News & Updates
The Coalition to Preserve The Polo Fields Altered Video (again)
Once again, the “Surf fan club” has uploaded another video with altered and exaggerated sound. Similar videos with altered sound were used before, during and after the eventual awarding of the lease, and several times since in videos submitted to the city. Although meant to sabotage, this particular video highlights a well run and well executed event with minimal traffic.
#LetThemPlayCA - After 11 Months, We Are Back!
Thank you, Fox News, for inviting Surf's CEO, Brian Enge, to your show this morning. We are incredibly grateful to you for sharing the struggle of our CA kids nationally. It is pure joy to see our kids back on the field competing, and we know we couldn't be where we are without the #LetThemPlay group pushing this movement forward.
We know this fight isn't over for CA, so please keep pushing and helping #LetThemPlay as we work hard to reopen ALL of California youth sports and keep them open!
To view the segment visit: https://video.foxnews.com/v/6234644387001#sp=show
Surf Response To Cease & Desist
San Diego County officials taped a Cease & Desist order to Surf’s front door a few days ago. This was Surf’s response:
February 17, 2021
San Diego County Officials –
We hope this finds you well. We realize and respect that you have a job to do and we are empathetic to the fact that you all support the safe return of youth sports. However, sending inspectors to our fields the last three days is simply going too far.
We all know this is no longer about the science or keeping kids safe. The data is mounting every day that Covid transmission on sports fields is negligible. This has been confirmed by the NFL, the National Federation of High School Sports (NFHS), the ECNL, the SEC, the Dutch Football Association and the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Miraculously, kids in 48 states are safely playing youth sports every day. Interestingly, your office, nor the state of CA has generated a single study that shows youth sports are in fact dangerous for kids or the spread of Covid.
Surf has been a safe refuge for kids for since June. We’ve hosted our own athletes and opened the doors for other sports organizations that have been shut out from their normal playing fields. We’ve had hundreds of thousands of player and coach interactions and less than 25 instances of Covid, none of which were contracted or spread on the field. We are told by parents daily that we are the ONLY area of normalcy in the lives of their kids and that their activity in sport is one of the only things keeping them from depression. In fact, another 16 year old boy (in Glendora) committed suicide just this week due to depression as he didn’t have access to his sports and Eagle Scout activities.
We also know that your focus on Surf is unequal enforcement. If you drive around the county on any weekend day you will see full soccer games with refs, baseball games with uniforms and umpires, and passing league football games. If you peak into the gyms you will see league playing happening in volleyball and basketball. The only reason you are focusing on Surf is that our neighboring multi-million dollar homeowners want to return our facility to support their horse lifestyle. Unequal use of your power is an abuse of your power.
Further, we think you are bending under the pressure of a single news story from ABC. You should all know that Kimberly Hunt, the anchor for ABC, is part of the neighborhood homeowners that opposes youth sports as a use of the Polo Fields. She was on a walk with her husband on Saturday, shot the footage herself and leveraged her position as an anchor to get ABC to run the story. No other local stations have run the story. We’d also encourage you to read the comments below the story as the community seems to be aggressively opposed to ABC’s position (see the link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41uJA_vd2nw&feature=youtu.be).
Our choice is to follow the science. Our choice is to protect the overall health of kids. Our choice is to help others in the community. Our choice is kids over wealthy NIMBY’s. Our choice is doing what’s right rather than be influenced by one reporter using her pulpit to pursue her personal agenda. If your choice is to ignore the science and penalize one of the organizations that has had the courage to stand up for kids and to protect the kids, then you are on the wrong side of this argument.
If your choice is to send an inspector daily to our fields, please simply let me know and we will get out our checkbook. We won’t let these kids down. We will continue to let kids play. We will continue to be the gold standard in safety protocols. We will continue to be positive contributors to our community. We will continue doing the same things we’ve done since June.
It does us no pleasure to send this message as we respect each of you and your position.
-Team Surf
Surf Families - Call To Action
On February 18, Surf was forced to send the following message to its membership in response to the Cease & Desist :
Surf Families-
Your kids are not able to train today at Surf as a direct result of the SD County Health Department sending an inspector to our fields the last 3 days. The health inspectors are responding to a story on ABC News 10 from this past weekend. Interestingly enough, ABC is the only station to run this story and it's no coincidence that their star anchor, Kimberly Hunt, is part of the neighborhood group that is opposed to youth sports activity at the Polo Fields.
Surf is on the right end of this argument. The data is mounting every day that Covid transmission on sports fields is negligible. This has been confirmed by the NFL, the National Federation of High School Sports (NFHS), the ECNL, the SEC, the Dutch Football Association, and the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Miraculously, kids in 48 states are safely playing youth sports every day.
As an organization, we have had the courage to stand up for our kids and the procedures that have kept them safe. We've even opened our facility to other youth sports organizations that have been shut out of their own facilities.
If you are as frustrated and outraged as we are, you can help. We would ask that you reach out to Leon Clark TODAY:
Leon Clark, GM of ABC News 10, 619-237-1010
We're all in this together for the health and wellness of our kids but we have to fight to keep that option.
