The forecast called for massive 20-foot waves leading up to the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games in Pichelimu, Chile. At the last Pan American Games in 2019, the stand-up paddle competitor suffered the worst wipeout of her life, slammed by the shorebreak as she neared the finish line, sucked out into a rip current and battered by wave after wave – a wipeout that cost her the gold medal.

“I knew I was going to have to trust God to do for me what I couldn’t do for myself, to give me strength I didn’t have,” Appleby said. “I learned a big lesson about fear. It’s a waste of time and energy.”

She found the strength and determination she needed to earn gold in the SUP racing division on Oct. 30 at the Pan American Games, a redemption four years in the making that puts her at the top of the sport she’s dominated for nearly two decades.

SUP surfer Zane Schweitzer and fellow SUP racer Connor Baxter, both from Maui, also earned gold for Team USA.

“I’m stoked and grateful and happy to be home,” Appleby said, fresh off the plane and back in San Clemente on Wednesday, Nov. 1. “I don’t know if it’s all sunk in yet.”

In total, 88 athletes from 16 countries competed in the SUP and surfing contests and 24 medals were won by athletes from nine different nations. Peru took the overall rankings lead with six medals, three of which were gold.

The Pan American Games are the world’s second largest sporting event next to the Olympics, with an estimated 6,000 athletes competing.

Appleby has also earned five International Surfing Association SUP world championships gold medals, three in technical races and two distance races, a silver in sprint, and a bronze technical medal.

Appleby earned her spot in the Chile event with her gold medal win in SUP technical at the ISA world championships in Puerto Rico last year.

She also qualified for the SUP surfing competition, but opted out after suffering increased pain throughout her shoulders, back and neck earlier this year from over training for the competition and helping others at her Ocean Academy in Dana Point, she said.

“My body hit a wall and said no more,” she said. “I was in a lot of pain for quite a few months.”

She eased up on her training and focused just on the SUP racing division. She was still dealing with an injury to her shin prior to the event that required stitches.

On the day of the races, organizers changed the course to better protect the athletes from the massive waves, she said, and “all my nerves went away and I wasn’t stressed anymore.”

With each lap, Appleby improved her lead, finishing 23 seconds ahead of the second-place opponent for a total time of 15 minutes, 24.90 seconds.

At age 38, Appleby said the race might be her last, she’s been thinking of retiring. When she won a world title last year, she thought of making a full-time comeback, but the sponsorship support for the sport wasn’t there. And with her company Ocean Academy thriving, she may focus her energy on helping others train, she said.

“Maybe I’ll do a race here and there. I’m not saying I’m totally throwing in the towel. If this is a swan song, this is a good one for me,” she said.

But if the sport makes it into the LA 28 Olympics, she’ll be back on board, she said.

“If SUP does make it in, for sure, I’m going for it.”

A life-size, bronze statue showcasing the Boehnes riding a skateboard tandem – Barrie hoisted high above Steve’s head – was unveiled on Wednesday, Oct. 25, during a ceremony that brought together friends, family and fans. The statue, created by artist Bill Limebrook, joins statues of icons Hobie Alter, Joyce Hoffman, Bruce Brown, John Severson, and Phil Edwards are already on display at Watermen’s Plaza.

When the city envisioned Watermen’s Plaza, it was to recognize the watermen and women who made their mark where they lived, worked, innovated and, of course, surfed, in Dana Point, said Mike Frost, the town’s mayor.

“Now, Steve and Barrie are honored with the first, life-sized tandem statue in the nation,” he said.

Frost ticked off a list of the couple’s accolades – more than any tandem team in history – to the large crowd that gathered across from Doheny State Beach on Pacific Coast Highway for the ceremony, including winning the world tandem championship title twice, the US Surfing Championships four times and the prestigious Makaha and France contests each five times.

“That’s a lot of trophies,” Frost said, noting they were also featured on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” and in Life Magazine.

What also made the Boehnes’ story special was their surf shop, Infinity Surfboards, in business for more than 53 years. The couple moved their operation south from Huntington Beach, landing in Dana Point about 35 years ago.

“I think Barrie and Steve’s career epitomizes the surf culture, the authenticity of Dana Point,” Frost said.

Surfer Derek Erickson has been a part of the Infinity team for 30 years, first sponsored by the brand when he moved from Hawaii to California in pursuit of a pro surfing career.

Three decades later, Steve Boehne is now teaching Erickson how to shape surfboards.

“They are truly a great family,” Erickson said. “They are so nice and gracious, humble people.”

Son Dave Boehne talked about how he and his brother, Dan, heard their entire lives how cool their parents are – no surprise for the siblings who grew up with a “mad scientist” dad and a “ripping” mom who would do anything adventurous.

He first talked about his dad, a legendary surfboard shaper and also one of the “nicest guys on the planet.”

