Teacher wins without support of board
John Shearer makes the most of a wave at the World Bodysurfing Championships. The 55-year-old Hermosa Beach school teacher won his fourth Grand Championship. Photo by Roger Salter
Watching dolphins frolic, their bodies glistening while showing humans how to catch a wave, is a favorite memory from Jim Shearer’s childhood.
Growing up in Manhattan Beach in the 1960’s was a special time for Shearer while he took full advantage of having the beach as a playground and the ocean his pool.
“My parents began taking me to the beach when I was probably a year old,” the 55-year-old Shearer said. “In 1962, my parents bought a house on The Strand in Manhattan Beach. I had a bedroom on the third floor where I could look down on The Strand. It was the Garden of Eden.”
The high school English teacher has proven the lessons taught by watching the dolphins were well learned. In August, Shearer earned the title of Men’s Grand Champion at the 34th Annual World Bodysurfing Championships held in Oceanside.
“We’ll never be able to swim as well as the dolphins, but we can certainly pick up techniques by watching them,” said Shearer, now a Hermosa Beach resident.
This year’s event marked the 31st consecutive year Shearer has participated in the World Bodysurfing Championships and his fourth Grand Championship after capturing titles in 1981, 1985 and 1997. The winners from each age division are pitted against each other in a contest to determine the Grand Champion.
After winning two straight Men’s 45-54 division championships, Shearer moved into the 55-64 age group this year, where he is continuing his winning streak. He has seven top-three finishes in the last ten years and believes he has close to 10 age division titles throughout his career.
“I look forward to competing every year,” Shearer said. “The Oceanside Pier is such a great venue to watch from. Even the judges are stationed there.”
Shearer has competed in numerous events including the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic in Hawaii, the Northern California Bodysurfing Championships held in Santa Cruz each October and April and the now-defunct Cold Water Bodysurfing Championship held in Ventura. The accomplished surf rider once held a five-year streak as men’s senior world champion in bodyboarding.
Shearer said he began taking bodysurfing seriously immediately after completing the 8th grade.
“A lot of us who attended American Martyrs School in Manhattan Beach got fins for graduation presents,” Shearer recalled. “We would hang out at 14th Street but would be lured to the pier where there were better breaks.”
It was there that Shearer and his friends met members of the Gillis Beach Bodysurfing Association (GBBA), a club formed in 1964 in Playa del Rey by surfers – many who were in the Junior and Senior Lifeguards – from Westchester and St. Bernard’s High Schools.
The GBBA has grown to become the oldest bodysurfing club in the United States and has produced many of the world’s top bodysurfers, including five-time grand champion Mike Cunningham, 54, of Redondo Beach.
“Mike and I have a friendly rivalry going,” Shearer said. “It makes competition much more fun. Gillis has really helped make a name for many of us.”
The association was also instrumental in Shearer earning his moniker. Known as “The Claw,” Shearer said his nickname actually arrived from an indoor sport.
“Before I became involved with bodysurfing and bodyboarding competition, I mainly rode a knee board,” Shearer said. “I would give my board a claw-like grip and rarely lose a board when the wave collapsed which kept me from having to retrieve the board. Many members of the Gillis group were big fans of wrestling and there was a grip called ‘The Claw.’ They tagged me with the name. Ironically, I’m not a ruthless competitor, enjoying the sport for fun, but the name does have an intimidation factor. In many photos I’ll appear with a claw pose.”
After a brief stint at Mira Costa High School, Shearer began teaching at South Gate High School
“It’s a great place to teach. I’ve spent most of my 25-year teaching career there and am involved with the Speech Club and Speech Team,” Shearer said. “It’s exciting to work with a variety of kids – some who don’t want to be in school and others who make the most of their potential.”
The summer vacation of a teacher is conducive in allowing Shearer to practice his sport which he said is the key to successful bodysurfing. Shearer maintains he is in the water a minimum of five days a week.
“Practice is so important and the take off is significant,” Shearer said. “Select a wave that has potential. The more experience gained, which is with practice, the easier that will become.”
Shearer said that during competition, judges look for the size of the wave, length of the ride and maneuvers on the open face of the wave.
“The method of entry is crucial,” Shearer said. “Often, an underwater takeoff is best. Submerging, using a dolphin kick and riding from the back of the wave where the power source is much quicker than dropping down on the face of the wave.”
Shearer added that wave selection is vital in helping him perform his favorite moves that include fast or slow spinners (corkscrew action), backslides (riding on one’s side) and dolphins (submerging into the power pocket at the back of the wave if the wave slows down). ER