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THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
SATURDAY EDITION | JUNE 29, 2019
T IME
O UT
By Lloyd Little
Retired teacher, coach and
game offi cial
Sports &
Recreation
With more than 55 years as an
athlete, coach, parent and specta-
tor, Lloyd Little has gained some
insights and perspectives regarding
athletics. Each week, he shares
what he's learned about sports
from his multiple points of view.
“I bet I can...”
Calendar
June 29
• Cape Mnt. Trail Run
9 a.m.
Horse Cr. Campground
July 3
• Florence Softball
5:30 p.m.
ACC vs Welton (North)
Beachcomber vs
Lofy (South)
7 p.m.
Lofy vs Welton (North)
Beachcomber vs ACC
(South)
M ASTERING THE SAND
PHOTOS BY NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
Florence’s Jesse Austen competes in a past Sand Master Jam, which is part of the Dune
Riders World Championship qualifier sandboarding competitions.
July 5
• SHS cheerleaders
bottle ansd can drive
at SHS 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Florence’s Sand Master Park makes move, gains momentum
as sport’s popularity grows at home and abroad
B Y J ARED A NDERSON
Siuslaw News
Tide Tables
Entrance Siuslaw River
High Tide
Low Tide
June 29
9:50am / 4.7
9:28pm / 7.0
3:47am / 0.8
3:4712pm / 2.3
June 30
10:51am / 5.0
10:10pm / 7.3
4:34am / 0.1
4:03pm / 2.5
July 1
11:44am / 5.4
10:52pm / 7.7
5:19am / -0.7
4:53pm / 2.6
July 2
12:33am / 5.8
11:36pm / 8.0
6:02am / -1.2
5:41pm / 2.6
July 3
12:21am / 8.2
7:29pm/ -2.1
2:05am/ 6.2
7:19pm/ 2.4
July 4
1:08am / 8.2
2:50pm / 6.3
8:14am / 2.1
8:10pm / 2.3
July 5
1:57am / 8.0
3:37pm/ 6.5
8:59am/ -2.0
9:05pm/ 2.2
“T
he key is to funnel
as much air
underneath the
board as possible, and you do
that by keeping your weight
on the back foot so your tip is
up,” Sand Master Park owner
Lon Beale said. “In snow-
boarding, you get your weight
forward to drive speed, but
on sand, that takes a vacuum.
Once you get up to 10-15
miles per hour, you’re riding
on air. If you watch it in slow
motion, it’s about an inch of
air underneath the board.
That’s probably the biggest
factor to riding the board. As
far as making the boards per-
form? I would say the base
material is the most critical. It
has to be something that’s
harder than the sand.
Otherwise, the sand is going
to grip it and slow it down.”
The sandboards that Beale
designs help with perfor-
mance by keeping the nose
up. “That way, it’s going to
funnel air. The only way you
can mess it up is lean for-
ward. Some people do that,
but we give them a basic
instruction right here in our
store. We go through all the
basics: strapping, waxing,
stopping, turning. It really
starts them on the right foot.”
Beale and his team have
been getting the U.S., and the
entire world, on the right foot
of sandboarding for decades.
Sand Master Park was the
very first sandboarding park
in the U.S. when it opened in
2000, and has since become a
mainstay for tourists in
Florence.
“The busiest day we’ve ever
See
“We have incredible employ-
ees at Three Rivers,” said Rich
Colton, director of marketing for
the casino. “This tournament is
just one way we are working to
make sure our employees are
supported in the same way that
they take care of all our guests
who visit Three Rivers.”
LITTLE 2B
ODFW R EGIONAL F ISHING
R EPORT
www.dfw.state.or.us/RR
Professional and amateur sandboarding competitors
climb the dunes at Honeyman State Park during the 2015
Sand Master Jam; riding the rail (below).
had was about 500 people,”
Beale said. “But I would say,
typically, it would be about
150 average, and we’re proba-
bly 300 a day during the sum-
mer. Yearly, about 20,000.”
Last year, the owners of the
property Sand Master Park is
located on made the decision
to build tract housing on the
site.