“He has a heart of gold,” he said. “He’s the guy, if you have a challenging or crazy idea for a project, you go to Steve. He’s the guy who can do it and more importantly is willing to take on the projects most shapers don’t want to touch. Watching my dad shape surfboards is like watching a smooth jazz performance. He was born to shape and each performance ends with a magic board.”

Steve Boehne has spent a lifetime making sure other people were having a good time, starting when he was a teen taking out his younger siblings to ride tandem.

“He would take other people out surfing and paddling to experience the thrill of riding waves and share the same stoke he had for the ocean,” Dave Boehne said.  “He had more fun doing that than surfing solo.”

If it’s “tandemizable” – a word Steve Boehne coined – he’s done it: tandem surfing, tandem mountain biking, tandem stand-up paddle, tandem snowboarding, tandem windsurfing and, as depicted in the statue, tandem skateboarding.

“He truly is Mr. Tandem. His giving personality is what defines him the most,” Dave Boehne said. “My dad, the living legend.”

His mom is a woman with an unlimited amount of energy and an unreal spirit for adventure, he said.

The photo used as an inspiration for the statue was from a film shot in the mid-1970s of the couple skateboarding, he said, holding up the image of Barrie in the air casually resting in Steve’s hands while he rides a skateboard.

“My mom is three months pregnant with myself in this photo. Pretty crazy. I don’t want to steal anybody’s thunder, but … I’m in the statue!” he said, a big smile on his face and fists clinched to the sky as the crowd cheered.

Barrie Boehne, 75, is still an inspiration, encouraging everyone she comes in contact with to be the best they can be, he said. “My mom, the ripper.”

Steve Boehne held back tears during his speech, talking about how fun it was to watch the process as  Limebrook formed the bronze statue.

“If he wanted to make a change to a head or a body part, he would  just saw off a limb, and put it back in place,” he said. “We were each decapitated and amputated several times.”

Boehne asked the artist why he picked a skateboard, rather than a surfboard, since riding waves is what the couple is most known for.

“He pointed out a 12-foot tandem surfboard would just invite every kid and tourist to climb up on the board with us to pose for a picture,” Boehne said. “When they fell off, it would cause far more injuries than what we were doing.”

Boehne said tandem surfing has been the “ultimate in a male-female relationship.”

“The strength and surfing knowledge for the guy, combined with the grace, beauty and trust from the girl,” Boehne said. “We have wonderful memories of tandem waves we have shared together.

“I am so lucky she was with me all these years, thousands of waves we have ridden together all over the world,” he added. “We finally retired after 40 years of tandem competition in 2005. But we will be tandeming together in this statue forever.”

• 

  Victor Serrao, with Victor’s Custom Christmas Trees, prepares a fresh-cut 100-foot white fir from Mt. Shasta to be installed at the Outlets at San Clemente on Thursday, October 26, 2023. The tree will be decorated and lit on Nov. 18th. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• 

  Workers with Victor’s Custom Christmas Trees move a fresh-cut 100-foot white fir from Mt. Shasta into place at the Outlets at San Clemente on Thursday, October 26, 2023. The tree will be decorated and lit on Nov. 18th. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• 

  Workers with Victor’s Custom Christmas Trees install a fresh-cut 100-foot white fir from Mt. Shasta at the Outlets at San Clemente on Thursday, October 26, 2023. The tree will be decorated and lit on Nov. 18th. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• 

  Victor Serrao, with Victor’s Custom Christmas Trees, measures the base of a fresh-cut 100-foot white fir from Mt. Shasta as it is installed at the Outlets at San Clemente on Thursday, October 26, 2023. The tree will be decorated and lit on Nov. 18th. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

• 

  Workers with Victor’s Custom Christmas Trees install a fresh-cut 100-foot white fir from Mt. Shasta at the Outlets at San Clemente on Thursday, October 26, 2023. The tree will be decorated and lit on Nov. 18th. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Christmas arrived early Thursday morning for the Outlets at San Clemente.

A truck pulled up to the mall to deliver a 100-foot white fir fresh from the Mt. Shasta area of Northern California.

Crews quickly carted the tree through the mall’s passageways and lifted it with a crane into place in the central courtyard. It will be decorated over the next couple of weeks with more than 18,000 multicolored lights and 10,000 bows and ornaments.

The tree is advertised as the tallest live-cut tree in Orange County.

The switch lighting the Christmas tree will be thrown in a celebration on Nov. 18, launching the holiday season at the outlets.

Not quite ready for yuletide thoughts? The mall still has up its Halloween display for photo ops.

The San Clemente Pier is celebrating its 95th birthday this year, with October dubbed “PierPride” month and several fundraising gatherings that have marked the milestone in recent weeks.

