Surfing may be a challenging sport for any human, but these pups conquered "ruff" seas with ease -- and all for a good cause.
The sixth annual Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Competition took place this past weekend in Imperial Beach, Calif. More than 50 dogs participated in the competition.
Proceeds from the event were garnered by Loews Hotels' Good Neighbor Policy, the hotel chain's outreach program, which chose to support San Diego area schools through DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that garners funds for classroom projects in need of funding.
Aileen Babayan, associate director of convention services at Loews Hotels, told HuffPost about the company's motives for giving back.
"You know, it's all about supporting public school teachers," she says. "What with the recent budget cuts, they need all the help they can get, and DonorsChoose is really a wonderful charity. They make an impact directly by giving the funds right to the kids for their projects."
Babayan went on to explain that the event kicked off a partnership between Loews Hotels and DonorsChoose.org, where all hotels in the national chain will be promoting awareness for the charity through advertising and community events.
The first competition sponsored by Loews Coronado Bay Resort took place in 2006, which also marked the first surfing dog competition in the world. She says they've always supported local or pet-friendly charities. Last year, funds garnered at the competition went to support the San Diego Police Department's canine unit.
Babayan says the goal of this year's dog surfing competition was to raise $10,000 for DonorsChoose.org. Although the funds are still being counted, she says she's "very confident" that they will meet the organization's target amount.
At this year's competition, each pooch was given 10 minutes to strut his or her stuff on the waves, and then a panel of judges decided on winners.
Along with the somewhat traditional methods of dog surfing, the competition also judged "tandem" boarding where multiple dogs would ride at the same time.
Watch the dogs perform their smooth moves in a video by The Telegraph below.
Dean Barnat of Mojo Photography in San Diego, Calif. happened to take some sweet photos of the event. Check them out in the sideshow below!
