People always ask what SAMA means. It started as kind of a joke. It was a sleeting, snowy day in early December. My friend and I were surfing a swell in Grand Haven. I looked over at him knowing we were supposed to both be at pre-Christmas family functions soon, and said "We are like Self Absorbed Michigan Adventurers." That kind of stuck, and like many of our friends we have a common passion for outdoor sports in Michigan, and we go out in any weather to get our sessions. He replied "Ya, SAMA!"

So it was born, the SAMA logo was fashioned by another like minded surfer friend from Grand Haven. SAMA is for all of you year round Michiganders and vacationers who know, love, and respect all the outdoor activities there are to do in Michigan. No matter the weather you will find us us out enjoying all the benefits of our unique freshwater paradise.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Bill #629 Pier / Structure Jumping

Samainains,

As you may have heard the State Senate passed the restricting pier jumping bill by a vote of 35-2. It still has to move to the house tourism committee, the house of Representatives, and eventually the governor. If you feel that this bill should not become a law then please take the time to cut and paste the below article. Send it to any of our representatives, the senators, and our governor. Just perform a quick google search for Michigan State reps. and senators. Most of their websites have quick contact links. They say 1 letter represents the views of 40,000 people, due to the fact, so few citizens are active in our democracy. This paragraph was submitted by Chris Madison, and I think it is a great one!

My wishes are to not let the bill #629, for restricting the jumping, diving or swimming form any pier or jetty structure in the Great Lakes, make it to law. I am a surfer on the Great Lakes and for better than 22yrs I have been using these piers as a safer platform to get to the waves we surf. These pier structures make it possible for us to surf in Michigan and have been a vital piece of our surfing culture around the Great Lakes from the moment it started. There is an industry that supports this activity here and without being able to surf off these piers will make it less accessible to a number of people. We have spent a lot of time on these structures and now they may be taken from us in that way. We are concerned.

Great Lakes Surfer,



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