“It’s an overused word, but it’s iconic,” Eileen Kawas, president of the nonprofit PierPride, said of the wood structure. “Everybody who comes to San Clemente knows about the pier… We have so many stories, people who have proposed, people who met on the pier. Everyone has a story about the pier, whether it was a junior lifeguard jumping off the pier, meeting someone special or having lunch at Fisherman’s (Restaurant and Bar).”

Earlier this month, on Oct. 7, a dozen people got to jump off the pier for $1,000 each – legally and under lifeguard supervision of course – as a thrilling way to raise money toward pier improvements.

Among the 12 jumpers was a family – two parents and their three children – who did the plunge together.

“It’s always a fun event,” Kawas said.

At a “Light The Future of the Pier” fundraiser on Oct. 19 at the historic Ole Hanson Beach Club in North Beach, PierPride raise nearly $50,000 through auctions and other donations, putting the effort near the $200,000 goal for the year, Kawas said.

Another fundraiser earlier this month was held at the Fisherman’s restaurant, which put on a sunset dinner meal for 60 guests.

“We do what we do because we all love the pier and we want to do it for future generations,” Kawas said. “We’re glad we have people who come together and are able to feel the same way.”

The pier was built in 1928 by the town’s founder Ole Hansen. The Santa Fe Railroad stopped at the pier since the very beginning, the underpass built in 1927 as a way for train visitors to get to the waterfront.

The wooden, 1,200-foot-long pier has a storied past, including being used by rum smugglers who traveled from Mexico and Canada, waiting in the dark of night before making their way to a trap door beneath the pier where they could offload the illegal booty.

It pier is where Dana Wharf founder Don Hansen first launched his fishing operation about 75 years ago, before the charter boats moved to the nearby Dana Point Harbor when it was built in the ’70s.

Still today, the pier is a popular place for anglers hoping to catch diner, and Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching still hosts an annual fishing derby with the city to teach the next generation of anglers.

Storms twice battered the pier to pieces, once in the late ’30s and again in the ’80s.

An estimated 2 million people a year stroll the pier. While it’s an important part of the coastal town’s identity, it’s no easy task to maintain.

PierPride, a volunteer group, formed after redevelopment funding used for maintenance dried up about a decade ago “to fill those gaps in funding between what the city can provide and what the community would like to see,” Kawas said.

“It is a strain on a small community to have a pier,” she said.

In recent years, signs about local wildlife and the Dana Point Headlands have been added, vibrant art has spruced up the restroom building and earlier this year, netting was added to keep birds from gathering and pooping into the water.

One of this year’s big goals is adding permanent holiday lighting. At the recent Casino San Clemente event, Mayor Chris Duncan auctioned a “turning on the lights” scheduled for Nov. 27 to a bidder who offered $2,500 to do the task.

Fundraising will also go toward adding more bike racks at the base of the pier and improving accessibility, as well as a digital Marine Safety sign by early next year.

Looking ahead, planning is already underway for the big celebration for the pier’s 100th anniversary, with hopes of refreshing the entry to the pier area before that milestone. PierPride will work with the city and RSM Designs, along with the community, to come up with ideas and designs, Kawas said.

“We would look to create a sense of arrival for the 2 million visitors who come to the pier,” she said.  “It’s a major pinch point for our city. When it was built in 1928, when you look at the original pictures, you knew you had arrived. It is so important to the community, we want to make sure we preserve it for the community.”

(Records through Oct. 22)

1. Mater Dei 35-3: The Monarchs swept Palos Verdes in the first round of pool play in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

Previous ranking: 1

2. Huntington Beach 28-6: The Oilers opened Division 1 pool play with a sweep of Alemany. They play at home against Los Alamitos on Tuesday .

Previous ranking: 2

3. Beckman 28-5: The Patriots beat Santa Monica and Marina to advance to the quarterfinals of the Division 3 playoffs.

Previous ranking: 3

4. Los Alamitos 31-6: The Griffins lost to second-seeded Mira Costa in the first round of Division 1 pool play.

Previous ranking: 4

5. JSerra 27-10: The Lions beat Long Beach Millikan and Rancho Cucamonga to advance to the quarterfinals in Division 2.

Previous ranking: 5

6. Orange Lutheran 24-13: The Lancers defeated Etiwanda and Aliso Niguel to reach the Division 2 quarterfinals.

Previous ranking: 6

7. Dana Hills 20-2: The Dolphins beat Cypress and Redlands in the Division 3 playoffs.

Previous ranking: 8

8. Newport Harbor 18-15: The Sailors beat Chaminade and Santa Margarita, last week’s county No. 7 team, in the Division 2 playoffs.