Team Surf
ABC’s Story About Surf Has A Personal Agenda
Despite ABC’s careful wordsmithing of how this story came about, Kimberly Hunt was witnessed at the facility on February 14th at about 2pm, taking pictures and/or video prior to the originating broadcast of this story on February 16th. She is a longtime resident of the neighborhood above the facility and it was her HOA’s president, Scott Kameron, who was featured in the story. Their HOA has a long-standing and well-known feud with Surf going back 25 years. Their neighborhood, Fairbanks Polo Club Estates, is made up of 54 homes with many neighbors who support Surf and their activities, but it also has a minority of vocal residents who take every opportunity to launch nuisance complaints to the city and SDPD to disrupt their operations, and in this case, precious field access for our kids. This story was clearly attached to a personal agenda and this isn’t the first time it’s happened.
To be clear, Surf has nothing against Kimberly or her husband, they’re both San Diego icons and always welcome at the facility. We just wish that same sentiment could be extended in both directions for a cooperative outcome, neighbor to neighbor.
This is the ABC Editor’s note that has been modified multiple times:
EDITOR’S NOTE: As we continue to cover stories surrounding the pandemic's impact on our community, I want to address our reporting in our article, "County issues cease and desist letters to youth sports clubs at Del Mar polo fields."
Story ideas come from various sources and sometimes within our newsroom. There are instances in which station staff members have personal experience or knowledge surrounding a story. Our editors vet these news stories in those cases and assess newsworthiness and relevance to our viewers. It is then assigned to a different reporter to avoid any conflict of interest. We thoroughly investigate every story before we air it. We did so in this case.
Social media posts and at least one other news organization have made inaccurate statements regarding this story.
It is not true that ABC 10News anchor Kimberly Hunt belongs to a group that opposes youth sports activity at the Polo Fields. The claim that Kimberly Hunt shot a video of the sporting events used in the story is also false.
We are committed to accuracy and fairness in our reporting, and we stand behind our story. As with all ABC 10News coverage, we welcome your feedback.
Doris Lewis is the News Director at ABC 10News.
Surf Celebrates 122 Players On National Letter of Intent Day!
From Surf:
“These are the moments we celebrate as a community. These are the moments where we pause to admire the hours of training, the dedication to their craft, the commitment to their goal. These are the moments when we look at the kids who’ve grown up within our club and we smile and we say “WAY TO GO!”
These moments are what Surf is all about. These moments perfectly capture our Mission to Create the Best of the Best Experiences and Opportunities for kids.
Today we officially congratulate 30 San Diego Surf athletes and 46 other Surf athletes across the country as they sign their National Letters of Intent. This total of 122 athletes makes Surf the #1 brand in the US for developing college players and helping them pursue their dreams. We could not be more proud and excited for these kids.
There will be more major college commitments to come as this is only the first of two National Signing Day’s for Soccer. However, please take the time to celebrate and congratulate these kids on pursuing the next step of their athletic dream. #SurfProud #WeAreSurf”
City of San Diego and Surf Cup Sports Prevail in CEQA Ruling
On February 19, 2019 Judge Pollack of the Superior Court of San Diego issued a final ruling in the CEQA claim, ruling in favor of the City of San Diego and Surf Cup Sports.
The FSDRV appealed this decision to the California Court of Appeals, and on January 29, 2021, the court rejected the FSDRV appeal on all counts.
The Friends of Surf would like to extend a special thanks to all the people who helped Surf achieve this well-deserved victory.
For more details on the case history, see Litigation Outcome.
Surf Cup Sports & Olivenhain Municipal Water District named the 2020 APWA Project of the Year!
As featured on Surf Cup Sports website:
For almost three decades, Surf Sports Park has been our home. In 2016, as part of our new 28-year agreement with the City of SD, Surf Cup Sports pledged to renovate and improve our facility. In the first 3 years of our new agreement, SCS has invested over 4.5M in various facility improvement and renovation projects, the most important of which was our new state-of-the-art sprinkler system. In 2018, Surf Cup Sports partnered with the Olivenhain Municipal Water District on an ambitious project to bring recycled water to the facility and now we’re proud to announce the results of that teamwork. This innovative inter-agency project has just been named the 2020 APWA Project of the Year. While our mission is to create the best experiences and opportunities for kids, we embrace our role as stewards of this precious land and we are committed to promoting sustainability efforts, water use efficiency, and conservation.
We began this project with a simple intent to save water by providing recycled water to Surf Sports Park’s grass sports fields. By irrigating approximately 55 acres with recycled water, this project alone will save an estimated 100 million gallons of potable water per year, reducing potable water demand and improving sustainability.
To read full press release visit:
We are proud of the impactful changes, we are making for our club, our families, and the environment. We’re not finished, there’s much more to come!!
San Diego’s City Council Awards Surf Cup Sports with Lease for Prestigious Polo Fields
Far more than other extra circular activities, youth soccer brings together those who share a common passion — and this common passion for the world’s most beautiful game will continue to flourish in San Diego — the real heart of youth soccer in America.
City Council of San Diego voted 8-1 to approve a twenty-eight year ground lease of the Polo Fields to Surf Cup Sports LLC on Monday, July 25th. While many have seen this as controversial — the lease of the San Diego Polo Fields going from the small, local polo club to the renters who have cared for the property for years — it is now final. After months of endless procedural events, & hearings, the lease has been granted to Surf Cup Sports, which has been operating the tournaments and running club teams for more than two decades on the site.
Continue reading at https://www.soccertoday.com/surf-cup-sports-runs-polo-fields/