Port Employee on Winning Team at Imperial Beach Sand Sculpture Competition

Wednesday, 11 August 2010
Contact: Barbara Moreno (619) 686-6216

Sometimes it pays to play in the sand.

Port of San Diego employee, Matt McCoy, is a member of the 2010 winning team in the "Masters A" Category of the 30th Annual U.S. Open Sand Castle Competition. The grouping is the top category in the competition.

The event was held Sunday, August 8, 2010 in Imperial Beach, one of the Port of San Diego's five member cities.

McCoy is one of 10-men on the team, "IB Posse." He's been on the sand castle building team since 2000. But he wasn't always a master at the art of sand sculpture.

"I came out to San Diego in the Navy in 1998. I met my wife and her family, and they have been involved in the Imperial Beach competition for 28 years," said McCoy.

He actually started creating sand sculptures with his in-laws in 2000.

"I had never done it before," McCoy said.

The team's winning sculpture was titled, "Got Oil?" They drew inspiration from the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Usually we try to do happy themes, like cartoons or movies. This year, we thought we'd try to send a message using an important current event. We tried to take a serious situation and spin it lightheartedly. It's something people wouldn't expect to see out of sand."

The idea was centered around a fisherman in a boat, who grabbed a fish from the oil-tainted waters, while surrounded by dead fish. In front of the boat, the team built a scuba diver. In front of that, was the oil rig with oil gushing out of two pipes.

Once the concept was selected, the team started practicing its strategy, building it twice a week for the entire month of July. The team held a dress rehearsal the last weekend in July.

The "IB Posse" had only five hours to complete the sculpture in a 30- by 30-foot plot. All 10 team members worked together, each taking a different section. They built the structure's "forms," which is wood filled with water and sand.

"Everybody has a different job to do. I worked on the pipeline," McCoy said.

The team uses all kinds of tools, including spoons, shovels, straws and masonry implements.

In the end, the judges selected the IB Posse's entry for the top prize in the "Masters A Category." The team was awarded $5,000.

"The buzz around the competition this year has been growing for some time now," said Debbie Longley, U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition chairperson. "I know we have something great but I think it surpassed even my own expectations this year. It was truly incredible."

After winning the top prize, the kids of the team took over.

"It's tradition that we let the kids demolish the sculptures. It's heartbreaking, really," McCoy said laughing. "But our kids look forward to that."

McCoy is a resident of Imperial Beach and despite having taken home the top prize three times, he's looking forward to next year.

"It's exciting every year. Our competition is very good. Every year, you just never know."

The other winning team members are: Leonard Gonzales Sr., Leonard Gonzales Jr., Mike Brindle, Mark Durazo, Juan Zepeda, Kenny Biggs, Mike Herbert, Gene Weiland, and Ricardo Ledezma.

McCoy has worked for the Port for four years as a distribution and storage technician at Procurement Services and Materiel Support.

A crew from the Discovery Channel's new 3D station filmed the competition. The yet-to-be-named, hour-long documentary will air early next year.