Previous ranking: Not ranked

9. San Clemente 19-13: The Tritons defeated Santiago of Corona, lost to La Canada in the Division 2 playoffs.

Previous ranking: 9

10. Edison 18-12: The Chargers defeated St. Joseph of Lakewood, Vista Murrieta in the Division 2 playoffs.

Others considered: Aliso Niguel 13-13; Canyon 20-3; Capistrano Valley Christian 27-3; Corona del Mar 17-11; Santa Margarita 18-12; Sunny Hills 27-2

Notable this week: Undefeated Tustin breaks into the Top 10 for the first time this season after shutting out Pacifica 49-0. … San Clemente advances from No. 5 last week to No. 3. … Servite moves up to No. 4 after a 50-42 win over Santa Margarita. … Los Alamitos climbs to No. 7 and will face No. 9 Edison this week for the Sunset League championship.

1. Mater Dei 8-1 (75 points)

The Monarchs shook off a shutout loss to St. John Bocsco with an impressive 55-13 win over Orange Lutheran in Trinity League play. Senior running back Ajon Bryant rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns and junior linebacker Nasir Wyatt had three sacks. Mater Dei is likely to be the No. 2 seed in Division 1 of the CIF-SS playoffs.

Previous ranking: 1

2. Orange Lutheran 5-4 (72)

The Lancers had the misfortune of being the team in Mater Dei’s way after the Monarchs lost to St. John Bosco. The Lancers, who play Bosco this week, are in third place in the Trinity League with a 2-2 league record.

Previous ranking: 2

3. San Clemente 8-1 (69)

The Tritons are 2-0 in the four-team South Coast League after last week’s 35-18 win over Capistrano Valley. Senior quarterback Dylan Mills turned in one of his better games, completing 16 of 19 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns, both to junior Cole Herlean.

Previous ranking: 5

4. Servite 5-4 (66)

Junior quarterback Leo Hannan threw for 343 yards and four touchdowns in a 50-42 win over Santa Margarita. Sophomore cornerback Tristin Ordaz had eight solo tackles and broke up two passes. Servite finishes the regular season facing JSerra at Cerritos College on Friday.

Previous ranking: 6

5. Santa Margarita 5-4 (62)

Sophomore Trent Mosley had 351 all-purpose yards, including 221 receiving yards, and made three solo tackles for the Eagles in their 50-42 loss to Servite. They play Mater Dei this week.

Previous ranking: 3

6. JSerra 4-5 (59)

The Lions lost to the No. 1 team in Calpreps’ state rankings, St. John Bosco, 42-20. JSerra is 1-3 in the Trinity League, with the victory against Orange Lutheran. The Lions probably need to beat Servite this week to get into the playoffs.

Previous ranking: 4

7. Los Alamitos 7-2 (57)

The Griffins scored 60 points for a school-record fourth time and for the third week in a row in a 63-13 league win over Huntington Beach. Los Alamitos plays Edison this week at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach to decide the Sunset League title. Both teams are 4-0 in the Sunset League.

Previous ranking: 8

8. Mission Viejo 6-3 (56)

Junior Dijon Lee Jr. scored a touchdown on an interception return and another TD on a pass reception in the Diablos’ 36-0 win over Tesoro in the South Coast League. Zachary Foeldi had two of Mission Viejo’s five interceptions.

Previous ranking: 7

9. Edison 6-3 (50)

The Chargers beat Fountain Valley 56-7 for their 19th consecutive win over the Barons. Junior Julius Gillick rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries, and freshman quarterback Sam Thomson threw three touchdown passes for the Chargers.

Previous ranking: 10

10. Tustin 9-0 (49)

The Tillers are the only undefeated team in Orange County. They beat Pacifica 49-0 last week to improve to 4-0 in the Empire League. Tustin rushed for 331 yards, led by Eimesse Essis, who ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. The Tillers are home Friday against Cypress in a game for the Empire League title.

Previous ranking: 11

11. San Juan Hills 8-1 (45)

Previous ranking: 9

12. Newport Harbor 4-5 (41)

Previous ranking: 12

13. Tesoro 5-4 (38)

Previous ranking: 13

14. Villa Park 8-1 (37)

Previous ranking: 16

15. Corona del Mar 4-5 (32)

Previous ranking: 14

16. Yorba Linda 6-3 (30)

Previous ranking: 15

17. Trabuco Hills 6-3 (29)

Previous ranking: 21

18. Cypress 6-3 (22)

Previous ranking: 17

19. Capistrano Valley 7-2 (20)

Previous ranking: 17

20. Western 8-1 (18)

Previous ranking: 19

21. Foothill 6-3 (14)

Previous ranking: 22

22. El Modena 5-4 (14)

Previous ranking: 20

23. El Dorado 4-5 (9)

Previous ranking: 22

24. La Habra 5-4 (6)

Previous ranking: 24

25. Laguna Beach 8-1 (4)

Previous ranking: 25

Also receiving votes: Crean Lutheran 6-3 (1)

About the poll: There are three voters in the weekly poll. Points are awarded for each spot in the poll. Starting with 25 points for a No. 1 ranking.

