We all know that you can get your college tuition subsidized, even fully covered, for playing sports like basketball, baseball, or football in college. Well, now the same holds true for surfing. University of California San Diego just handed out the first college surfing scholarship recognized by the National Scholastic Surfing Association, the governing body for youth competitive surfing. The scholarship went to Makena Burke, a freshman at UCSD who has been topping the podium quite a bit recently and absolutely shreds – just check out her Nicaragua edit, above.
The 19-year-old from Ventura, Calif. recently won the state championships at San Diego’s Seaside Reef in March, and three days ago won the NSSA National Championships at Salt Creek while carrying the UCSD surf team to a third place finish.
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UCSD is likely the most surf-oriented college in the nation, with surfboard-shaping classes, research programs such as the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and famous surfer graduates like Holly Beck, Cliff Kapono, and others. Oh, and the college itself is located right above Black’s Beach in San Diego, a.k.a. the “Californian Pipeline.” Which also happens to be the training ground for the UCSD Surf Team.
“Being able to give out the first surf scholarship gives us great pride and (the) support from like-minded organizations in our home town means a lot,” says UCSD Surf Team Head Coach of 20 years Tyler Callaway, speaking to the donors that made the scholarship possible.
