Operation Amped
Veterans and Surfers Take To The Waves For Operation Amped In San Diego
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 14 October, 2008 : - - San Diego, Ca -- San Diego surfers, surf instructors, and lifeguards will join veterans from VA and active duty hospitals to hold Operation Amped at Tourmaline Surf Park on Saturday, October 18, 2008. In response to the growing need for recreational and therapeutic activities for veterans working to overcome wartime injuries, the all-volunteer crew of Operation Amped will hold an event for the first time in the City of San Diego.
Operation Amped originated in 2006 with a group of surfers who wanted to do something to honor the sacrifices our soldiers are making overseas. As the organization’s website states, “As surfers, we can’t think of any greater expression of what they fought for than the freedom of surfing itself.” Some of Operation Amped’s participants surfed before the war, and now must adapt to riding waves with sometimes severe injuries.
Others have never surfed before, and are exploring what they are capable of since rehabilitation for physical and psychological wounds suffered in combat.
“It’s amazing how easily surfing can be adapted to different disabilities,” said Keynan Hobbs, a volunteer at Operation Amped’s San Onofre event in August, and now the event’s coordinator in San Diego, “even veterans with amputations are out there paddling, popping-up, bottom turning, all of that just like every other surfer.
You don’t have to be able bodied to surf, you just have to be willing to see what works for you – and the stoke of riding waves is the same no matter who you are!”
Many of Operation Amped’s volunteers and donors are veterans themselves, and whether soldier or civilian everyone involved with Operation Amped leaves deeply touched by the experience of participating. The October event at Tourmaline Beach will be the first in the City of San Diego, with several more events planned for next year. Operation Amped is made possible through the unlimited generosity of volunteers and donations from national brands and local businesses.
Anyone interested in finding out more about Operation Amped, volunteering, or donating is encouraged to visit their website at operatiionamped.com, or those interested in participating the San Diego area in particular can contact the San Diego coordinator Keynan Hobbs at keynanhobbs@yahoo.com.
operationamped.com
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Keynan Hobbs
Team - Surfersvillage