Several surfers from San Clemente and San Diego have made the cut for the 2024 World Surf League World Tour, a dream for up-and-coming athletes who have worked their entire lives to make it to the sport’s major leagues.

The crop of young surfers on both the men’s and women’s World Tour is a huge boost for mainland American surfing. The athletes will be battling against Brazilians, Australians, Hawaiians and others from around the globe through next year, trying to make a spot in the top five, meaning they would being in the WSL finals at Lower Trestles and could win the world championship title.

San Clemente boasts the most local surfers on the list, with Crosby Colapinto joining brother Griffin, who has been on the World Tour for five years, as well as Cole Houshmand, Sawyer Lindblad and Kade Matson.

San Diego also has three on the list, Encinitas surfers Jake Marshall and Alyssa Spencer are joining Oceanside’s Caitlin Simmers, a teen who dominated on the elite tour last year.

There’s also Huntington Beach native Kanoa Igarashi, who surfs for Japan, as well as others who have transplanted to local waters, including current world champions Filipe Toledo, from Brazil, and Florida’s Caroline Marks, both who call San Clemente home these days.

Most of the California surfers earned their spots – and celebrated – this week in Brazil with results during the last Challenger Series contest, the Corona Saquarema Pro.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life, it’s been a goal of mine since I was little … I’m just happy to join my brother,” said Crosby Colapinto.

Colapinto said he’s most looking forward to going head-to-head with his big bro in a contest.

“I think it will be cool, we’ve talked about it our whole lives,” he said.

His parents, who now have two sons to cheer on, are “over the moon,” said the 22-year-old.

The San Clemente surfers are part of a group called “2 Percent Surf” being mentored by former World Tour surfer Kolohe Andino and Griffin Colapinto, all supporting each other during successes and tough times.

“Our crew is just something special. Everyone is our crew is working to better themselves, every day,” Crosby Colapinto said. “We’re just have a good energy.”

Fellow San Clemente surfer and friend Houshmand had already clinched his spot on next year’s tour with his stellar results from earlier events. When word of him making the cut came during the U.S. Open of Surfing, friends and family mobbed him on the beach to celebrate.

San Clemente surfer Lindblad, who won the US Open of Surfing earlier this year, was next to celebrate after learning she made the cut.

Lindblad said it was “a pretty crazy feeling,” a belated present with the young surfer just celebrating her 18th birthday last month.

“I’ve been working toward this my whole life, it’s just a dream come true,” she said. “I think it will be a lot of learning. I’m just really excited to be there. I’m excited to surf the bigger waves, get more comfortable.”

Lindblad said surfing with the other up-and-coming San Clemente athletes has helped get her “fired up to surf my hardest.”

“There’s so many good people coming out of my home town in San Clemente,” she said.

Matson had to wait a few days when the Saquarema Pro was put on hold to know if he would qualify. But on Saturday, Oct. 21, it became official.

It’s a huge moment for the surfer, who had suffered a major back injury last year that required surgery and months of out of the water to heal, not knowing if he’d be able to compete again.

Oceanside’s Simmers joined the World Tour last year and made it to the WSL Final 5 in September for a chance for a world title.

Fellow San Diego-area surfer Spencer narrowly missed her chance to join the tour last year, but this year had enough points to make the list.

“This has been my longtime dream since I started surfing, to be on tour,” Spencer said in a WSL interview. “There’s been a lot of ups and downs these last couple of years. I’ve been so close, like within one or two spots these past three years, so that’s been the hardest thing to overcome. Every year people ask, ‘Is this going to be the year?’ and I was just tired of hearing it, so it’s such a relief to finally make it happen.”

Marshall is returning to the elite level after being cut from the World Tour at the mid-way point earlier this year.

“Just getting to see a bunch of my fellow Americans make it on tour has been extra special and cool,” he said. “It feels great and I’m super excited.”

All the Southern California surfers grew up competing at Lower Trestles, earning USA Surfing and National Scholastic Surfing Association national championships through the years – meaning they have had many years to train on the wave where next year’s world title will be decided.

If any one of them is successful, they will be the first California surfer to earn a world championship since Santa Barbara surfers Tom Curran in 1990 and Kim Mearing in 1984.

She dominated against more experienced surfers, with strong enough results to have a shot at a world title.

Not to mention the 18-year-old surf phenom landed on Team USA and will compete at the 2024 Olympics.

With those feats, it’s no surprise Simmers was named “Rookie of the Year” by the World Surf League.

While she wasn’t able to clinch the world title during September’s finals at Lower Trestles in north San Diego County, she put the surf world on notice that she’s a contender. If Simmers is able to claim a championship in coming years, she’ll be the only other San Diego surfer since Debbie Beacham, of La Jolla, in 1982, to claim the prestigious title.

“I don’t know if it’s soaked in yet,” Simmer said while on a rare stint home a few weeks ago.  “It still doesn’t feel real.”

