Rell Sunn Surf Contest and Benefit To Celebrate 25 Years Next Month

Just about everyone who flocks to Ditch Plains for the annual Rell Sunn Benefit Surf Contest attends for, well, the surfing. But the “benefit” part is what is near and dear to co-founder and co-director Roger Feit.

At the onset of the contest 25 years ago, Feit initially started it in memory of the event’s namesake, Rell Sunn, a Hawaii native and women’s surfing pioneer who died in 1998 after a 15-year battle with breast cancer. In the early 1970s, she was instrumental in establishing the Women’s Professional Surfing Association and founding the women’s pro surfing tour. During her competitive career, she finished in the top eight in the world seven times, twice reaching number three.

Feit’s initial idea was to raise money for cancer awareness groups and foundations, and it did, but Feit knew that there were some local families in dire need financially, usually because of some health issues of their own, and thus the East End Foundation was created. The first local recipient of any monies fundraised by the contest received $10,000, which Feit said was hard to even get acknowledged.

“Put the check in the mail,” someone told him, he recalled this past Sunday. That was the last check sent via mail. The rest have been too big, too generous.

The East End Foundation has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to local families in need, and the 25th annual contest coming up on July 15 plans to keep making that amount even larger. Early registration for the event is now open until June 30 and can be done at ezregister.com/events/38468. There’s a savings of $40 for registering prior to July.

One of the first recipients of one of those first checks was a family of a local 6-year-old boy who had a stent put in his chest when he was 2. Years later, Feit said he ran into the mother and he asked her how the boy was doing.

“They were ready to lose their house, they couldn’t pay any of their bills. It still gets me emotional to this day,” he explained. “When I ran into her years later and asked how he was doing, she said he had just gotten the stent out and he said, ‘Mommy, I miss my stent,’ because he had it for so long, he was so attached to it.

“But now he’s healthy and wise,” Feit continued. “That set us off. People came forward, [co-director Alice Houseknect] came forward, and other groups started to think of us. If there are children or parents struggling in the community, we do what we can to pay all their bills.”

Houseknect added how much of a community effort the event has become.

“The best part of being involved in Rell Sunn all these years is witnessing how beautifully the community joins forces for a common cause,” she said. “These efforts by many have offered the promise of hope and encouragement to hundreds of afflicted families who otherwise would have suffered alone. It’s an eye-opener that touches the heart and soul.”

On top of being a benefit surf contest, the event also doubles almost as an art auction, with art both on display and for sale. Of course, some surf boards will be given away as usual, along with T-shirts, posters and there are some nice raffle prizes this year as well, Feit said.

After 25 years, Feit said it’s time for him to pass the baton and have someone else lead the charge of the event, but he’ll always be willing to lend a helping hand with whatever that might be.

“I’ll be there looking at whatever pieces may be overlooked, or whatever transitions that may be trailing behind,” he said. “I’ll be putting my two cents in and then sometimes not.

“[But] I didn’t really have my eye on that mark,” of 25 years, Feit said. “It’s pretty interesting that it would go that long and that it would get the community behind it, but it certainly has had influence on other groups through selfless service. I think it’s been a really good thing for the community.”