Privacy Policy

Western Surfing Association
Effective date: October 7, 2026

Western Surfing Association (WSA, “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects the privacy of our members, competitors, parents, volunteers, supporters, and website visitors. This policy explains how we collect, use, and disclose personal information through surfwsa.org and in connection with our memberships, competitions, communications, and related activities.

Section 7 contains the separate SMS Privacy Policy for our mobile messaging Program. Its restrictions on sharing mobile opt-in information apply regardless of the general sharing provisions elsewhere in this policy.

1. Information you provide

Depending on how you interact with WSA, we may collect:

• Contact information: your name, email address, telephone number, mailing address, and information you include in messages or forms.
• Membership and competition information: participant name, birth date or age, gender or competition division, membership status, event entries, scores, rankings, and qualification information.
• Parent and event administration information: parent or guardian contact details, emergency contacts, waivers, permissions, and information you provide to help us administer participation safely.
• Transaction information: membership or entry fees, payment status, refunds, and related records provided by registration or payment services. Payment details entered with a payment provider are handled under that provider’s privacy policy.
• Communication preferences: email subscriptions, mobile messaging opt-ins and opt-outs, and related consent records.
• Event media: photographs, video, and related captions from WSA activities, subject to applicable permissions and law.

Information may come directly from you, from a parent or guardian registering a participant, or from the services that administer WSA registrations and events. Please provide only information relevant to your request and do not send payment card numbers or unnecessary sensitive information by email or text.

2. Squarespace, cookies, and website information

Our website is hosted by Squarespace. When you visit, Squarespace receives technical information such as your IP address, browser and device details, referring page, and pages viewed to deliver the site and protect and improve its services. Where analytics is enabled, visit and interaction information helps us understand website use. Squarespace also processes certain visitor information for its own purposes, as described in its Privacy Policy.

Cookies and similar technologies support website functions and, where enabled, analytics. You can manage cookies in your browser and through any cookie preferences offered on our site. Blocking cookies may affect some functions. See Squarespace’s Cookie Policy for more information.

Our site includes external services, such as embedded Google Sheets ratings. Embedded content and externally hosted fonts, where used, can send your IP address, browser details, and page information to their providers when they load. Those providers may use cookies or collect information about activity over time and across websites under their own policies. See Google’s Privacy Policy.

Our website does not currently change its behavior in response to a browser’s “Do Not Track” signal. This is distinct from any legally recognized opt-out preference signal, which we will honor where applicable law requires.

3. How we use information

We use information to administer memberships and entries; organize heats and competitions; verify divisions and eligibility; maintain scores, ratings, and qualification records; manage payments and refunds; respond to inquiries; coordinate volunteers and supporters; communicate event schedules, changes, and safety information; and protect our services and meet legal obligations. We also use contact information to send WSA news and promotional communications consistent with your preferences and applicable law.

4. When we disclose information

• Service providers: we provide information needed by website hosting, registration, payment, email, messaging, records storage, and event administration services to perform their functions. WSA currently links to Surf Signup for memberships and event registration.
• Competition administration: we may provide relevant competitor, division, ranking, and eligibility information to USA Surfing or other event administrators to coordinate qualifications and participation. This does not authorize sharing SMS opt-in information for their marketing.
• Public competition information: we publish the information described in section 5.
• Legal and safety purposes: we may disclose information when required by law or reasonably necessary to address fraud, protect safety or rights, respond to lawful requests, or resolve claims.
• At your direction: we may disclose information when you authorize us to do so, subject to the SMS restrictions below.

We do not share member information with sponsors. We do not sell personal information or provide member contact lists to other third parties for their own marketing. No mobile opt-in information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.

5. Youth participants, results, and photographs

WSA serves surfers of different ages, including children. A parent or legal guardian should complete registrations, submit personal information, and manage communications for a child under 13. Children under 13 should not independently submit website forms or enroll in the SMS Program.

Competition is a public activity. Participant names, divisions, heat assignments, scores, results, and rankings may appear on our website, registration or scoring services, and public ratings sheets. Event photographs and videos may appear in WSA coverage and promotional materials, consistent with applicable permissions and law. We do not intentionally publish participants’ personal phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, or full birth dates in results or ratings.

A parent or guardian may contact us to ask about information we hold concerning their child, request corrections or deletion, or raise concerns about a photograph or public listing. We may verify the requester’s authority before acting. Some competition records may need to be retained for legitimate recordkeeping or legal purposes, subject to applicable law. We cannot control copies already made by others.

If you believe a child under 13 has submitted personal information directly without appropriate parental involvement, please contact us. We will investigate and take appropriate steps, including deletion or obtaining required consent. Where applicable law requires parental notice or verifiable consent, those steps must occur separately; this policy does not itself provide consent.

6. Your communication choices

You may unsubscribe from promotional emails using the link in an email or by contacting us. Necessary membership, transaction, or event administration communications may still be sent. For SMS, follow the opt-out instructions in your messages, including replying STOP. For assistance, reply HELP or contact WSA using the information below. SMS enrollment is separate from website use or membership registration; providing a phone number alone does not constitute marketing SMS consent.

7. SMS Privacy Policy

Western Surfing Association and its affiliates (“We” or “Us”) are offering a mobile messaging program (the “Program”). This SMS Privacy Policy applies to the Program. By opting in to or participating in any of our Programs, you consent to this SMS Privacy Policy.

We respect your privacy. No mobile opt-in information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. We will use information you provide Us, which includes your phone number and any other personal information you provide (such as name, email, address, etc.) to transmit your mobile messages and respond to you. This includes, but is not limited to, sharing your information with platform providers, phone companies, and other vendors who assist Us in the preparation and delivery of mobile messages. Nonetheless, We reserve the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation or governmental request, to avoid liability, or to protect Our rights or property.

When you complete forms online or otherwise provide Us information in connection with the Program, you agree to provide accurate, complete, and true information. You agree not to use a false or misleading name or a name that you are not authorized to use. If, in Our sole discretion, We believe that any such information is untrue, inaccurate, or incomplete, or you have opted into the Program for an ulterior purpose, We may refuse you access to the Program and pursue any appropriate legal remedies. This Privacy Policy is strictly limited to the Program and has no effect on any other privacy policy(ies) that may govern the relationship between you and Us in other contexts.

8. Retention and security

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably needed for the purposes described in this policy, including membership and competition administration, financial and legal obligations, resolving disputes, and documenting communication preferences. Retention depends on the type of information and the reason it is held. Public competition records may be retained as part of WSA’s historical record. We use reasonable safeguards designed to protect personal information, but no transmission or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure.

9. Privacy requests

Contact us to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information, or to ask about our privacy practices. We will review requests and respond as required by applicable law. We may need to verify your identity or authority, and some information may be retained where permitted or required by law. If a provider holds information independently, you may also need to contact that provider directly. This policy does not limit privacy rights you have under applicable law.

10. Other websites and services

Our website links to registration services, social media, sponsors, and other external websites. Their own privacy policies govern information they collect independently. Review those policies before providing information. This policy continues to govern WSA’s handling of information we receive from those services.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our activities or information practices change. We will post the updated policy here and revise the effective date. For material changes, we will provide additional notice or obtain consent where required by law.

12. Contact WSA