Simmers’ love for the sea came from childhood beach trips to Oceanside with her parents and younger brother Timothy, first starting off on a bodyboard before graduating to a surfboard, she said.

“They didn’t really force anything to happen, we were just always at the beach,” Simmers said.

It was her sibling rivalry with her brother, just one year younger, that helped light her fire, she said.

“That’s probably part of the reason I’m so competitive, because of my brother. We always competed and wanted to be better than each other,” she said. “Even today, he’s so good at surfing and pushes me. I want to be better than my brother.”

Simmers was about 11 when she started entering competitions, she said.

“The first contest I did, I made one heat. I lost the second one, but I really was so happy I made the first heat,” she said. “I definitely fell in love with competing then for the first time. I just started doing competitions and then it worked out for me. It was never what I needed to do. I loved to do it, so I kept doing it.”

She never had dreams of making the world tour, or aspirations to be a world champion, she admitted.

“It was never like, I don’t know, my like one destiny or whatever. I just really liked to do it,” said Simmers, also an avid skateboarder.

Her love for skateboarding translated onto the waves in competition and soon she was winning – a lot.

It was in 2018 that the surf world took notice. She was named the National Scholastic Surfing Association’s Rookie of the Year and earned a national title.

In 2019, she became a key member of Team USA, earning gold in the under 16-division at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach.

Then, she started entering pro contests on the WSL Qualifying Series, the minor leagues of the sport, and there, too, dominated at events. In 2021, at just 15, she won the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach alongside San Clemente’s Griffin Colapinto, a mega surf event considered the world’s largest action-sports contest.

Her results were so strong she earned a spot at age 16 onto the prestigious 2022 World Tour to compete against the sport’s best women, some who have been on the tour since she was a toddler.

But she did something only one other surfer,  Australian Taj Burrow in 1997, has done: She passed.

“I guess I just did that so I could enjoy being at home. I wanted to make a surf movie (which she edited) and focus on being a better surfer, just enjoy being at home with my friends and family before I sacrificed my life to competitive surfing,” Simmers said. “I guess that was the reason. I just don’t think I was ready. I still don’t think I’m ready.”

This year, she was ready for the elite level.

In March, she won the Rip Curl Portugal Pro and later the Rio Pro. She earned second place at the Tahiti Pro, all results that allowed her to secure her spot in the WSL finals.

“It’s been a long year, but also a really fast year. It’s weird thinking back on it. I wasn’t expecting to do this,” she said. “It wasn’t even really in my head. It doesn’t feel real. I’m just thankful surfing has taken me here.”

She’s earned fans that span generations, appealing not just to the youngsters with similar surf dreams, but older surfers excited to see the new wave of female surfers dominating in competition.

When four-time world champion Lisa Andersen met Simmers for the first time in September, she greeted the youngster with a gushing compliment.

“I’m such a fan,” said Andersen, who revolutionized women’s surfing in the ’90s, an icon who was the inspiration for the surfwear brand Roxy.

“She’s incomparable, there’s no one who surfs like her,” Andersen said. “She’s her own, unique self.”

Simmers is often described by surf commentators as having a rock-star style, a nonchalant attitude that allows her to surf relaxed, yet fierce, drawing inspiration from her skateboarding and being comfortable both in bombing barrels and above the lip doing aerials.

When Simmers recently joined a gathering of young girls to give advice before having a surf session with the youngsters, she spoke with wisdom beyond her years.

“Be grateful. If you’re stressed about something, remember that you have the basics. You have a house and a home and family and people who love you,” she told them. “And that makes everything better.”

And one other piece of advice: Listen to your mom.

Simmers hasn’t quite settled into her fate as a role model, but is nonetheless soaking in the moment.

“It doesn’t feel like I should be, because I still don’t have anything figured out,” she said of being a mentor. “It’s really sick to see when a little girl comes up to me and thinks what I’m doing is cool – that’s what makes me keep doing it.”

Simmers is set to join Hawaii’s Carissa Moore and Florida’s Caroline Marks as a third competitor on Team USA for the Olympics at Teahupo’o, Tahiti, provisionally qualifying, awaiting official NOC nomination.

“We are incredibly proud of Caity’s outstanding performance in her rookie year. For her to win an event in her rookie year and finish fourth in the world is a fantastic achievement and cements her status as one of the best up-and-coming talents,” WSL Chief of Sport Jessi Miley-Dyer said. “She’s pushing the progression of women’s surfing both in and out of the jersey.

“Her journey inspires and sets a shining example for young surfers worldwide,” Miley-Dyer said, “and we look forward to witnessing her future successes.”

Enjoy them now, because most of these league rivalries are very unlikely to be around next season.

They could continue as nonleague games, but it’s more fun when a playoff berth or a league championship is at stake.

