The Rip Curl Pro Search surfing contest was on Ocean Beach for just a few short days in November, but it quickly gained attention for the effort to minimize the waste and environmental impact of this major international surfing competition.

Jon Weiand, a journalism student at San Francisco State University and the Ocean Beach Bulletin’s fall 2011 intern, produced a short documentary film about that effort. Jon’s documentary was primarily a project for one of his classes, but we were so impressed by it we’re also publishing it here and on the Ocean Beach Bulletin YouTube channel.

Thousands of people from all over the globe came to Ocean Beach to see the world’s best competitive surfers, and the potential for a negative impact was great. As Jon put it: “Waste diversion is just a piece of the puzzle, but diverting 90 percent of discards away from landfills is no small task. Local nonprofits Sustainable Surf, the SF chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, Wastebusters, and the local Ocean Beach community all came together to lead the charge in showing the world what it takes to create sustainable sporting events all over the world.”

You can see more of Jon Weiand’s work at jweiand.com.