Un Mar de Colores · Encinitas, CA
Scholars often graduate from free surf lessons and camp — Encinitas Union School District referrals welcome from Encinitas.
Un Mar de Colores's Surf Athletic Scholarship program supports competitive BIPOC youth and teens from Encinitas and the greater San Diego region. Scholarship athletes receive high-performance gear, competition entry fees, coaching, and travel support across the California contest circuit. Local training happens at Moonlight Beach, Swami's. Referrals and nominations come through Encinitas Union School District athletics programs and our partner community organizations.
Ongoing · Completely free
Encinitas holds five distinct breaks — Moonlight Beach, Swami's, Beacon's, D Street, and Stone Steps — across Encinitas Union and San Dieguito Union High School District. Our lessons run at Moonlight Beach (with its sheltered lifeguard cove) and Swami's on calmer mornings, with Park Dale Lane and Capri Elementary as our primary Title I partnerships for inland-neighborhood recruitment.
How much does competitive surf coaching cost in California? Private contest coaches often charge $100–$200 per hour. Un Mar de Colores provides one-on-one certified training, heat strategy, and mental performance modules free for Encinitas scholarship recipients.
Sponsorship navigation taught honestly — how industry gatekeeping works and how Encinitas BIPOC athletes build authentic visibility without selling a false story.
With 62,007 residents, Encinitas is one of the communities where a single free surf cohort can change dozens of lives per season. Our shuttles and school partnerships make distance (on the coast) a logistics problem we solve, not a barrier families carry alone.
When we say free for Encinitas youth, we mean wetsuits, soft-tops, rashguards, sunscreen, transportation, and instruction — the full stack commercial programs charge $50–$150 per session for.
Un Mar's primary Encinitas beginner location. Sheltered cove, year-round lifeguards, and direct access from Encinitas Library classroom programming.
Moonlight Beach is named for its former all-night beach parties in the late 1800s. Today it's Encinitas's primary family beach with a large sand area and protected swim zone.
Used only for intermediate/advanced Surf Athletic Scholarship students. Never a beginner break due to reef bottom.
Swami's is named for the Self-Realization Fellowship gardens on the cliff above. One of the most photographed surf spots in California, featured in the Beach Boys' 'Surfin' USA.'
In partnership with Encinitas Union School District and local community organizations, we recruit youth from 3+ Title I schools.
The Surf Athletic Scholarship program supports BIPOC youth and teens pursuing competitive surfing at the scholarship or professional level. The program provides high-performance wetsuits and boards, pays all competition entry fees, covers contest travel costs across the California circuit, and provides one-on-one coaching from certified trainers. Scholarship recipients are mentored by alumni and partner professional BIPOC surfers, and the program specifically addresses the financial barriers that have historically excluded Latino, Indigenous, and Black youth from the competitive surf pipeline.
Our coaches include graduates of the Surf Athletic Scholarship program and bilingual educators who reflect the BIPOC communities we serve. We partner with 15+ Title I schools across North County and San Diego.
“"He used to approach new activities with extreme anxiety — to the point where sometimes we couldn't even get out of the car. Now he goes much deeper into the water."”
Yes — college and pro-surfing pathway counseling covers NCAA surf scholarships, alternative pathways, and honest industry navigation. Encinitas teens get support beyond contest heats.
Scholarship covers competition entry fees, California contest circuit travel (transport, lodging, meals), high-performance wetsuits and boards, one-on-one coaching, physical therapy and injury prevention, mental performance training, nutrition and conditioning modules, and mentorship from professional BIPOC surfers. Encinitas families pay nothing.
Private contest coaches in San Diego County often charge $100–$200 per hour. Un Mar scholarship provides one-on-one certified coaching, heat strategy, and mental performance training free for Encinitas recipients — plus fees, travel, and gear.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs in Encinitas are 100% free — including 3/2mm wetsuits, soft-top surfboards, transportation from partner schools like Park Dale Lane Elementary, Capri Elementary, El Camino Creek Elementary, and certified bilingual instruction. Funding comes from the San Diego Foundation, community grants, and individual donors. No Encinitas family has ever paid for our programming.
Primary water sessions run at Moonlight Beach. We also use Swami's for skill progression. Classroom components happen at Encinitas Library and other partner sites. All water activities happen within lifeguard-flag zones.
We serve youth ages Youth & teens. In Encinitas specifically, our recruitment runs through Encinitas Union School District — with priority enrollment for students from Park Dale Lane Elementary, Capri Elementary, El Camino Creek Elementary. Cohorts are age-appropriate (One Ocean for 6–12, Ocean Stewards for 13–17).
No. We begin every cohort with ocean-safety fundamentals in chest-deep whitewater at Moonlight Beach, supervised by instructors certified by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguard Division. Water comfort is built progressively. In Encinitas, we also run pre-cohort pool-familiarization sessions at local community pools for students who request extra comfort-building.
Yes. All Un Mar de Colores programs are bilingual — and in Encinitas, where 12% of households are Spanish-speaking, we intentionally pair at least one bilingual coach to every session. Cultural programming is delivered in both languages, and parent communications are always sent in Spanish and English.
Three ways: (1) everything is free, while most Encinitas surf programs charge $50–$150 per lesson; (2) we are BIPOC-led and our coaches reflect the 28%-BIPOC Encinitas community we serve; (3) our curriculum includes environmental justice, Kumeyaay coastal history, and cultural arts — not just surf skills. We exist because the ocean should belong to everyone in Encinitas, not just those who can afford access.
Visit our sign-up page or contact us directly. Priority enrollment goes to students of Park Dale Lane Elementary, Capri Elementary, El Camino Creek Elementary and referrals from Encinitas Library and Boys & Girls Club of Encinitas. Summer cohorts fill 3–4 weeks before start, so early contact is recommended.
Support the movement or enroll your youth — Un Mar de Colores is building coastal access for Encinitas families.
All Un Mar de Colores programs are free for Encinitas youth. Reach out to enroll, volunteer, or support the movement.
Un Mar de Colores is a BIPOC-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Oceanside, California. We provide free surf, ocean, and environmental programming for youth across San Diego and Tijuana — bridging cultures, coasts, and communities since 2018.
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