Orange County high schools agreed this past spring to reassemble its football leagues and conferences after this season. With the exception of the Trinity League teams, all of the Orange County 11-player football teams will placed into one basket. CalPreps’ ratings will be used to place teams into leagues. This is a football-only plan. League and conference memberships will be different for other sports.

If the 2023 football season was over, what would the leagues look like in 2024?

Let’s do this … but first a couple of items to know …

Again, the Trinity League is excluded. The four football teams with the top ratings by CalPreps will be in one league, then there will be 10 six-team leagues, and the bottom five teams in one league.

The league names have not been finalized, so the working titles are Orange County Football Conference A (OCFC A) and Orange County Football Conference B (OCFC B),etc. For this exercise, we’re going with “leagues.”

The previous two years of ratings will be used to place teams into leagues, weighted at 65 percent for the 2023 season and 35 percent weighted for the 2022 season.

Going into this week’s games, with rounded-off ratings totals, here are what the leagues would look like in 2024 (league members listed in alphabetical order):

League A: Edison, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, San Clemente.

League B: Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor, San Juan Hills, Tesoro, Villa Park, Yorba Linda.

League C: Capistrano Valley, Cypress, El Modena, Trabuco Hills, Tustin, Western.

League D: El Dorado, Foothill, Huntington Beach, La Habra, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills.

League E: Crean Lutheran, Dana Hills, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Northwood, Orange.

League F: Aliso Niguel, Canyon, El Toro, Santa Ana, St. Margaret’s, Troy.

League G: Brea Olinda, Esperanza, Kennedy, Segerstrom, Sonora, Sunny Hills.

League H: Beckman, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Marina, Valencia, Westminster.

League I: Buena Park, Calvary Chapel, Pacifica, Portola, University, Woodbridge.

League J: Estancia; Katella, Los Amigos, Ocean View, Rancho Alamitos, Santa Ana Valley.

League K: Anaheim, Bolsa Grande, Costa Mesa, La Quinta, Loara, Santiago.

League L: Century, Godinez Magnolia, Saddleback, Savanna.

The margins could be tight when teams are placed into football leagues for the 2024 season. Through eight games of this season, using the Calpreps ratings, Irvine’s rating is 4.79 and Aliso Niguel’s is 4.78. So if the 2023 season was over now, Irvine would be the bottom team in League E and Aliso Niguel would be the top team in League F.

NOTES

CIF-SS football playoff brackets will be released Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. The 8-man football playoff brackets will be released Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. …

Yes, Orange County has 8-man football. Sage Hill, in Newport Beach, is in the Prep League and is 4-2 overall and 0-1 in league and averages 48 points a game. Vista Meridian, in Santa Ana, plays a freelance schedule and is 1-4. …

The CIF-SS Division 1 football championship game will be played at the Coliseum on Nov. 24. The first CIF championship football game played at the Coliseum was in 1923 when Long Beach Poly defeated Glendale 15-8. The most recent CIF final at the Coliseum was in 1997 when Long Beach Poly beat Mater Dei 28-25. …

It looks like the Pacific Coast Conference schools will present a proposal at Monday’s releaguing meeting that would exclude Rosary from its group. This past spring Orange County schools included Rosary in the Pacific Coast group in the approved releaguing plan for all sports outside of football. The Freeway League, which would be broken up in the passed proposal, has indicated that it would present a proposal that would keep its membership intact. …

Holly Barker of Trabuco Hills and Evan Noonan of Dana Hills, so far, are making it easy to select the Orange County boys and girls cross country athletes of the year by winning or finishing high in just about every race they enter. Barker won last weekend’s Orange County Championships and earlier finished first in the Central Park Invitational. Noonan finished first in the Orange County Championships, the Woodbridge Classic and was third in the Clovis Invitational. …

The CIF-SS Division 1 girls volleyball playoffs started Wednesday. Mater Dei swept Palos Verdes in three sets (the first was a tough one, 27-25), Los Alamitos lost to Mira Costa in three sets and Huntington Beach swept Alemany (and another tough first set there, with the Oilers winning 28-26). Division 1 pool play resumes Tuesday with Los Alamitos at Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach beat Los Alamitos in their two Surf League matches. …

Newport Harbor’s girls flag football team had its closest win of the season Wednesday, a 14-12 victory over Edison. Newport Harbor is 21-1, with the loss to Woodbridge, which Newport Harbor defeated a couple of weeks later.

As it was written, the Capistrano Unified parental notification policy focused on mental health, saying a designated school counselor would notify a student’s family “when they have reasonable cause to believe that doing so will avert a clear and present danger to the health, safety or welfare” of students.

But after being asked for clarification during the discussion on Wednesday, Oct. 18, Trustee Lisa Davis, who proposed the policy, said students’ gender identity would also result in parental notification.

The board voted 4-2 to reject the policy, with Davis and Judy Bullockus the two yes votes.