“Of course, it’s something
Florence needs, and we sup-
port that,” Beale said. “But it
forced us to look for a new
location. We struggled.
Finding a property that had
dune access was the main
thing.”
Beale was eventually able
to find a place just a few lots
south of the original park,
next to Fred Meyer in
Florence.
“The location is fantastic,”
he said. “We’ve started devel-
oping that. It’s quite an effort
because it’s been 19 years at
our location. There’s a lot of
stuff. We’re trying to whittle
things down to our necessi-
ties to get to our new location.
It’s not as big as we like, but
we’re able to expand. We
expect to double our size next
year as needed.”
The original park is still
open during the transition,
which Beale wants people to
know. But the real story is
how he worked to bring the
sport from a couple of Boy
Scouts sledding down a dune
See
SAND 2B
T HREE R IVERS C ASINO TO HOST INAUGURAL ‘D ARE T O C ARE ’ GOLF TOURNEY
Three Rivers Casino Resort
will host the first-ever “Dare To
Care” golf tournament Tuesday,
Sept. 10, at the Ocean Dunes
Golf Course in Florence.
All proceeds from the tour-
nament will go to the Three
Rivers Casino Resort Employee
Emergency Assistance Fund.
Th ese four words have fl oat-
ed around in my head for de-
cades. I was a multiple sport
athlete from 1957 until 1986.
Th e skills I acquired through
athletics gave me confi dence.
Th is, in turn, created a com-
petitive mindset oft en over-
riding common sense.
Th e mantra “I bet I can”
became a personal challenge.
Each time I was successful in
completing the bet, I found
myself trusting my abilities
even more. Unfortunately, the
moments I remember the best
were mostly the unsuccessful
moments:
“I bet I can fl y my bike high-
er off our dirt mound,” formed
in the Dunn Rolling Trailer
Park. I did achieve that —
mostly — until the handle bars
collapsed, my chest hitting the
frame as I crashed onto the
dirt. In another bicycle event
(same, albeit slightly more
bent, bike), “I bet I could beat
my brother home from the
Hermiston swimming pool.”
Wearing just my swimsuit,
we raced for home. I turned
the corner of the Pendleton
Grain Growers building —
and right into a tractor disc
plow. Luckily, I sailed over the
discs and collided with the
tractor. My brother won and I
wore bandages for days.
My next “I bet I can” mo-
ment came in 1975, when I
The tournament is set to start
at 11 a.m. Teams, partial teams
and individuals can sign up
using the entry form online at
www.threeriverscasino.com.
Partial teams and individuals
will be put into full teams by the
tournament committee prior to
the start of the tournament.
In addition to the tourna-
ment, participants will receive
gift bags and can enter into a
50/50 raffle.
For more information about
the tournament, course details
and tournament entry informa-
tion, visit www.threerivers
casino.com.
MID-COAST LAKES
Stocking of the mid-coast
lakes began the first week of
February and will continue
into June. Check the stocking
schedule online for dates and
locations of stockings. These
early stockings include: Alder
and Dune Lake, Cleawox,
Lost Lake, Munsel Lake,
Thissel Pond, Mercer Lake,
Big Creek Reservoirs, Ollala
Reservoir and Devils Lake.
Warmwater fisheries are
improving in several lakes
around the Florence area
including: Siltcoos,
Tahkenitch, Mercer, and
Munsel.
SILTCOOS &
TAHKENITCH LAKES:
Warmwater species
Warmwater fishing has
been improving on Siltcoos
and Tahkenitch lakes. The
recent warm weather is warm-
ing up the water and getting
the fish more active. We are
now in the post spawn time of
year, fish will start to move
out the shallows and disperse
throughout the lakes into a
variety of habitats. Warmwater
fishing will continue to be
good through the summer
and into the fall.
Siltcoos also gets stocked
rainbow trout, check the
stocking schedule for num-
bers and dates of stockings.
SIUSLAW RIVER:
Cutthroat trout
Trout fishing in streams is
open. Check the regulations
for open areas and gear
restrictions.
ALSEA RIVER: Cutthroat
trout
See
FISHING 3B