Cruise ship hospitality management, here one-time surf dreamers come.

It seems like just yesterday that beach adjacent parents could pull their little surfer son, or daughter, out of school if he, or she, could kick an air reverse before the age of ten and all but guarantee their young charge a low six-figure job first as a qualifying series “hopeful” then as a brand rep.

Alas, yesterday and all surf-related opportunities seem so far away. Now, all the brands are owned by one of two management companies which, both, only sponsor top-tier talent for a fraction of the price and don’t need reps because Costco. Parents and children, caught flat footed by the sudden change are now looking down the barrel of illiteracy for illiteracy’s sake.

The air-reverse market straight dried up.

What then are sixteen-year-olds without education to do?

Besides surf instruct.

Thankfully USA Surfing has peered out into the desolate future and is deciding to act before the retardé flood the already-strained welfare system. In a first-of-kind move, the International Surfing Association recognized governing body has partnered with Colorado State University’s online portal, CSU Global, to “provide opportunities for professional advancement and access to its online programs anywhere in the world with an internet connection.”

Cruise ship hospitality management, here one-time surf dreamers come.

“We are honored to partner on USA Surfing’s mission to support members in their educational and professional goals,” Dr. Becky Takeda-Tinker, President at CSU Global, told the school’s PR team. “Since inception, CSU Global has continued to evolve to meet the changing needs of its modern learners, providing not only high-quality programs taught by industry-experienced and academically qualified instructors but also the 1:1 support and resources our students need to succeed whenever and from wherever their busy lives take them. As global citizens, USA Surfing’s members are the type of learners who will uniquely benefit from our flexible fully online programs and services, and we would like to thank HCM Strategists and its CEO and Founding Partner Kristin Hultquist for making this connection possible and for their continued support of higher education innovation.”

“USA Surfing is stoked to partner with CSU Global to offer surfers a valuable opportunity to boost their earning power and careers in and out of the water,” added USA Surfing executive director Becky Fleischauer Jewell, making sure to include “stoke” in the first line. “Traditional college hasn’t always fit a competitive surfer’s schedule competing around the world on mother nature’s timetable. As a result, many surfers miss out on gaining college learning opportunities and credits toward degrees that lead to good-paying jobs in and outside the surf industry.”

But do imagine that San Clemente’s third and fourth finest will quickly enroll or will they, rather, take Ms. Jewell’s lead and blame mother nature for a life poorly lived?

More, certainly, as the story develops.