“We are all doing what we think is best for our own children,” said Trustee Michael Parham. “Because we are so engaged, we are rarely caught off-guard when it comes to our own children. I haven’t heard any anecdotes tonight where teachers are not deliberately telling you something about your child here in the district. So that to me suggests our system in place is working.”

Superintendent Chris Brown, when asked, said anecdotal data showed “zero complaints about not letting parents know about gender identity in students.”

But Bullockus, citing an article written by a local psychologist who said there is a need for more discussions between parents and children since the pandemic, said: “I believe that this policy is collectively caring for students in this world of many health issues that they are facing.”

“Empathy is what parents need most in their relationships with their children,” she said. “I don’t believe you should kick parents out of the door. I think parents could use some coaching, so let’s work and teach with parents.”

Trustee Gila Jones, who voted against the policy, was not in favor of using the word “notification” to describe the policy but suggested using “engagement” instead.

“Engagement suggests that it is a partnership,” said Jones. “I do not think that parents are the enemy, not for a minute. I also do not think that there is anyone in the district who thinks that as well.”

Although he could not vote, student board member Tyler Pearce said he was against the proposal and wanted to “stand in favor of the students who would be directly affected.”

“I do believe that this is an outing policy,” said Pearce, a student at San Clemente High. “This parental notification policy is unnecessary, divisive and deep-rooted in political and personal agendas. We need to stop creating this umbrella of mental illness to refer to certain communities. Is it actually a mental health crisis? Or is it our generation who are so compelled to express their own identity and parents born in a different generation?”

“Times are changing; so should opinions,” said Pearce.

The Capistrano Unified board chose to restrict public comment to just over an hour — and gave students the opportunity to speak first.

Student speakers were at times emotional and passionate, with many walking away in tears or turning to the crowd to hype people up. The majority of those who spoke were students — a change from what has been seen at other local school board meetings where parental notification policies have been discussed.

“I am proud of the students who spoke today who were able to see through … the misinformation,” said Parham, a trustee who voted against the policy. “I think we are doing a great job of teaching these students critical thinking skills because they came well prepared and taught us grown-ups a little bit more about the next generation and what they are capable of.”

Assemblymember Bill Essayli, R-Corona, who pushed for parental notification policies in the legislature, was one of the few adult speakers who had a chance to voice his opinions during public comment.

“Parents have the constitutional right to raise their children,” said Essayli. “They are not spectators. I think that it is so disrespectful that you took a whole hour to listen to children than the parents who took the time off to be here tonight. They are the taxpayers, the voters, the people that you answer to. You spent time listening to children who are being used as political pawns from the left to emotionally manipulate and advance an ideology.”

Capistrano Unified’s proposed policy was first presented by Davis during the board’s September board meeting. Then, Davis said, “This policy brings parents into the conversation regarding some of the most important aspects of a child’s life.”

The proposed policy was written with verbatim language that was used in the approved parental notification policy at Placentia-Yorba Linda School District.

It said: “Due to the current nationwide mental health crisis exacerbated by the global pandemic, the Capistrano Unified School District recognizes the need for frequent, ongoing and oftentimes immediate communication between school administration, staff, and parents/guardians. Furthermore, with reports of depression, anxiety and suicide rates at an all-time high among public school students, action is needed to address this emerging crisis and support the health and welfare of district students.”

Andrew Fredriksz, a previous school counselor at Capistrano Unified, said that he is against the policy in a letter sent to Board President Krista Castellanos earlier this week.

“While parent rights are extremely important and they should always be contacted regarding life-changing decisions regarding their children, reporting to parents how a student identifies does not fall under life-changing decision-making,” said Fredriksz, now a counselor at Laguna Beach Unified. “The risk of outing a student in a household where they will not be accepted and may have a negative impact on their mental health is a greater concern in this discussion.”

“I have a lot of respect for the board,” said Fredriksz. “They are unfortunately caught in divisive culture politics as are the students.”

Fredriksz said he does not believe a parental notification policy will be enacted at Laguna Beach Unified.

“Laguna Beach Unified does a great job of cultivating a community where everyone is heard — families, students and staff,” said Fredriksz. “There seems to be a foundation of respect between everyone which helps promote productive conversations.”

Orange Unified was the first Orange County school district to adopt the policy in early September, and Placentia Yorba-Linda soon followed suit, becoming the second district to approve the policy last week. Many parental rights activist groups say they will attend Tustin Unified’s next meeting on Nov. 13 to encourage the policy to be addressed there.

In districts that have adopted these policies, situations that would warrant parent notification include requests to use different names or pronouns or requests to change sex-segregated programs (like athletic teams or changing facilities) that differ from the student’s “assigned biological sex at birth.”

The policies also include notification guidelines if a student reports self-harm, suicidal ideation or injury to others.

Capistrano Unified has 63 campuses, making it the largest district in Orange County. The district includes the cities of San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita.

This story has been updated.