We’ve lost a lot this year. Surfer Magazine. Kobe and Giana Bryant. Hurley. Music venues. Bars. And most of our interpersonal communication skills. But we there’s one thing still grinding it out with the greatest of intentions: The National Scholastic Surfing Association.

Janice Aragon and Gayline Clifford are still at it, and it’s taken several cross country road trips to the East Coast to get the comps in this year, but their commitment to groms and giving them a reliable platform despite the entire the surf industry and media outlets all but abandoning them to surf and hang together at the beach is an inspiration.

Right now they’re all the way over at Jennette Pier in Nags Head, North Carolina putting on the 2020 NSSA Nationals and without much of the usual media and industry support. “It’s a historical event for the NSSA for sure,” Janice told me. “Never say never and I never do! But we’re so stoked to be able to get the kids surfing together again.”

Now, I don’t need to get too nostalgic on you, nor do I need to remind you that I wasn’t a crazy good competitor — I lost a good amount of heats for failing to pull anything in a jersey during my time in the NSSA — but I can still taste the check-in station licorice and picture the hilarious corn-doggings that went down during some long beach days.

My second NSSA stint involves one of the pleasures of my “surf journalism” career: putting together the NSSA program when I was at Surfing Magazine. A one-time intern task became a full blown art project and we put a few good ones together. A quick perusal this morning of the 2008-2010 era provided some all-time quotes and photos of a wide-variety of now super star surfers who got there start in the NSSA. A wide-variety of paths too: freesurfers, big wave surfers and World Tour surfers all mixed it up in the NSSA. Everyone from Billy Kemper and the Jaws crew to Dillon Perillo, Conner Coffin, Kolohe and Droid, Courtney Conlogue and Malia Manuel all slugged it out together in the NSSA before taking the next step.

I recently heard Dillon Perillo say, “I just ran into all my NSSA surfing buddies out there: after a random surf a the HB pier — another testament to how long these relationships formed in the NSSA last.

It’s highly likely that a few underground names will emerge from the group shredding in North Carolina this weekend who will go on to shape the future of surfing, regardless of whether the surf industry pays attention or not, because thankfully Janice and Gayline are in it for the right reasons and they never miss a heat.

I’m sending a personal thank-you on behalf of all surfers who put in some time in the NSSA Janice and Gayline for doing everything they can to keep groms in jerseys and at the beach surfing together. Still the best thing about growing up is surfing with your friends and peers. And thanks to Janice and Gayline, that’s still going down every weekend across the US and thats’ a huge win for surfing. —Travis Ferré

Pictured above: 1996 Open Mens Champion Andy Irons.

If you wanna keep an eye on the contest, follow @NSSASurf or http://nssa.org. And check back here Monday and we’ll post all the results of the 2020 NSSA Nationals for you. And congrats to Kepa Mendia, he’s the current “NSSA Surfer of the Week."