Remembering Chuck Allen: Ambassador of snowboarding and surfing
Even today, the loss of Chuck Allen is heavily felt in the surfing and snowboarding community. The man made invaluable contributions to the progression of both the action sports during his 74-year life. Even after his death earlier this year, i.e. February
14, his legacy lives on.
Allen's death was caused by a complication arising from his lung-illness, which his body failed to cope with. The demise of the legendary father figure sent both, the surfing and snowboarding community, into mourning and created a void that may never be
filled.
Allen had strived hard to promote both, surfing and snowboarding. Most recently he was rendering his services as a special events manager at Mountain High Resort in Wrightwood. He was responsible for organizing and promoting the events.
“When you think about what he accomplished,” said surfing legend Peter Townend, a friend of Allen for 33 years, “for him to do all that without growing up in an action-sports culture is amazing.”
Allen’s impact in the world of surfing started more than three decades ago. In 1970s, Allen was a surf coach at El Toro High School. Finding surfing to be in serious trouble in America as the American surfers struggled to keep up with the rest of the world,
he along with four Orange County teachers inaugurated the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) in 1978. His contribution to surfing did not stop there. In 1984, he helped an upstart Team USA to triumph over a much more experienced and highly favoured
Australian team to clinch the world championship title in an era-defining victory.
Allen served the world of snowboarding by establishing the United States Amateur Snowboard Association (USASA) in 1988, which now boasts more than 5,000. It provided generations of snowboarders with opportunities that they would have never known if it was
not for this programme. It was the largest amateur snowboarding programme in the country. Many of today’s sensational professional snowboarders give credit to it for playing a pivotal role in the take-off of their career.
Names such as Shaun White and Louie Vito also acknowledge this programme as their starting point. Allen believed that a legitimate farm system was a necessity if snowboarding was ever to find a place in Olympics. He proved to be right when snowboarding really
did manage to make a debut at the Nagano Winter Games in 10 years’ time. The role of TransWorld Snowboarding magazine also deserves some acknowledgement in the establishment of USASA as they made a donation of $500 dollars for this cause.
“He was one of the guys who got resorts to open up to snowboarding because he helped civilize the sport,” said Kevin Kinnear, the founding editor of TransWorld Snowboarding. Kinnear, added, “He was kind of like everybody's big brother, everybody's dad.”
Allen was an extremely lively and friendly person; always prepared to entertain the other person with a story from his happening life. He was extremely generous with his time, things, and help. People who have met him confirm his alluring personality and
his dedication to the sport of surfing and snowboarding.
Allen had worked as a special events manager at Mountain High resort for over 10 years. That was the job that became his last. In the recent years his breathing had deteriorated, forcing him to carry around an oxygen bottle and travel around the resort using
a snowmobile instead of his snowboard. He had moved to a lower elevation to ease the strain on his lungs as well. Unfortunately his time was up.
Allen, a father of 11 children, had undoubtedly watched over snowboarding and surfing as a mother watches over her child. His efforts are recognized and appreciated by the entire community and hence his legacy will be celebrated during the NCCA nationals
in June at his dearly loved Huntington Beach.
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