This January saw massive storms hitting Pismo Beach, washing up to the sea cliff, with surges in swell uprooting and destroying the beach volleyball courts.

Before the storm, the beach courts were elevated higher than where the tides came in, with sand gradually dropping off approaching the shoreline. 

Now, after the storms, the entirety of the sand has washed away, meaning that the coastline and the stairs are now level with each other. This has also caused the poles that held the nets in place to be washed away.

Since 1985, Ernie Santa Cruz, a caretaker of the Pismo Beach courts, has been going down every day to ensure everything is running smoothly. Storms are nothing new to him. 

“The first five or six years, we only had four courts so that we would pull everything out during the winter,” Cruz said. 

During the late 90s and early 2000s, outside courts were the only ones affected by the El Niño. The upper courts closer to the seawall would remain largely untouched. 

“15 years ago was the last time [a storm destroyed all of the courts],” Cruz said. 

Bringing back the courts is a tremendous effort that takes time. Waiting for the swells to die down and for tides to be less dramatic means waiting till the middle of March. 

“We lost about three feet of sand from this storm,” Cruz said. 

Fixing it requires bringing enough sand for 13 courts and buying new poles since 16 out of 26 were recovered, with the rest lost at sea. They then need to level the courts and bring in a tractor to fluff the sand back up. 

The courts need constant maintenance, which is why Cruz is down there every day to make sure that if any problems arise, he can fix them immediately before the situation worsens. 

“We’re going to come up with a solution as to what the plan is for next year, kinda have a schedule,” Cruz said.

This schedule will allow better preparation so the courts can be taken down before the annual storms destroy them.

Despite the setbacks, Cruz remains determined and is prepared to maintain the Pismo Beach courts for everyone as he has been for the past 38 years, with the recent storm only encouraging his admirable determination.