Making Waves: Freshman triumvirate keep surfing stardom at bay in order to get educations at UCLA

The chance to become a successful professional athlete right out of high school is one that many teenagers would jump at.

When fame and fortune seem to be just around the corner, the thought of slugging away at the books for four more years can seem pretty unappealing.

Not so for first-years Chandler Parr, Taylor Pitz and Heather Jordan.

The three surfers had the chance to embark on pro-surfing tours after high school, but instead decided to become Bruins.

Jordan, who just transferred to UCLA from community college this year, and Pitz, agreed that the opportunity to go to school was one they had to grasp as soon as possible. They could start surfing professionally in a couple of years, but if they were to delay going to college, there was a high likelihood that they would never do it.

Even though the trio was focused on going to school, they did not want to give up surfing altogether ““ UCLA was an ideal school because of its club surfing team and its proximity to the beach.

“I was struggling between the Pro Tour or a four-year university, but I visited UCLA and I fell in love with it,” Pitz said.

“It just changed everything. I knew I needed to figure everything else out around attending UCLA.”

Surfing is generally an individual sport, with surfers riding the waves and looking out only for themselves.

The team atmosphere of UCLA Club Surf was new for Pitz, Jordan and Parr, but one that they welcome.

“I think the cool thing is that it’s individual so usually you don’t have the whole bonding thing, but (on Club Surf) we cheer each other on, and you want to make your team proud,” Parr said. “It pumps me up.”

College surf has a variety of competitions and after a certain number of events that any school can attend, the teams are ranked and then go onto the state championships where they can qualify for nationals.

“It’s cool because regular events are pretty local events. But (during) state championships, we meet teams from all over, and then at nationals we’ll have schools from all over the country,” Pitz said.

“It’s awesome because we all get to meet each other.”

Pitz is excited about the surf team’s chances in the postseason this year.

“Our team really stepped up, we did a lot better than we have in the past and better than people expected,” she said.

“There are strong teams but we have a real good opportunity.”

Club surf is competitive, but the chance to win contests is not the only part of the team that the three have grown to appreciate.

In a school of thousands, the team represented an easy way to find people to simply go out to the beach with and have a good time doing what they all love: surfing.

The three have grown closer as teammates on the club surfing team, aided, according to Jordan, by the fact that they knew each another before coming to Westwood.

“We’ve competed together for five-plus years,” Jordan said.

“Girls that compete together are in that close-knit group, and it was interesting that we all went here at the same time.”

Many club sports at UCLA, especially ones without an NCAA-level equivalent program, are nearly as time consuming as official UCLA teams.

However, at times the intensity is not taken as seriously as an NCAA sport.

“It gets difficult because teachers don’t acknowledge it, so if I miss class for a contest, some teachers understand, but others don’t,” Parr said.

“I’ll try to explain, but they say the NCAA is completely different. I’ve been pretty lucky with that though.”

At UCLA, surfing and education have become very intertwined for Pitz and Jordan, who have both become interested in the environment.

Pitz is a pre-business economics student with a minor in environmental systems and society and Jordan is interested in environmental law. Parr, who is in her second year here but is still a freshman as she has been a part-time student, is undeclared.

“I could see pro surfing in a few years, but I couldn’t see waiting to go to school,” Jordan said.

“I’d be willing to pursue it in the future and do the World Qualifying Series, but it’s a huge commitment. … I decided that school made more sense right now.”

While they might be missing out on professional opportunities in order to attend college, Parr said that ultimately, their educations were worth it.

“It’s hard because one foot’s in college and one’s in surfing so I miss some opportunities, but it’s helping me become a more well-rounded person,” she said.