Strand of Creativity

Like grains of sand on the Pacific shore, sand-castle builders from throughout the United States and Canada drifted into Imperial Beach Sunday to compete in the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition--creating figures depicting everything from animals and people to figments of their wildest dreams.

Under the gaze of a crowd estimated at 150,000 to 200,000, contestants competed in five amateur and one professional category for a total prize purse of $19,000, tournament officials said.

In addition to the Masters Class, in which professionals vied for a $5,000 top prize, amateur sculpting categories challenged contestants to create a “Castle of Your Mind,” “Best Replica,” “Best Sculpture,” “Creatures of the Sea” and, for business-sponsored teams, “Executive Sandbox,” each carrying a $1,000 first prize.

Contestants were given four hours to sculpt their creations using only sand, decorative materials made of biodegradable substances such as shells or seaweed; flour, sugar, water colors, wheelbarrow, ladder and, of course, water.

The day’s events also included more than a dozen pickets from the National Organization for Women who protested a beauty pageant for young girls called “The Little Coppertone 10 Pageant.”

“Apparently, the women thought that the ad for the suntan lotion, showing a dog pulling down the bathing suit of a suntanned little girl, so that her white behind was showing, was a negative sexual image for children,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Roy Stamper. He said NOW officials called authorities in advance to tell them of their protest. No arrests were made.

Winners in the Masters Class of the sand-castle contest were Totally in Sand from Everett, Wash., for its sculpture “Raiders of the Lost Ark”; California Dreams from Oceanside for “Under the Sea” and Arch I Sand from El Toro for “Super Fish All Sand.”

In the amateur categories, the first-place winners were Arizona Castle of Scottsdale for “Never Been There”; Rich Varano of Orlando, Fla., for “School of Dolphins”; The Original Sandblasters of Lakeside for “That’s All Folks!” and the team of Mexitlan from Tijuana.