Surfers Dress Like Santa to Raise Money for Children with Autism

Surfers Dress Like Santa to Raise Money for Children with Autism
Hosted by The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, the annual Surfing Santa Competition benefits Surfers Healing whose mission is to enrich the lives of people living with autism by exposing them to the unique experience of surfing.

The competition takes place on Saturday, November 19, 2016 at Salt Creek Beach, just below the resort. The competition features prizes for the top six surfers in five divisions including:

• Surfing Rudolph (Short board) - Guys 18 and over
• Santa's Elves (Short board) - Guys 17 and under
• Candy Canes (Short board) - Girls all ages
• Yule Loggers (Longboard) - Open to Guys and Girls
• Sleigh Riders (Body board) - Open to Guys and Girls

Prizes include Carver skateboards, Maui Jim sunglasses, Surfline memberships, and other items donated by RipCurl, Billabong, SunBum, Incipio, Barrellicious and more. Additionally, all contestants are eligible to win $500 for the best costume and a Brawner Board and $1,000 for the biggest air which is based on contestable air points throughout the day. Competitors can sign up to surf at www.SurfingSantaContest.org.

The concept for The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel's Surfing Santa Competition was developed by General Manager Bruce Brainerd in 2009 and honors the resort's Community Footprints commitment to supporting worthy causes. The resort also hosts an annual Surfboard Auction that opens Saturday, November 19 and closes at noon on December 31, 2016. Since the inception of the surf contest and auction, The Ritz-Carlton has raised more than $210,000 for Surfers Healing.