s existence. Lifeguards, surfers, boogie boarders, and swimmers really aren’t too different, as both share an appreciation of the ocean and simply want to leave the beach with a positive experience. The only difference is that lifeguards are uniquely responsible for ensuring everyone’s safety and making sure no one infringes on another person’s right to a safe and pleasant beach experience, regardless of the craft they choose to use at the beach. While I am particularly taken by the act of surfing, lifeguards need to remain impartial and not favor one activity over the other. It is important to consider everyone’s right to use one of the ocean’s most precious resources: waves. Whether you are bodysurfing, body boarding, or surfing, you deserve the opportunity to participate in nature how you choose. While modern surf culture seems to stigmatize anyone who isn’t riding a short board, there is rarely a session when I prefer the entitled guy on a brand new $750 Al Merrick to a humble long boarder, sponger, or body surfer who will spread the good vibes surfing is all about. While we as surfers tend to get all high and mighty, let’s take a step back and remember why we all enjoy being in the water in the first place. Don’t be “that guy” in the lineup. Your turns probably aren’t as cool as you think they are, and your head dip didn’t look like a solid day at Pipe. Eat some humble pie and realize if everyone has a better attitude, we will all have more fun.
Interested in reading more from Victor Alcone? Check out thegoodlifecompilation.blogspot.com for more.
