Sandcastle Revival Meeting Next Week

Local residents interested in joining a sandcastle volunteer committee have been invited to attend a meeting March 21 at 6 p.m. at City Hall in the Community Room, said Jim Hutzelman with the Port of San Diego.

"At this meeting we will discuss specific options for a moderately sized 2013 late summer/early fall event that can serve as a pilot for a larger event in 2014," Hutzelman stated in an email to potential volunteers.

A steering committee of 9 to 11 people and larger volunteer committee will be chosen at the meeting next week.

At a March 6 meeting, more than 60 members of the community and organizers discussed what the new competition may look like, if admission should be charged, when it should be held and other topics to bring sandcastles back to IB.

The new volunteer committee was sparked by $40,000 of starter money from the Port of San Diego to start a new IB sandcastle competition after the demise of the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition in 2011.

A bid to attract organizers brought Kent Trollen of Sand Castles Unlimited and Gordon Summer of To Market To Market into the picture.

Summer and Trollen said they wanted to begin a competition in IB in 2012 but went downtown instead after they ran into a series of challenges in Imperial Beach.

Trollen said he wants a competition back in IB as part of an effort to make San Diego the nation's sandcastle capitol.

He also said he is part of the new effort in part because he wanted to support local sandcastle teams I.B. Posse and Sand Squirrels after they helped start the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge in downtown San Diego last year.

The ultimate goal, organizers said, is to establish a new, sustainable committee to carry on sandcastle competitions in IB in the future.

Want to lend your time and energy to the creation of a new sandcastle competition? Fill out the attached PDF and return it to Jim Hutzelman with the Port of San Diego.

Thus far more than 50 volunteer forms have been received, Hutzelman said.

People of varying skills are needed to help on the day of the event, act as a liasion between their own organization and the volunteer committee, build a website for the new competition and complete other tasks.