Events in the "real world" went on as usual Friday the 22^nd, but Just Above Sunset spent the day in Malibu.  Late Friday morning seemed to be a good time to beat the weekend crowds and cover a local event - one of the largest invitational longboard surfing contests in the world, the annual "Call to the Wall" in Malibu. We got there as they were setting up.

The event?

Call to the Wall: a Rich Tradition for Community

In early 1992 a group of Malibu surfers founded a surf club. The impetus for the formation of the MalibuBoardriders Club was to provide an energetic vehicle to mesh the surf-culture with other community elements. Early on the Club "spread the stoke" associated with surfing through promotion of community events, stewardship of the local environment and mentoring kids in a sports setting.

Early on (1993) this became associated with Camp Ronald McDonald and it got big –

To fund the beach day for the kid campers the Club started an annual surf contest to raise funds and awareness. The inaugural event was held at Malibu's famous Surfrider Beach in 1993. The contest steadily grew in stature and was dubbed The Call to the Wall in 1997. This contest has become one of the largest invitational longboard surfing contests in the world. A two-day event, over 300 top competitors from the West Coast and Hawaii gather to put on a radical show of cutting-edge and old-school longboard skill. Teams of surfers from up to twenty Coalition of Surf Club member Clubs vie for top honors and bragging rights. The Call to Wall is an all-volunteer event, which provides a true surf vibe, the essence of tradition and surf-culture.

It's very California.

The annual "Call to the Wall" in Malibu actually does have a wall –

Little Surfer Girl (perhaps the one about whom Brian Wilson sang) -